Why I’m obsessed with online communities

Anyone who knows me, knows I have a “slight” tendency to get giddy or overexcited about things!

I have become obsessed with online research communities.

They are just brilliant.

Unlike traditional research, participants engage with projects over longer periods of time, in most cases getting involved daily. We don’t just interact for an hour in a group or an interview, participants respond online to real world tasks in their own words in their own time, in their own homes.

And this is where the magic happens.

WHY THE GIDDINESS?

There has been loads of analysis on the benefits of online communities, but these are the 7 reasons why I love them: –

1. Authentic –Participants are much more willing and able to share personal or emotional things about themselves when they feedback in private. There is no group effect or filter. Participants interact with your brands and products just like they would in real life. They don’t worry what anyone else says, they simply tell you as it is.
2. Showing not just telling – We can see for ourselves where they store your products, how they taste, what they do with them, how they search for you. Context is everything and pictures really do tell a thousand words. This makes it easier spot opportunities for new product or communication ideas.
3. Language – What they actually say about you. How they express benefits, how they describe the taste, what the experience was like, how it worked. By sharing the same language, brands can make better connections.
4. More to say – This method generates more feedback per person. In a 60-minute focus group, if each person speaks for 10 minutes you are doing well. In an online community no one-voice dominates and each participant will provide you with more than 10 minutes of conversation. They have more time to think, and we have more time to probe. The consumer voice is front and centre of the decision making.
5. Flexible – If we want to change tack, switch the conversation or the stimulus, it takes seconds to do it. We can optimise creativity, probe interesting thoughts, and get to the final recommendation faster.
6. In the moment – Live, in-context and as they happen experiences. We don’t need to rely on memory as we can see what happens, when and where it is happening. You can literally watch people think, spot their problems and challenges.
7. Vivid – Participants provide us with photos, text or videos. They can make mood boards, create market maps, annotate concepts and even draw pictures. This brings insights to life vividly. It is easier to share with project teams with better engagement and a truer 360⁰ picture of your audiences’ needs.

Now do you see why I’m giddy about them?

I used to use this method to do things when I couldn’t do face to face research.

Now I use face to face when I can’t do it online.

From pets to pickles to power tools, we have really useful insights that we just wouldn’t have found without this method.

#marketresearch #consumerinsight #onlineresearch #researchcommunities #intheknow