How to Choose a Market Research Panel Provider

For companies across a wide variety of industries, market research can be a valuable way to guide the course of business. Providing a way to gain key insights from consumers both within and outside of your target demographic, a market research panel can inform business decisions in a careful, educated way.

As market research has the potential to guide corporate strategy, choosing the right panel provider is extremely important. Keep these tips in mind when evaluating high-quality market research panel providers.

Choosing a Panel Provider

For those who want a thorough, comprehensive, and effective result from market research, a market research panel is an excellent option. Taking the concept of market research a step further by employing a panel approach that incorporates a variety of methods, this alternative is more detailed, specific, and, as such, valuable.

Using pre-selected individuals, panel providers can assess a broader range of data for an improved outcome for companies employing these services. Rather than using old-school techniques like cold-calling customers, market research panels pre-select groups of people that best pertain to the information your business needs to know. Using a combination of surveys, focus groups, in-depth interviews, and even in-home usage tests if the circumstances warrant, research panel providers can collect detailed data in a holistic way. When combined with a wealth of demographic data, like personal details, household information, and behavioral indicators, it's possible to provide a rich, vibrant picture.

Before starting the due diligence process, first, take the time to highlight your corporate objectives and identify how using a market research panel study can influence your goals.

• What are you looking to achieve with market research?
• How can market research better inform business decisions?
• What kinds of feedback are most important from a B2B research audience?
• Who is receiving the information – is it informing financial decisions, product research and development, or prepared for executive consumption?
• What kind of audience is best for the information you are seeking?

Key Criteria to Consider

In many ways, the choice you ultimately make will have a large impact on the information you receive and how valuable it will be. When doing your due diligence, take these elements into consideration.

Customer Service and Response Time

In choosing to pursue market research, it's important to choose a firm that you are comfortable communicating with, is willing to listen to your opinions, and can be your partner in choosing the perfect panel in order to best generate results.

In addition, turnaround time can be important as well. If you are using market research to advance a project, you likely have a deadline in mind. While choosing the right firm may require some flexibility, it's essential that you find a provider that will be respectful of your timeline. Most research panel providers offer faster results than conventional research avenues, but time demands are always variable.

Data Collection Methods

Data collection is possible in a number of ways, particularly in the context of panel providers. Some research providers are very thorough and use a wide range of methods to collect feedback, while others stick to one or two tried and true methods.

Not all avenues will be appropriate under all circumstances so it's important to find a market research panel opportunity that will employ the right approach for your needs. All projects are unique, and the service you select should be able to adapt to provide the panel alternatives you need. For example, if you favor online surveys, it's best to find a provider that specializes in this.

Panel Type

When you consider the data you need to collect, who can add more value: your business partners or your customers? Market research panels are often broken into two categories: B2B and B2C.

B2B panels are intended for business-related surveys concerning the industry, segmentation, place in the market, or anything else that can be seen from the perspective of a competitor or partner rather than a customer. B2C panels, on the other hand, focus on the views of the customer. Before making a choice, be sure you know the priority of the firms you're considering and where strengths and weaknesses lie.

Market Access

In order to get the kinds of results you need to guide your business, you need to survey the right segment of the market, and this all comes down to reach. In order to gain the information you truly find to be valuable, the right people need to be included.

Be sure the research panel provider you choose can recruit the kinds of participants that mean the most to your business. This includes access to the proper population but also involves how information is solicited – even access to your target demographic can fall flat if your chosen provider doesn't employ best practices.

Experience and Skill

Asking questions is a big part of success in focus groups, in-depth interviews, online surveys, social media surveys, and customer satisfaction questionnaires, but asking the right questions is even more so. Experienced firms will be able to use design thinking to translate concepts and ideas into thoughtful, informed questions that will add value.

Expert market research companies can coax the information you need from any pool of participants, providing panel results that can inform any business decision.

Market research can be a huge advantage for companies, provided the available opportunities are utilized to the fullest potential. With the right market research panel provider, you can be sure you're receiving the feedback you need to make business decisions that will keep you moving forward.

Jim Whaley is CEO of OvationMR and posts frequently on the Standard Ovation and other Industry Blogs. OvationMR is a global provider of first-party data for those seeking solutions that require data for informed business strategy.