Online Research FAQs
Online Research FAQs
Online communities are more relevant than ever - they are an incredible way to gain insight into the world of your target audience.
What is an online community?
An online community is used for gathering real-time, qualitative market research insights. This usually consists of a closed network of people recruited to tight specification who can engage and interact with each other, answer specific questions and undertake tasks assigned to the project
How does an online community work?
In a nutshell, an online community works by following these 3 main areas to ensure a successful community:
1. Planning and preparation: Work in partnership with your community moderator to ensure you have a dynamic plan for consumer tasks and a discussion guide that will work well in an online community setting. What works well in a focus group doesn’t always translate online. Keeping focussed on tasks and questions which will unlock the project challenge is key.
2. Recruitment: Consider what type of participants will best help you address the project challenge, working in partnership with your recruiter to find and engage them. Consumers are fully briefed in advance of the online community commencing, and can participate from their phone, tablet, or computer.
3. Live moderation and consumer interaction: The community takes the form of a closed message-board, with varied functionality. Usually, one task is posted on the community every two days. Participants have a window in which they can respond and interact with each other. The moderator’s role is to engage participants and stimulate fresh and interesting conversations within the community. As always, the key is to generate content which really unlocks the project challenge. During this stage, you are able to log on to review the conversation in real time.
4. Community closes: At the end of the set time period, the community closes to participants. The moderator and client team are still able to log on, to feed analysis and reporting.
What can an online community help me achieve?
We have used online communities with great success to:
• Gather actionable insight at a product, brand or category level
• Find and engage hard-to-reach consumers
• Spot frustrations and drivers of delight in your category
• Uncover fresh fuel for innovation / NPD
• Test and optimise new product or service concepts
• Map competitors and explore different brand positionings
• Understand how to improve your customer journey (cradle to grave)
How can I use online communities
Communities are flexible and can be integrated at any point in any project. They can be used as a 'one-off' at the start of a project, as fuel for insight, innovation or positioning challenges. They can be used in the middle of a project, to optimise early work-in-progress idea territories. They can be used towards the end of a project, to help you firm up a shortlist and decide what initiatives to take forward. Or they can be used on an on-going basis, as a long-term community to deliver consumer closeness and inform on-going business decisions. Communities can be short term (2 - 4 weeks) or longer term (6 - 12 months) depending on your needs. Get in touch to discuss your challenge, and we'll be happy to make a recommendation.
What specific research tools are available in online communities?
There are numerous exciting innovative tools which can be used within online forums. These include:
• Diaries which incorporate videos / photos
• Concept testing tools such as heat maps and mark ups
• Idea tools that allow participants to upload their ideas for others to mark up or down
• Polls
• Short surveys