Powering Tech Innovation Through Multi-Market Insight Communities

tech-multi-market-insight-community-case-study

Executive Summary

An online technology company partnered with Touchstone Research to establish a dedicated research infrastructure for capturing rapid, ongoing insights from next-generation power users. By building specialized insight communities in the United States and Brazil, the brand gained the ability to conduct continuous qualitative exploration to support multiple internal research teams.

What this case study covers:

  • Establishing a go-to panel for rapid qualitative research among Gen Z teens and young adults.
  • Scaling research operations across international markets with culturally fluent execution.
  • Leveraging hybrid qualitative methodologies to support concept testing and user experience feedback.

Study Snapshot

Business Challenge: Driving Rapid Global Insights for Next-Gen Users

The client, a leading online tech company, required a flexible and “go-to” research solution to better understand its most active user base. They needed to conduct qualitative research for technology that could produce rapid insights throughout the year to serve various internal teams.

Key challenges included:

  • Recruiting high-quality, “power user” participants within the Gen Z and Gen Alpha demographics.
  • Finding a partner with the expertise for fast-turnaround recruitment and fieldwork, particularly for scheduling In-Depth Interviews (IDIs).
  • Bridging the gap between the US and Brazilian markets to identify cross-cultural similarities and differences in product usage.

The Research Solution

Touchstone Research recruited and built two distinct insight communities: one featuring 80 members in the US and another with 30 members in Brazil. All participants were required to be current, active users of specific online services. This infrastructure allowed the client to move away from ad-hoc recruitment and into a “rolling research” model where participants were ready to engage in UX research and concept testing activities every month.

Research Design

The program was designed to be interactive and high-touch, ensuring participants remained engaged for long-term learning.

  • Monthly Qualitative Activities: Interactive community-based tasks to explore broad attitudes and behaviors.
  • Monthly Virtual IDI Projects: One-on-one sessions to dive deep into specific user journeys or pain points.
  • Executive Office Hours: Focus groups that allowed company executives to interact directly with participants for real-time feedback.
  • Multi-Market Coordination: Seamless execution involving translation of guides and reporting across two languages. We applied proven best practices for global studies to ensure data consistency across regions.

Why This Approach

Utilizing an online insight community was the most effective way to meet the client’s need for speed and depth. By maintaining a pre-vetted group of next-gen power users, the brand eliminated the lead time typically associated with recruitment. This allowed for “sprint-style” research where qualitative research could be applied to immediate product decisions. Many brands rely on MROCs for smarter insights because they provide an always-on feedback loop that ad-hoc studies cannot match. The remote nature of the panel also enabled the team to garner insights from diverse populations across both the US and Brazil simultaneously.

Key Insights

  • Insight: Next-generation users in different markets exhibited unique cultural nuances in how they utilized specific online services.
    • → Implication: Product features and communication strategies needed to be tailored to account for these cultural opinions and localized uses.
  • Insight: Having direct access to “power users” facilitated higher engagement in concept testing.
    • → Implication: The brand could iterate on new features faster by receiving feedback from those most familiar with the platform’s core utility.
  • Insight: Monthly “Office Hours” with executives bridged the gap between high-level strategy and user reality.
    • → Implication: Stakeholders gained increased confidence in decision-making by hearing direct, unfiltered feedback from their target audience.

Business Impact

The implementation of these communities provided the client with a streamlined, scalable framework for continuous discovery. By utilizing both “full and flex” services—including participant recontacting, activity programming, and translation—the client’s research teams were able to utilize the panels to meet evolving needs in real-time. This project serves as a prime example of how to implement rolling research UX programs for continuous insights, ensuring product development remains aligned with user expectations through an agile feedback loop.

Services Provided

Partner With Touchstone Research

Ready to accelerate your product roadmap with a custom insight community? Contact our researchers today to learn how our multi-market expertise can provide the clarity your team needs.

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