The Critical Importance Of Having A Customised Panelist Website

Engagement on the internet is challenging, with all of the various opportunities and stimuli competing for our attention.  A wide variety of techniques and tools are being used, and those who build and maintain custom panels/research communities should take note and also apply these best practices as much as possible.

Whilst it is unrealistic (and in most cases undesirable) to think or expect that a custom panel/research community is going to be a daily priority for its members, it is important that members can recall, and are reminded that they are a part of this research community and most important that they respond to the various survey and qualitative research invites as these are received.  This means that their impressions of this membership experience should be positive, professional and in general engaging enough to maintain their interest and make them feel valued as members.

With the main communication device  for panel owners being the panelist website where members are reminded of this relationship and can obtain information and interact with its content, having a customised panelist website tailored to the particular brand or category of interest is critical.

Some of the elements that should be included in a customised panelist website are:

• Custom Look & Feel - where the logo, style, colours and branding are consistent with the brand or category of interest
• Clear Call To Action – whether it is to join the panel or to login to update one’s profile information or check on incentives earned for their participation
• Quick Poll - where a member can provide an answer to a closed end question and immediately see how this answer compares with the answers of other members who have completed it
• News - members are interested in reading news items that are relevant to the brand or category and expect this information to be easily accessible within this environment
• Results - for both BtoB and BtoC panels, the sharing of results in order to demonstrate what insights are gained by their participation should be both interesting and rewarding to its members
• FAQs - these should be specific to the types of queries likely to occur across a host of different aspects of the relationship including who owns the panel, who operates the panel, how incentives are earned and redeemed, etc.
• Contact Us - often times, members will not want to take the time to review the FAQs or these will not have specifically addressed a question or concern they might have and will then want to use this information to get a response quickly and effectively
• Custom Pages & Elements - each panel and its website are different, depending on the audience plus the type of research that will be conducted with them, so there should be custom pages and elements specific to these needs.  For example, we recently built a chef’s panel for Premier Foods and the panelist website contains a “Chef’s Kitchen” page comprised of tips and advice from a professional chef, and a “Recipes” page containing a large and searchable database of recipes that could be downloaded and utilised by members.

Maintaining a high level of interest and engagement begins with having a well thought out customised  panelist website.  There are also other best practices worth mentioning related to the length of surveys, the way in which these questions are asked (i.e., interactivity) and the like but I will save this for another blog post.

The Case Against Ring-Fencing An Access Panel

I recently met with a Research Director at a major global pharmaceutical company in New York who told me that he had been approached by several access panel companies who were offering to profile their panels specifically for his needs.  In so doing, these access panel companies would be able to more easily and presumably more cost effectively target research to those consumers who would have pre-identified as qualifying for this client’s research.  This Research Director asked my opinion of this approach and how it differed from what we were discussing, that is for EasyInsites to build a custom panel/research community specifically created for and owned by this client.  In thinking back to this conversation and my answer to his question, I thought this might be a question that other clients have asked themselves.  The following is a recap of my response.

Profiling an access panel, or what is sometimes referred to as “ring-fencing”, simply means that additional information has been collected on those panelists that enable the access panel company to more easily and more cost effectively find those consumers who a client needs for their research.  This makes a project that would otherwise be very expensive and maybe impossible due to a very low incidence become affordable and feasible.  However, the benefits stop there.

In contrast, having a custom panel built specifically for this client’s needs means:

