Build Successful Brand Communities at Scale

Rob Berger, Executive Vice President of Global Quantitative Research, and Tom Doulos, Vice President of Client Service Operations at Sago, presented a webinar Aug. 11, 2022, on how to build successful brand communities at scale.

Quantitative research aims to discover the “what” behind a question. This can be done through a branded insight community (IC). The result is diverse market research campaigns, with responses from thousands of individuals across the globe.

Continue reading for a full overview of this webinar.

What is a Quantitative Insight Community?

A quantitative insight community (IC) enables customer-centric brands to create a continuous flow of deep customer insights. These insights come from a highly engaged community of thousands of research participants.

Businesses can use an insights community (IC) in three ways:

• Software Solution – Enterprises can adopt IC via Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). This is where a yearly fee is paid to obtain an online license for the platform. Then, companies can conduct DIY or self-service market research.
• Customer Engagement – It’s also possible to use an IC to consult with consumers, improve satisfaction, and adapt to changing consumer needs.  This is achieved by empowering customers to submit feedback that guides business decision-making as part of a customer engagement strategy.
• Longitudinal Learning – Deep and progressive consumer profiling over months or years allows enterprises to develop a deeper understanding of the market and its customers. This is useful for both quantitative and qualitative research campaigns.

How Does a Quantitative Insights Community Work?

Sago recruits new research members to an IC using the following steps: 

1. Explore and identify the ideal method to invite different groups of consumers to the IC. 
2. Invite consumers to the IC via email or social platforms. 
3. Customers fill out an online profile survey to complete sign-up. 
4. Customers agree to T&Cs, Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy. 
5. An email confirmation is sent so participants can verify their details. 
6. After confirmation, a new member is created in the IC and redirected to the Member Hub. 
7. Now, IC members can continuously participate in your research campaigns. 

This short process leads to a positive participant experience (PX), where members gain immediate access to the Member Hub to drive engagement. 

How to Use Brand Communities for a Holistic Customer View and to Inform Business Decisions

Brand communities provide a unified platform for qualitative, quantitative, and advanced research methodologies. Standardization means research data is easily transferable and reusable between systems, with a cost-effective digital workflow to save you money.

Sago’s brand communities include:

• Quantitative Research: Dynamic research and engagement via polls and surveys
• Qualitative Research: Access to Sago’s qualitative research tools including discussion boards, live chats, and diaries
• Advanced Research: Deeper, more actionable consumer feedback with advanced questions

How to Use Quantitative Insight Communities to Connect with Customers, Wherever They Are

Quantitative insight communities allow businesses to connect with customers, wherever they are. This is thanks to multi-language capabilities and mobile readiness, meaning any person in any location can participate. Resultingly, ICs can hold thousands of respondents with diverse demographics.

Additionally, a standardized market research platform makes it easier to collect and reuse data. Enterprises can also tailor their branding on the platform to create a personalized experience.

“Let’s say you have a community of 10,000 people,” explains Tom Doulos, Vice President of Client Service Operations at Sago. “A best practice is to do two-to-three engagements per member per month. You don’t have to send the same study to 10,000 people either; you can choose the demographic you need.”

What are Some Examples of Brand Communities? 

Here are some great success stories from our clients who used brand communities.

1. International Trade Company

An international trade company made a brand community for toy products. The community consisted of mothers and children younger than 12 years old who tested toy product concepts before going to market.

2. Consumer Packaged Goods – Coffee Brand

A coffee brand created a brand community of 5,000 members. It used the community to test new coffee flavor product lines. The community was hugely beneficial, as it helped the coffee brand determine that its new product line would cannibalize existing sales. As a result, it saved millions of dollars.

3. MediaTech Publication

A large MediaTech publication created a brand community of 50,000 members. It could perform an immense amount of research across 17 digital offerings with this community. This included monthly editorial testing for new covers. Risk was minimized with a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) applied to all members of the community.

4. Financial Services – European Bank

A European bank created a community of 5,000 members. This community tested banking apps that were in development, offered feedback on price changes, and guided upcoming changes to service level agreements (SLAs). It also used the community for brick-and-mortar location selection, choosing locations and layouts that consumers demand the most.

Build Your Brand Community with Sago

Sago can help you recruit and consult with thousands of research participants, all from one centralized platform. Our experts support the design and execution of your community from end to end, so you can obtain the insights you need to drive value generation in your company.

To build your next brand community with Sago, get in touch at [email protected].