An online research community is a group of people who conduct ongoing research on a specific topic, often related to market research for a product. Participants create profiles and interact in an internet forum, providing quick feedback for companies. The community can be public or private, with the latter often being hand-selected based on factors such as age or income.
An online research community is an Internet-based group dedicated to conducting ongoing research in a specific area or topic. Such a community can be public, allowing people from all walks of life to participate, or it can be a private group that includes only hand-selected participants. In most cases, an online research community focuses on market research related to a specific product, a group of products or the manufacturer of a group of products.
With an online research community, the goal is usually to gauge the demand for a particular product or group of products with a specific segment of consumers. Using a format much like a social networking service, people who want to participate in the community create profiles and participate in an Internet forum. The forum serves two purposes, as it allows participants to interact with each other and also allows online community managers or moderators to interact freely with the community at large, which promotes open online deliberation. At the same time, attendees can also receive private messages or emails, asking their opinions on everything from the uses of a particular product to tips on packaging or ways to boost a product’s market visibility.
Building an online research community helps expand the established means of conducting market research. Because information can be obtained from community members much faster than the older methods of sending surveys or gathering consumers in one physical location, the online approach provides companies with quick feedback, allowing them to start working with that data as soon as possible. This faster access to consumers’ opinions and ideas helps make the marketing effort more focused and effective, saving the company a great deal of money and time.
Depending on the reasons behind the creation of the online research community, the group can be structured as a public or private community. A public community can be found by anyone searching the internet and can usually be joined by simply creating a member profile. A private community is usually made up of people who are specifically invited to join the community and are less likely to show up in internet searches. It is not uncommon for some companies to operate both types of communities, with the public community containing a larger mix of consumers and the private community containing a more targeted group based on factors such as age, education level or income.
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