• Having complete control over how many panelists have been recruited and profiled and how often they are participating in research.  With an access panel, a client’s ring-fenced panelists are still being used for other research projects.
• The registration/profiling survey in a custom panel is specifically designed to meet the client’s needs, with each and every question asked in the way the client desires.  With an access panel, the client at best is able to specify a few questions and often times even those are not structured in exactly the way the client desires.
• The custom panel has its own custom panel website with engagement features and benefits specifically designed for this particular client’s needs with an understanding and sensitivity to what works best with this particular target audience.  With an access panel, these panelists continue to be members of the access panel and receive whatever website information and incentive programme offered to this very general and large audience.
• With a custom panel owned by the client, there is no CPI (cost per interview) charge whatsoever when the client wants to interact with their panelists.  The only charge is for incentives which need to be paid to the panelist, the amount depending on the length of the interview or the task.  With access panels, there will always be a charge.
• When EasyInsites builds a custom panel for a client, we provide the option for that panel to be opened on the Cint Panel Exchange.  In so doing, our client can realise a revenue share when researchers purchase access to their panelists with whatever restrictions on usage our client requires.  With access panels, they would not provide a revenue share because the client does not own those panelists even if some profiling has been done on their behalf.
• One of the great benefits of a client having their own custom panel is to build a proprietary research asset which can provide a competitive advantage, as well as provide an opportunity to broadcast this to the marketplace and benefit from the PR attention this can garner.  With a ring-fenced panel within an access panel, it simply does not provide enough of a unique proposition to realise these benefits.
• The cost savings when having your own custom panel are substantial.   With access panels, a client pays each and every time they want to conduct research with the panelists and this is on-going and serves as a disincentive for conducting more research.

I look forward to any thoughts you might have on this topic, please post them here.

Charles Pearson 2011 Prediction – as originally published in Research Business Reports, December 2011 Issue

End clients in much greater numbers will realize the benefits of having their own online panels and communities.  There will be a clearer recognition that having a continuous dialogue with their customers (and potential customers) has greater value than the occasional ad-hoc survey.  In some cases, end clients are literally sitting on databases containing their customers’ email addresses and doing nothing with them.  Large companies will start to see the opportunity to engage their employees on key brand and business issues.  All employees do not work on the same brands or even the same categories, so they are not much different from the average consumer.  In many ways, they are even more interested and engaged in the research process; they know the value of research and are interested in helping it succeed because it ultimately benefits them.  End clients will continue to procure from full service MR agencies, but will become more experienced with the process and the cost elements from participating in more DIY activities and interacting with smaller agencies.  Technology will put more DIY tools at their disposal, but cause end clients to expect their agencies to provide even greater transparency and value.

To gain access to the entire set of 2011 predictions (16 pages covering the opinions of close to 100 leading market researchers across the world), contact the publisher Bob Lederer at www.rflonline.com

Why Are We Trying To Create New Communities For Market Research Purposes?

I presented a paper earlier this week at the ESOMAR Online Conference in Berlin.  Below is a brief extract from it.   For more information and to purchase a copy of the complete paper, please contact ESOMAR.

There is currently considerable discussion and debate at market research conferences and online on market research forums, blogs, Twitter and the like regarding custom panels and communities.  Several themes and strongly held opinions emerge when examining this dialogue, including:

• Market researchers should be taking the lead in creating online communities to help brands get closer to their consumers and gain insights to better manage and grow these brands. The loudest voice here argues that market researchers are best suited to take the initiative because of their experience with insights and awareness of how best to listen to and interpret what consumers are saying, as well noting these communities touch all parts of the business so someone in the organisation needs to take the lead so why not the market research department. A minority voice argues that market researchers are not necessarily best positioned for this and that the appropriate place out of which the initiative should be driven is the Marketing Department.
• Online communities which are designed for market research only should be created to enable the opportunity to view and interpret the uninterrupted voice and exchange of ideas amongst consumers. The argument here is that these communities need to be constructed by the company in order for these dialogues to occur and be heard. The counter argument points to the vast array of online communities that already exist across various social media platforms such as Facebook, MySpace, and many others and asks why the company would need to construct (and fund) another community when there are already so many in existence from which to listen and learn.
• There are major differences between an online community and an online custom panel. Some argue that online custom panels are commonplace and something of the past, and do not enable theopportunity for uninterrupted conversations between and amongst consumers. This perspective suggests that online custom panels are somehow less useful than an online community. Another perspective is that online custom panels are not yet widely adopted and do not naturally occur and that these panels deliver substantial and clearly identifiable benefits to the companies who have them. Still others argue that both have their place, and they serve different purposes.

