I’ve noticed a lot of buzz about what are being called MROCs (Market Research Online Communities). I didn’t realize that all the way back in 1997 I dabbled in MROCs. I was a corporate-side researcher and gathered a small group of 10 customers and communicated regularly with these customers via email. This was, of course, way before social marketing was cool. Or even in existence. Despite the shortcomings technology-wise, I found it was a great way to get quick feedback from customers on issues that wouldn’t normally warrant market research. I also found that it gave me a more dynamic view of the customer. I saw it as the difference between an oil painting (think major survey that takes months to execute and then the data is static) and amateur video–the quality of the picture might be a little grainy, but its cheap and moving. While we have moved beyond simple communities based on email alone, and technologies have arisen to facilitate MROCs, the interesting thing to me is that the benefits are still the same. MROCs provide a video-like perspective of the market. And because the cost of feedback is not as high as commissioning a full-on survey or focus groups, you can get market insights on the smallest of issues and thus be more customer driven than ever before. MROCs offer a much more dynamic view of the market. Standard surveys or focus groups remain static–once you collect the data, it stays in its form. That’s not to say that static isn’t valuable. I love my artwork on the walls of my office and home. We do surveys all the time that are insightful and actionable. The value in static is real. But at the same time, where before there was little or no opportunity to have dynamic research, today there are many ways to get it. It’s like having the option to go video or still. You can do what best fits your needs.
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