research communities

In our December webinar, Justin Coates of Eastman Chemical Company and Taylor Doolittle of Bellomy gave a presentation on how Eastman uses an online community to gain a deeper understanding of sustainably-minded consumers. The presentation highlighted Eastman’s ability to position itself as a strategic thought partner to its clients due to their use of an online research community.

What do fingerprints, snowflakes, Social Security numbers and your customers have in common? No two are the same. Marketing strategies that target your entire customer base may be effective from time-to-time, but it's also impossible for a business with hundreds of thousands of customers to properly market to each individual. So, where’s the sweet spot?

Arguably the largest barrier to user-research-based design is the difficulty and time associated with identifying, recruiting, and communicating with these users throughout the development cycle. This is where an online research panel can save the day.

It might seem like you are hearing the word “agile” every time you turn around these days, but it's time to set the record straight on agile market research. Online communities provide a solid foundation for faster and more affordable market research.

If you have ever researched a potential purchase online, you might be familiar with the never-ending rabbit hole of consumer reviews and online discussion boards. However, access to relevant peer feedback was not always the norm it is today. Consumers longed to hear from each other about what works and why. Almost overnight the online community of sharing was born.