This paper seeks to explore these varying points of view and to shed light on the topic both through a detailed assessment of the research that has been published to date as well as a detailed examination of one company’s experience.

Treating Respondents Right

There seems to be so much discussion in the market research industry regarding how we treat respondents, after all they are a critical component to the job we do.  Notwithstanding this important fact, very few research agencies or panel or fieldwork companies have dedicated personnel assigned to this effort.  As custom panel specialists, caring for respondents is core to what we do. We are trusted to look after a client’s consumers, customers, subscribers, and/or employees who choose to participate on our client’s custom panel. We constantly strive to be respectful, professional, supportive and responsive in everything we do from the sign-up process, to the survey instrument, to the frequency with which we contact them and invite them to participate, to providing and fulfilling their incentives, to sharing results content and news to help further engage them in the process, to responding promptly and completely to their queries. As a result, response rates and attrition rates in custom panels when managed properly are far superior to access panels. Even when access panel companies have a focus on the respondent experience, they are limited by the fact that (1) they do not design the surveys; (2) the look of surveys run on their panel is inconsistent since they do not script in most cases; and (3) their ROI is greatly enhanced by using these respondents as many times as possible.

EasyInsites Turns 1!

EasyInsites is 1 year old today.  We have had a tremendous year winning over a dozen new clients located in the UK, US and Switzerland and working across many different sectors.   For most of our clients, we build and maintain their EasyPanels (online custom panels) as well as run their online research utilising these panels.  With many of these custom panels, our clients have chosen to open them on our Exchange (powered by Cint) where we offer them the opportunity to generate revenue as their panels are utilised by other researchers.  The research we conduct for these clients is both quant and qual in most cases, and our clients are also using our EasyVideo product to capture video of their consumers and customers via webcam for added insight as well as our EasyMobile product for quick and convenient polls as well as to recruit to their EasyPanel in desired locations and situations where consumers have their mobile phones in hand (while watching a television program, while shopping in a particular store, etc.).   For some clients who do not yet have their own custom panel, we provide ad-hoc research in which we offer our clients more cost effective, flexible and innovative solutions.  In our first year, EasyInsites was recognised in several award programs including being selected as a Smarta 100 Winner.   The Smarta 100 comprises the 100 most exciting, promising, and disruptive new businesses across the UK and were selected by a panel of highly regarded entrepreneurs including Deborah Meaden who stars on the judging panel of Dragon’s Den.  EasyInsites was also selected as a Finalist in the “Young Business of the Year” award category in the Toast of Surrey Business Awards where there were just 3 finalists selected out of 60 applicants.  EasyInsites also landed in the top 10 of the Start-Up award category in the LinkedIn European Business Awards.  We are now heading into our 2nd year of operation where we expect to become larger and more profitable, as well we expect to expand our client base into additional sectors and locations across the world.  We also anticipate introducing new products which will further enhance and differentiate our offering.  One thing that will remain unchanged is our core focus and reason for being, that is to provide clients with the opportunity to have their own panel so that they can have a more continuous, insightful and cost effective dialogue with their customers, consumers, subscribers, viewers, or employees.

Having a CRM system does not preclude you from having a custom research panel, they are very complimentary!

