Editor’s note: Stephen Cribbett is founder and CEO of research firm Dub, London. This is an edited version of a piece that originally appeared here under the title, “10 mistakes to avoid when running your first research community.”
1. Creating a virtual ghost town
When your research community launches and the first person to arrive finds a community devoid of people, conversations and any life forms, they’ll be experiencing what’s referred to as a virtual ghost town. It doesn’t sound very inviting, does it? It can be intimidating and off-putting – after all, nobody wants to be the first person at a party.
That’s why you need to establish some energy by seeding content from the very beginning, and sometimes even before the community has launched to participants. You do this by seeding content prior to the launch and making it visible to participants during the early stages of the community.
2. Failing to welcome and brief participants
Eager to begin the research activities, researchers can sometimes forget the critical importance of establishing rapport and warming up participants. You need to welcome them when they arrive, learn a little bit about them as individuals by encouraging them to express themselves and tell them about what is expected.
Avoid diving into the research without helping participants feel comfortable in their new online environment, encouraging them to open up and express themselves, making certain that they understand that there is no right or wrong answer.
To facilitate this, consider using ice-breaking activities such as an open discussion containing the following question(s):
- What do you always carry with you in your bag?
- Who do you most admire in life and why?
- What can’t you live without?
- When did you last do something for the first time?
When new participants come into the research community and see the answers to these questions, it gives them a head start in getting to know the other respondents, to establish common bonds. Make sure the moderator or community manager also answers the ice-breaker question when introducing it, so that the members can get to know him or her as well!
3. Not sharing the purpose and objectives
Both the community and the individual tasks and discussions that you are launching need clear explanation. The more you can clarify the objective of asking a question or setting a task, the more likely you are to get a great response.
Trust leads to greater openness and expression from the members, which means you are more likely to uncover unexpected insights in your research. Transparency with regards to the community mission will be vital in order for you to accomplish this endeavor.
4. Not being flexible with time and structure
Structure is important but rigid adherence to pre-determined tasks can be your enemy. You want to leave enough in your agenda to allow members to touch on further topics, since this can lead to interesting ideas and themes bubbling up to the surface. Remember to build in time to explore these unanticipated topic areas.
5. Designing your research like a focus group discussion guide
Focus groups (synchronous) and research communities (asynchronous) are two very different creatures, with different ways of engaging people through different tasks.
Unlike focus groups, research communities allow members to share experiences, thoughts and feelings as they emerge, as well as reflect on them thereafter. Because these differences have to be taken into account, don’t make the mistake of taking a focus group discussion guide and applying it to your research community – it won’t deliver the results you want and will leave you uninspired.
6. Peaking too soon
The energy and excitement around the initial launch of a community can sometimes result in it peaking too early, with moderators losing focus or getting distracted with other work commitments as time passes.
Be on guard against this, even for relatively short communities. Working to establish solid relationships within the community early on can help keep things going strong and lead to productive discussions.
7. Not getting to know your chosen community platform
When it comes to selecting the best and most appropriate market research technology, spend time doing your due diligence and learning how it works. You don’t want to make the common mistake of assuming the technology can do something it can’t.
Once you’ve made your choice, make time to experiment or run trials. Give yourself time fully understand its capabilities and how far you can push the tasks.
8. Expecting too much of your members
Avoid cramming in too many tasks and discussions because, ultimately, it will over-load members who will quickly lose interest and slope off. Always try to take a step back and ask yourself, “Would I be prepared to do this myself?” or “Would I be able to achieve this in the allotted time?”
9. Thinking, “If I build it, they will come.”
Simply building a research community is not enough. Communities are organic, living things that require time, effort, intellect and resources in order to be successful and reveal the insights that you need.
Take the community through its life stages, investing in people and relationships along the way. When obstacles come – and they will – try to see them as opportunities and be confident that you can always find a way to work around them.
10. Not being prepared for the volume of data
Many first-timers end up underestimating the amount of data they will collect, and then don’t have a good plan in place for how to analyze and report on that data. So my top tip is to formulate hypotheses, and be prepared for rolling analysis techniques and tools.
On a typical basis you should seek to commence your analyses halfway through the community. If you have resources available, consider how to combine efforts and work together as a team.
11. No plan in place
You can’t launch your community on day one and then wait until day two to figure out what to do! Be sure to know how the next few weeks or months will play out. What will your role and input be? Only then can you manage client expectations. Community planning requires a careful balance. Although you should look to avoid over-planning and preparing, I do recommend having a loose framework to utilize your members time effectively.
The welcoming phase is crucial, demanding effort and energy, so having early activities set up and ready to roll will make your life so much easier, leaving you time to concentrate on planning and re-shaping further activities in the light of feedback that you gather.