Executive Summary
A consumer-facing audio streaming platform partnered with Touchstone Research to design and manage an online insight community supporting continuous qualitative research with subscribers and non-subscribers across the United States. This always-on research environment enabled rapid learning and deep exploration of user behaviors to support evolving product and business strategies.
What this case study covers:
- Leveraging agile methodologies to provide stakeholder teams with “quote-ready” user feedback.
- Establishing a centralized, longitudinal qualitative environment for continuous discovery.
- Integrating subscriber and non-subscriber perspectives to balance acquisition and retention.
Study Snapshot
- Methodology: Online Insight Community (Agile Qualitative)
- Audience: Subscribers and Non-Subscribers
- Markets: United States
- Duration: Multi-Year Continuous Engagement
The Business Challenge
The client was seeking a flexible research solution to support evolving insight needs across its digital platform. Internal teams required access to ongoing qualitative feedback while maintaining the ability to launch ad hoc research as new questions emerged.
Key challenges included:
- Creating a centralized research environment to support continuous learning.
- Balancing depth of qualitative insight with speed and flexibility.
- Incorporating both subscriber and non-subscriber perspectives.
- Making insights easily accessible to stakeholders across teams.
The Research Solution
Touchstone designed, launched, recruited and supported an always-on online insight community composed of subscribers and non-subscribers from across the United States. The community was structured to support primarily qualitative research, with activities distributed throughout the year. Engagement methods included interactive discussion boards, community activities, and virtual research sessions, with periodic quantitative components incorporated to complement findings.
Research Design
🗣️ Interactive Discussion Boards Ongoing discussions enabled participants to share feedback, opinions, and experiences related to the platform.
🧩 Community Activities Structured activities supported deeper exploration of behaviors, preferences, and attitudes over time.
🎥 Virtual Research Sessions Virtual focus groups and in-depth interviews were conducted as needed to explore specific topics in greater depth.
📊 Supplemental Quantitative Inputs Periodic quantitative elements were used to add context to qualitative insights when appropriate.
Why This Approach
An online insight community was selected to provide a flexible, scalable, and continuous research environment. This model allowed the client to explore ongoing questions while remaining responsive to new priorities without repeatedly recruiting new participants. Including both subscribers and non-subscribers ensured a broader perspective on the platform experience and helped contextualize feedback across different user segments.
Discover why brands rely on Market Research Online Communities (MROCs) to drive smarter insights and platform innovation.
Key Insights
Insight: Non-subscribers valued “discovery” features differently than loyal subscribers.
→ Implication: Feature roadmaps needed to be bifurcated to drive acquisition versus retention strategies.
Insight: Ongoing access to participants enabled timely exploration of new features, content, and experiences.
→ Implication: An always-on model supported faster learning and more responsive research workflows compared to ad-hoc studies.
Insight: Community-based engagement encouraged richer, more contextual feedback over time.
→ Implication: Longitudinal qualitative input provided added depth beyond one-off studies.
Business Impact
The insight community supported teams across the organization by providing ongoing access to qualitative insights that informed discussions related to advertising strategy, brand positioning, platform functionality, design decisions, and overall user experience planning. The always-on model streamlined research workflows and enabled teams to quickly engage relevant participants as new questions arose.
Services Provided
- Insight Communities & Online Panels
- Media & Entertainment Research
- Research Participant Recruitment
- Qualitative Research
- UX Research
- Reporting and Analysis
Partner With Touchstone Research
Looking to establish an insight community or continuous research program for your brand? Touchstone Research brings deep expertise in online communities and qualitative research to support ongoing learning and confident decision-making.