Connected tools: Communities

Communities are platforms for creating research communities comprising many participants and lasting several weeks or months, or for generating a permanent discussion. Participants are recruited and screened to ensure a common interest and ongoing involvement. The moderator is a trustful and inspirational catalyst. To engage participants fully, research communities rely on an integrative set of research tools (e.g. multi-media uploads, drawing boards, community member tasks, special live guests). A derivative of such an approach is that communities truly bring the consumer alive in the board room.

When use this tool?

• Research communities are well suited for continuous concept development at the fuzzy front end of product development, idea screening, reality checks and product experience testing (e.g. beta or early launch tests). Especially in combination with a series of online and offline discussion groups.
• As an extension, communities also allow identifying long term consumer habits, practices, needs studies and even customer satisfaction studies.

Some of our references: