Online communities are , for the fifth consecutive year, among the three “new techniques” most adopted by both buyers and providers of market research services.
This was published by Greenbook Research Industry Trends in June 2016 based on a survey of more than 5,000 industry professionals worldwide.
But what do we mean by online community?
It is common to find, when reading market research publications, attending conferences or talking to professionals in the sector, that the terms “proprietary panels”, “ online research communities ”, “research communities”, “community panels”, “MROC” and combinations of the above are used almost interchangeably and mixing Spanish and English.
In an effort to describe, clarify and organize concepts, ESOMAR , the world's luxembourg phone number leading market research organization , published a book in 2014 that answers numerous contemporary questions in the sector.
Below I will share the main definitions that a team of 20 professionals, under the leadership of Ray Poynter and Sue York, wrote in the chapter “Communities.”
Elements that define an online community:
That its members have a profile that represents them, to which they can assign a name and an image (or avatar), whether real or fantasy.
Allow members to express their opinions, for example by posting comments, images or status updates.
That its members can interact with each other, either by commenting on others' posts or by performing actions such as creating contacts, 'friends' or sub-groups.
Characteristics of an online research community
Online communities have been established with the aim of providing answers to the questions for which a research team has been hired.
They operate over a period of time, which may last days, weeks or years, rather than being a single activity or episode, such as a survey or focus group.
They are asynchronous , in the sense that it is not necessary for participating members or researchers to interact simultaneously.
The relevant information generated is the result of a series of consecutive activities in which its members have been involved.
What is the difference between an “online market research community” and “online panels”?
From the above definition it is clear that an online research community is not equivalent to an “online panel”, since although both have similar purposes and characteristics, in the case of “online panels” interaction between participants is not facilitated or made possible, but rather the focus is on members interacting solely with researchers through individual surveys.
Market research online communities (MROCs) are typically designed for qualitative research and have a relatively small number of participants (between 30 and 900). In contrast, online panels typically have thousands of members and are primarily used for quantitative research.