Online Bulletin Boards are becoming one of the preferred qualitative research methods for exploring the right questions with the right audiences. With the advantages of a Social Network in a controlled environment in which discussion is guided, they are a powerful and flexible way to interact with senior management, generate high engagement and gather rich data for analysis. Online Bulletin Boards bring together respondents whose numbers are limited, who are geographically dispersed, and/or who need maximum flexibility when scheduling.

An 'asynchronous' Online Bulletin Board is a highly flexible online 'Focus Group' format in which pre-recruited respondents can log on at any times that are convenient to them, answer posted questions (either as a group or one-to-one with a moderator) and engage in online discussions with other group members.

The methodology is therefore an ideal fit with the lives of busy professionals. One client mentions "[Conducting research using online bulletin boards] was a good business exercise for me. I have watched focus groups in the past, and they can be a "feeding frenzy" of negativism. This online market research process seemed to give more nuanced responses."

Key Advantages

Engage with ‘hard to reach’ audiences who can often be widely dispersed in geography and time zone.
Convenience and flexibility: participants, and client observers, can log on at any time, from anywhere.
High quality interaction: participants choose times when they are able to focus their full attention on the discussion. This leads to particularly rich dialogue.
Fast turnaround: structuring data into a searchable database format enables rapid analysis and actionable insights in a short time frame.
Economy: No travel, no need for video streaming or data transcription … and the quality of output and geographical coverage means that one Online Bulletin Board can be the equivalent to several focus groups.

Observant LLC has conducted numerous Online Bulletin Board studies with participants crossing many time zones. Our senior consultant team provides ‘round the clock’ moderation. Some recent examples of our online market research using bulletin boards include:

A year-long program of online bulletin board research among Key Influencer audiences for Philips. This has provided insights critical to strategic planning. Observant LLC is co-presenting with Philips at the ESOMAR Congress 2010 in Athens, Greece September 12, 2010-September 14, 2010, ‘Using Online Bulletin Boards with Senior Stakeholders to Develop High Value Corporate Strategy’ Penny Mesure, Observant LLC; Orla McGouran, Global Marketing & Communications, Philips International; Michael Feehan, Observant LLC
Online bulletin board research conducted with three B2B market audiences to gauge perceptions of marketing campaign themes and gather responses to proposed campaign elements.
Yearlong series of Online Bulletin Boards with three B2B market audiences where each wave tests different campaign elements and builds brand knowledge.

For more information about Observant LLC’s expertise in this area, or to discuss potential research engagements, please contact: OBB@observant.biz