When I first started in the market research world (and let’s not be too specific when that was), online communities were still a new and exciting concept. I recall simpler times when clients were absolutely blown away by the idea of always-on access to consumers simply by turning on a computer and logging onto a site on the World Wide Web.

Fast forward to today. Communities have become a staple of many leading brands’ research and strategy programmes. As such, many insights and market research professionals have either had direct experience working with communities or are at least familiar with what they are.

As online communities have become mainstream, lots of opinions have been formed about them. Some of these opinions are fair. Some of them, not so much. And while online communities aren’t the perfect solution for every challenge, there is much value to be gained when it is the right fit for you.

In this blog, I will outline some of the common misconceptions we hear about building, deploying and gathering insights from communities, and what the reality is. So, buckle up—we’re doing some myth busting!

Myth #1: Communities are only good for fast feedback.

This is one of the most common misconceptions we hear. While speed is an advantage of online communities, it certainly isn’t the only one.

One great upside of communities is that they’re a powerful and easy way to build empathy with consumers and learn how your target market thinks, feels and lives their lives. Always-on access to consumers provides multiple ways to better understand your consumer and ‘walk a mile’ in their shoes. Our consumer connects programme for Haleon is one example of how this can come to line.

Communities can be part of an extensive innovation trajectory like the one we’ve set up for Anheuser-Busch, they can fuel the creation of a premium customer experience or ensure that you building products and services that meet the needs of your customers.

These are just a few applications, but the list goes on.

Myth #2: Communities only collect input from your most vocal consumers.

Not if you’re monitoring and resourcing it correctly. The first way to combat this is through periodic member refreshments, which should be a standard part of every community engagement. This is a process where we bring a new group of folks into the community that fit your target audience profile while politely shifting others out of the community. This process ensures you are getting new voices and perspectives into your research programme and not relying on the same set of consumers.

The next important piece is moderation. Every community should have a dedicated moderator (or set of moderators) that engage consumers, keep them energized and create a safe environment to share and be respectful. This ensures that everyone is being heard—and not just the loudest voices.

And the last component is cultural context. It is important that moderators not only speak the local language, but also understand the other cultural aspects of their country or region. With their knowledge of the local market situation and business context, they can easily identify with consumers’ values, beliefs and traditions. This ensures that we not only listen to what is said but also comprehend it in the context of consumers’ lived experiences.

Myth #3: Communities are only suitable for simple methodologies.

Nope! This a two-for-one myth, because we hear it regarding both qualitative and quantitative community inquiries.

So let me start with the qualitative part…there is still a perception from some that communities are a fancy word for discussion boards (simple text-based forums). Not true! Sure, discussion boards are a key piece (and often a powerful one) of the community offering, but modern communities have many more ways to capture deep qualitative feedback that include photo sharing, journaling, video and chat functionality.

And when it comes to quantitative, many still equate communities with a simple online survey programme. But there’s more that can be done! You can use tools that give you in-depth, granular feedback on a static image, a block of copy or video stimuli. If your community sample is high enough, you can use technical quantitative methodologies such as MaxDiff, TURF, Von Westendorp, etc. And depending on your needs, you can even temporarily bring in more members into your community to get a big sample size when robust numbers are needed for a quant exercise.

Our communities offer a range of Think / Feel / Do activities, that include projective techniques, online shopping simulations and ones that that tap into system 1 thinking (e.g., the brain’s fast, automatic and emotional response to stimuli). These off-the-shelf tools make it easy to elevate your community research and get to your objectives in new and exciting ways.

Myth #4: Communities are only applicable for consumer research.

Fake news. While it is true that the bulk of community engagements are for consumer research, some of the most successful (and rewarding) engagements I’ve seen have been when organisations create employee or stakeholder communities within their own walls.

Employee communities can be deployed to keep a pulse on employee morale, test communications and build employee engagement programmes. And professional communities (e.g., salespeople, human resource professionals, bankers, etc.) are a great way for service companies to ensure they’re getting valuable feedback from their critical frontline employee.

Myth #5: Communities are expensive.

But they don’t have to be! If your research objectives are qualitative in nature, your community size can be small, which can save costs. Providing a sample list for your community can also decrease recruitment fees. Setting up a three- or six-month community is another way to manage costs or pilot a new community efficiently, compared to a one-year commitment.

At the end of the day, communities have gotten unfairly ‘dinged’ in recent years as being limited, cost-prohibitive and frankly, unsexy. But, in reality, that’s simply not the case. Hopefully this myth-busting exercise sheds new light on this methodology and shows that communities can be tailored to your needs based on your audience, research objectives and budget.