If you already have a CRM system, you should still consider a custom research panel since these are quite different and very complimentary. Your CRM system contains information about all of your customers, their histories, spending, contact information, responses to your various promotional offers, etc. and allows you to correspond with them continuously and to maximise your potential business with each.  For a custom research panel, your CRM system would be used as a recruitment source since the email addresses for your customers would be the starting point for inviting them to participate in the research panel.  In the registration/profiling process for the panel, you would collect information that is most relevant to these customers who will participate in your research such as first, their agreement to do so, and further, lots of relevant information that is associated with their experiences, consumption, needs and wishes BEYOND their specific business transactions with you.  Your CRM data can also be easily appended to the panelist records in the research panel database, so that this information can also be used to select respondents depending on the research you are interested in conducting.  The custom research panel, unlike your CRM, would enable you to know far more about the experiences, interests and needs of your customers by asking them lots of profiling questions and conducting further research with them over time.   With your research panel in place, you can then embark on a variety of research approaches and topics as you see fit.  For example, most companies would benefit by running a monthly omnibus with their research panel whereby you ask them the 10 key questions that are being talked about within your company offices that you would love to have feedback on but do not necessarily have the means or the resources or time to ask. You could also run online qualitative sessions, such as our bulletin boards, where over the course of 3 days those customers you have selected would be asked to respond to questions posed and to react/respond to the answers of others who are participating.  Having a custom research panel does not mean adding more technology or software to your arsenal.  You can select a company to build and manage the panel for you and if they are flexible in their servicing model, then you can participate in as much or as little of the research process as you desire.  The huge benefit is that you would now have a research asset and a free source of sample that is ready and waiting for whatever research you have in mind.  The members of your panel, if properly managed, would also be more engaged and provide more in-depth feedback than any other sample source because they have a relationship with your brand/company and this has some meaning to them.  Finally, a custom research panel does not need to cost a lot if you select the right supplier who uses the right technology platforms and has an efficient and low overhead cost structure.

Charles Pearson’s 2010 Prediction from Research Business Reports

The online research business will undergo more and different types of change than in previous years.  Large access panel companies will continue to merge and consolidate with less and less innovation sourcing from these companies as a result.  Large research agencies will continue to be challenged by smaller and more innovative ones who can move more quickly and can deliver better value.  Custom panels and research communities will accelerate in growth (well beyond growth in access panels) as certain research agencies focus all of their attention on these specific products and opportunities, as well as end clients recognise the considerable opportunity to have their own custom panel asset to do more and better research for a lot less money.

What do you think about the new Review Centre consumer panel?

Here is where you can read about it: http://www.research-live.com/news/easyinsites-to-set-up-review-centre-panel/4001252.article

 

Building Panels In Niche Markets

Niche markets typically require a custom panel solution, in large part because these markets are low incidence and often difficult to find and to engage in research on-going.  Some examples include expecting mothers or mothers with babies and young children, high net worth individuals, specialist or high level professionals such as IT decision makers and C-Level executives, and ethnic minorities who have specific dietary requirements.  How does one begin to build these type panels?  There are several key elements that need to be considered when pursuing this goal:

• Source For Recruitment – when building a panel for a niche market, there needs to be a source for recruitment.  This is typically a website that is frequented by that particular market, or a database that has been built by a company who provides products or services to that market.  Without the source, the costs for finding and acquiring these people will likely make the panel build cost prohibitive.  The panel should also be built and owned by the owner of the source for recruitment, thereby reinforcing the relationship and contributing to better response rates and lower attrition.
• Customized Panel Look, Feel and Language – by definition, these panelists will be unique from the general population and have a lot in common with one another.  A generic approach to the look and feel and language will not work well, these panelists will want to feel a part of something that is relevant to who they are, their core needs, and their expected mode and style of communication.  The colors and images used throughout the process of inviting, profiling and interacting with them should be familiar and consistent with how they live their lives.
• Relevant Engagement and Research Opportunities – It is critical that the types of research these panelists are expected to complete are primarily focused on the reason why they joined the panel in the first place.  For example, if the panel is comprised of expecting or new mothers, sending them lots of surveys on travel for single adults or sports cars is not likely to be of interest, consistent with their reason for joining or relevant to them at this time in their lives.  In this example, the primary focus for research directed at these panelists should be associated with the products and brands needed for raising their children or managing a household with children.  Even cars and financial services products that are closely aligned with this particular niche market would be very appropriate as research topics.

Building panels in niche markets is not necessarily an expensive endeavor.  If you own a list or have a database of customers or consumers who meet this profile, then this is an excellent starting point for building the panel.  With some such as with an Exchange where the panel is made available to other researchers to use, there is also the opportunity to monetise these panelists thereby providing a revenue source for you as the panel owner to help compensate for the cost of building and maintaining the panel.  With niche markets, these panels typically command a very high CPI (cost per interview), so there is likely a money making opportunity for panel owners.