Research Communities- An Agency Proposition or Brand Asset By Stephen Cribbett Presented at Merlien Institute's International conference on Qualitative Consumer Research & Insights 2011

1. Research Communities;
An Agency Proposition or Brand Asset
Stephen Cribbett
CEO, Dub
www.dubstudios.com
@dub_research

2. Key take-outs
• An understanding of the similarities and differences in online research
community typologies
• An overview of how online research communities are currently being
deployed
• An understanding of the skills and resources required to run and manage
online research communities
• Threats to traditional market research agencies
• Opportunities for MR agencies and practitioners to think differently
• A view on the future of ʻsocial businessʼ
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@dub_research

3. social media
confusion new paradigm
blurring
market variation
semantics
education
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@dub_research

4. Online qual is estimated to account
for 4% of global MR revenues
Include Research Communities in
this and the figure is closer to 14%
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5. Forrester

6. 1.
Definitions
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7. Private Public
Custom-built Open-source
Managed Un-managed
Branded Unbranded
Panel Community
Respondents Participants
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8. Research Community typologies
Public
Bulletin Board Focus Groups
Private 2-30 participants
Private / Unbranded
Time
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@dub_research

9. Research Community typologies
Public
Innovation Jam
Public/Private
Branded
c. 100,000 participants
Bulletin Board Focus Groups
Private 2-30 participants
Private / Unbranded
Time
www.dubstudios.com
@dub_research

10. Research Community typologies
Public
Innovation Jam
Public/Private
Branded
c. 100,000 participants
Bulletin Board Focus Groups
Private 2-30 participants
Private / Unbranded
Time
www.dubstudios.com
@dub_research

11. Research Community typologies
Public
Innovation Jam
Public/Private
Branded
c. 100,000 participants
Bulletin Board Focus Groups Research Community
Private 2-30 participants Private & Branded
Private / Unbranded 300-500 participants
Time
www.dubstudios.com
@dub_research

12. Research Community typologies
Public
Brand Community
> 000,000s participants
Public
Branded
Innovation Jam
Public/Private
Branded
c. 100,000 participants
Bulletin Board Focus Groups Research Community
Private 2-30 participants Private & Branded
Private / Unbranded 300-500 participants
Time
www.dubstudios.com
@dub_research

13. Research Community typologies
Public
Brand Community
> 000,000s participants
Public
Branded
Innovation Jam
Public/Private
Branded
c. 100,000 participants
Community Panels
Bulletin Board Focus Groups Research Community
Private 2-30 participants Private & Branded
Private / Unbranded 300-500 participants
Time
www.dubstudios.com
@dub_research

14. Research Community typologies
Public
Research Community
Private Private & Branded
300-500 participants
Time
www.dubstudios.com
@dub_research

15. Research Community typologies
Public
...when companies trade in anonymity, they
gain better engagement , more textured
insights and increased value
overall....branded communities outperform
unbranded ones.
21st Century Market Research; Leaving Our Comfort Zone
by Communispace
Research Community
Private Private & Branded
300-500 participants
Time
www.dubstudios.com
@dub_research

16. el
Disjointed ad-hoc online research mod
Agency
Moderators
Ad-hoc Research Community
Project C
Project A
Recruiters
Project B
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17. Research Community
Clientsʼ connected online research
Ad-hoc Research Community
Project A
Project C
Project B
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18. Research Community
Clientsʼ connected online research
Ad-hoc Research Community
Bulletin Board
Focus Groups
Listening & Talking to brand
communities
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@dub_research

19. Research Community
(proprietary)
Research Community
(ad-hoc, agency managed)
Proprietary Research
Community
Bulletin Board
Focus Groups
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@dub_research

20. 2.
Skills and Resources
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21. What you need to build an online research
community?
Software Members Hosts Tasks
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22. www.dubstudios.com
@dub_research

23. Knowledge
Patience
Empathy User-behaviours
Time
Listening Conversation
Relationship building
Conflict / crisis mngt
Focus
Discipline
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24. The role of a Community Manager is to...
• Maintain health and vitality of the
community
• Acknowledge and reward
• Know the subjects and topics being
discussed
• Respond to questions and
administer general support
• Uncover insights
• Listening and learning
• Disseminating insight
• Engaging stakeholders
• Transforming business
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25. Engagement is critical for quality - when
people are engaged, they try harder, they do
and share more and go to great lengths for
companies when they know who they are
talking to.
21st Century Market Research; Leaving Our Comfort Zone
by Communispace
www.dubstudios.com
@dub_research

26. 3.
Problems & Challenges
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27. • Ad-hoc agency-led research communities proving costly and inefficient
• Research Communities need investment in time, skills, resource,
brand knowledge
• Research agencies only extracting what is relevant to the commissioned work
• Researchers arenʼt always good at building relationships,
listening, talking and relationship building, and it takes time
• Know your valued customers by name, not numbers
• Clientʼs budgets are being squeezed
• Better fit with overall strategic objectives required
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28. •Driven by marketing departments
•Engaging business stakeholders
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29. The DIY client
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30. The key benefit for us will be to have a
We see a direct rather than continuous dialogue with our target
outsourced relationship with audience. Our community will enable us
our consumers as being far to ask consumers a wider range of
more beneficial for both questions which we perhaps wouldn't be
parties. able to before because of time and
budget restrictions and this will ultimately
foster more of a research culture and
consumer focus within the business.
Our community will help foster a
research culture within the business,
where ideally every consumer When consumers interact with our
focussed activity, whether product brand, whether through social media,
or communication, is presented to events or research, they should,
consumers first to ensure it fulfils wherever possible, be
their needs and therefore is more communicating directly with it for the
likely to succeed. most consistent brand experience.
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31. 4.
Scenario
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32. Participant
Brand-owner Participant
Participant
Participant Participant
Community Manager
MR agency Brand-owner
Researcher
Participant
Respondent Participant
Participant
Participant
Participant
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33. Research Communities
Discovery
Engagement
Ideation / Co-creation Researcher-centred methods
Insight Feedback
NPD Validation
Advocacy Numbers/Stats
Loyalty / Sales
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34. 5.
The future
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35. The future for market research can be...
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36. The future for market research can be in the
boardroom...
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37. Informing business decision and business strategy
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38. HOW
•Owning the insight toolkit
•Keeping insight alive for longer using new tools
•Driving insight to the heart of a clientʼs business
•Informing wider-reaching business decisions
Capture Analyse Disseminate Inform Extend
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39. Visceral business
Strategic foundations Collaborative
Accountable
Deeper connections
Focussed
Leaders Open
Transparency
Stimulating Aligned
Spontaneous growth Participatory
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@dub_research

40. Social media is an experiential medium,
itʼs iterative and generative in nature, itʼs
designed to be, and it asks for human,
hands-on involvement. This means that
many brands and businesses have yet to
appreciate how large a difference there
is between an ʻorganisation that uses
social mediaʼ, and a ʻsocial organisationʼ.
Anne McCrossan, Visceral Business
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@dub_research

41. www.dubstudios.com
@dub_research

42. Technology, society, and work are all changing at breakneck speeds,
but businesses are not keeping pace. When these emerging trends
work together, they call for a new kind of business – one that is
distributed, collaborative, agile and better positioned to succeed.
Dachis Group
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@dub_research

43. www.dubstudios.com
@dub_research

44. Thank you
Stephen Cribbett, CEO
@scribbett / @dub_research
www.dubstudios.com/blog
t. +44 (0) 20 7247 3327
m. +44 (0) 797 663867
e. stephen@dubstudios.com
Dub, unlocking creative research
London I Los Angeles
www.dubstudios.com
@dub_research