When you think of an online community, what comes to mind?
Depending on who you are, or who you ask, the definition of an online community is varies widely. From Leger’s perspective, an online research community is a technological platform that allows you to engage in an ongoing conversation with your target population in an environment that is private from the outside world (unlike on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms, where most content is public).
At Leger, we are experts at designing, implementing, and running online research communities that allow you to conduct qualitative and quantitative research seamlessly, using a single platform. We can accompany you every step of the way on your online community journey, from project inception to completion. Our online community expertise is complemented by over 30 years of qualitative and quantitative research experience.
Are you interested in learning more about online research communities? Read our other articles:
6 Benefits of Using an Online Research Community
5 Strategies for Maintaining the Health of Your Online Research Community
Or, watch our most recent webinar about online research communities.
To learn more about how we can build an online research community for your organization, contact us at the bottom of this page!
3 DIVERSE ONLINE COMMUNITY SUCCESS STORIES
One of the advantages of online research communities is their flexibility: we can customize them for any audience. Are you interested in speaking with customers, employees, users, patients, community residents, or a different group entirely? No matter who you’re looking to engage with, we can design an online community that meets your needs and helps you put your key audience at the centre of your decision-making. Below, discover three case studies that outline the diverse ways we’ve used online communities to meet our clients’ research objectives.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS: PRODUCT EVALUATION
Our client, a telecommunications company, wanted to evaluate and test a new product among their employees (in terms of ordering the product, installation, after-sales service, etc.) before launching it to the general public.
We designed a custom online community for this company to quickly gather employee feedback to measure and develop the full customer journey of this new product launch via surveys built into the online community platform. These surveys helped us to follow the evolution of the user experience over time (for a total of six months), as well as enable the company to make necessary changes quickly (and even add new product features!).
BY THE NUMBERS
- More than 2,000 employees participated in the community
- More than 70 communications were sent to community members about various topics
- More than 10 different questionnaires were used to assess the installation process, the experience following specific challenges, and the migration to a new billing system
- Our research team produced more than 30 reports
OUTCOME
After the evaluation was complete, 75% of employees recommended NOT to launch the new product to the general public at that time. Based on this feedback, the official launch was delayed to make additional changes. This company extended their online community so that they could measure the user experience for this product for the second phase of their deployment and eventually launched this new product to market with overwhelming success!
PHARMACEUTICAL: EXPLORING VACCINE KNOWLEDGE AND HABITS
Our client, a pharmaceutical company, wanted to know more about their Canadian female clientele’s behavioural habits and knowledge related to vaccines.
We recruited approximately 40 female panelists across Canada using LEO (the Leger Opinion panel). They were invited to participate in 5 days of activities through a private online community designed to gather qualitative and quantitative data.
OUTCOME
- Our client adapted and tailored their advertising messages based on the concerns mentioned by the panelists who participated in the study.
- Our client had real-time access to qualitative and quantitative data, which allowed them to view responses at any time and saved hours of listening and transcription work.
- Using an online community was more efficient and cost-effective than traditional research (analysis, recruitment, no travel and room rental logistics, etc.)
POLICE SERVICES: TARGETING RECRUITMENT AND HIRING ACTIVITIES
A police service in a large Canadian city was anticipating recruiting new officers during the year. Their objective was to ensure that their recruitment and hiring activities targeted the right candidates, and to identify what motivates people to pursue a career in policing.
People were recruited to participate in this community via social media and LEO (the Leger Opinion panel). Participants completed activities on the online community for one month. Based on segmentation, certain content within the community was customized and targeted to address more specific situations (for example, to better understand the realities of visible minorities interested in a policing career) and to target specific groups of the population.
OUTCOME
- The police service developed a better understanding of job search criteria among future candidates.
- Targeted adaptation of recruitment and hiring content and activities was implemented based on the qualitative information collected.
LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW WE CAN DESIGN A CUSTOM ONLINE COMMUNITY TO ADDRESS YOUR ORGANIZATION’S OBJECTIVES: CONTACT US TODAY.
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