Overview
Below are a few “frequently asked questions” when it comes to market research online communities. These cover some of the “key” questions we hear a lot, but we’re sure you’ll have more specific questions. Fill out the form on this page to contact us with additional questions.
What makes an online research community different from an online research panel?
The words "community" and "panel" are sometimes used interchangeably
in the market research industry. MROC’s are very different from
research panels, as they provide a
central venue for participants to connect and participate in ongoing
qualitative and quantitative research activities.
What makes an online research community different from other types of online communities?
"Online communities" in general have been around in various forms since the beginning of the internet. It's only relatively recently that companies have started to use them extensively to help with marketing, product development, customer loyalty, etc. Many of these communities are public and designed to grow as large as possible (within reason). However, companies are usually very careful with their market research, prompting them to use private, smaller communities when they are looking to use communities for customer insights. Hence the reason private research communities exist.
Can't I just use my existing communities or social networks (like Facebook) to gather customer feedback?
Yes and no. You'll definitely want to think through the benefits and drawbacks first, as there is a definite advantage to using a research-oriented and "controlled" environment for . See our blog post, "Why not use Facebook for an online research community?" for our thoughts on the tradeoffs.
What is the “ideal” research community size?
The “ideal” size really depends on your objectives. If you are
looking for primarily qualitative feedback among a set of targeted
members, then we recommend a relatively small community of 50 to 150
active members (where “active” means they login at least one time every
two weeks to participate in research activities).
If you are interested in getting a hybrid of qualitative and
quantitative feedback, or have a number of target segments you are
interested in studying within a single community, we recommend a larger
set of members (perhaps in the 500-1,000+ member range).
How long should my research community last?
As short or as long as you need (how's that for being helpful?) PluggedIN has run communities as short as a couple of weeks and as long as a couple of years. How long it lasts will depend on what you are using it for and what you are getting out of it. In the initial planning and design phases, we typically map out all of the objectives as research activities to start to gauge approximately how long the community should run for. Many companies opt to keep their research community open after that to take advantage of having the community available for ongoing needs and to dig deeper on their initial findings.
Are research communities facilitated by someone or am I responsible for that?
PluggedIN's custom and shared research communities are moderated on a daily basis. Our team of researchers visit the communities each day to post new research questions, encourage conversations and connections between members, probe on follow-up responses and generally “police” the site for inappropriate conduct or content. We also offer options for companies interested in moderating the community on their own while still using the PluggedIN Research Community Platform.
What is the recruiting process like for a market research community?
The recruiting process is actually very similar to other forms of online research, as well as traditional methodologies like focus groups. We start by collecting your requirements and developing a comprehensive online survey to screen for participants. The survey is then sent to a purchased list or to sample you provide. We then carefully screen responses to ensure there are no “professionals” or competitors trying to make their way into the community. After hand-screening participants, we send a unique invite for members to join. Depending on the audience and size of the community, we sometimes conduct phone-based recruits for communities (similar to recruiting for focus groups).
How do you keep people engaged?
There are a number of strategies for keeping community members engaged over an extended period of time. At the onset, one key strategy is to ensure there is a clearly stated purpose for the community. This shared purpose might range from having a common affinity for your brand to contributing to discussions around a central topic/theme (e.g. parenting, ownership of a vehicles, etc.). Other strategies include the following:
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Extrinsic Rewards
- Providing extrinsic rewards for participation, including incentives for participating on a monthly basis, sweepstakes for product rewards and/or incentives for “special activities” like diary research.
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Intrinsic Rewards
- Emphasizing the intrinsic rewards of participation by constantly highlighting the fact that their comments are directly influencing the development of new products and services or shaping the direction of their favorite brand.
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Varying Activities
- Varying the type and extent of activities, including running “fun” activities that are unrelated to research objectives as a means of generating sustained interest in the community and building connections between members.
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Consistent Moderator Presence
- Moderating the community on a daily basis lets community members know that their feedback is being heard and ensures that participation falls in-line with the terms and conditions of the community.
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Usability
- Making the site extremely easy and intuitive for anyone to use, and keeping the feature set to a minimum (on purpose - without sacrificing the research value) to ensure that we are getting what we need without confusing participants.
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Constant Communication
- Maintaining constant communication with community members through community news and updates on the site, as well as regular emails each week.
How many people will actually participate in my research community?
We’ll be totally honest here - not everyone is going to be active in your research community. In fact, we like to think of typical participation rates in terms of a triangle. Approximately 10% to 20% of users will actively create content, contribute comments to all research activities and make connections with other community members. About 40% to 60% of users will participate in most (or all) research activities, but will only sporadically contribute content independent of research activities. The remaining members will be “lurkers” who occasionally take surveys or contribute to discussions, as well as inactive members who signed-up but never returned. Of course, there are strategies to make more people part of the top 20%, but ultimately it’s extremely difficult to have everyone participating at the same level of intensity. Online communities have faced this fact since the advent of communities and forums on the internet.