Market Research Online Communities (MROCs) provide an agile, cost-effective way for brands to gather continuous insights from their target audiences. These private, branded communities enable researchers to engage participants in real-time discussions, test concepts, and explore behaviors in a natural digital setting. At Touchstone Research, we help brands design, recruit for, and manage online communities tailored to their strategic goals.

What Is a Market Research Online Community?

A Market Research Online Community (MROC) is a dedicated digital space where selected participants engage with a brand or research team over time. Unlike one-off surveys or focus groups, MROCs foster ongoing dialogue, building deeper relationships with participants while capturing longitudinal insights. These communities typically include 100 to 5,000+ members and use a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods to gather feedback.

Benefits of Using Market Research Online Communities

1. Real-Time, Ongoing Feedback

MROCs allow researchers to ask questions, share stimuli, and collect responses quickly. Whether you’re testing ad concepts, exploring product ideas, or gathering opinions on trends, you can pivot in real time.

2. Natural, Authentic Engagement

Since participants interact in familiar online formats (discussion boards, polls, diaries), they tend to share more candid and thoughtful feedback than in traditional research settings.

3. Longitudinal Insights

Unlike a one-time study, MROCs reveal how opinions shift over weeks or months, which is especially useful for concept development, brand tracking, or UX research.

4. Flexible Methodologies

You can layer surveys, in-depth interviews, video feedback, co-creation activities, and even usability testing—all within one community.

5. Cost Efficiency

Because MROCs support multiple research activities over time, they often deliver a lower cost-per-insight than running separate studies.

Touchstone’s Approach to Online Market Research Communities

Touchstone Research specializes in building custom market research communities for clients in media, tech, youth, education, and more. We support:

• Insight Communities: Qual-focused communities with ongoing activities like digital diaries, IDIs, and discussion boards.
• Pop-Up Communities: Short-term communities (3–30 days) built around specific campaigns, concepts, or product tests.
• Community Panels: Larger-scale communities (2,000–20,000+ members) blending qual and quant activities like surveys, focus groups, and trackers.

Each community is designed to reflect your brand identity, meet your objectives, and ensure a seamless participant experience.

Why Brands Choose Touchstone for Their MROC Needs

• Proven Tech Infrastructure: Enterprise-grade platforms with real-time dashboards, segmentation tools, and AI-enhanced features.
• Rigorous Recruitment: In-house team manages market research participant recruitment, validation, and onboarding—including youth and hard-to-reach demographics.
• Dedicated Moderators: Our expert team of qualitative research moderators are skilled in facilitating both adult and youth conversations using projective and cognitive interviewing techniques.
• Content Testing Expertise: Integrated with proprietary tools like Dial Testing and Secure Content Testing (SCT).
• Flexible Service Models: From full-service online research community management to modular support, we adapt to your workflow.

Use Cases for Online Communities in Market Research

• Ad Testing: Gauge reactions to video ads, storyboards, or social content over time.
• Concept Co-Creation: Collaborate with consumers to refine product or content ideas.
• Journey Mapping: Track behaviors and perceptions over multiple touchpoints.
• Trend Exploration: Use ongoing activities to stay ahead of cultural or generational shifts.
• UX Feedback Loops: Incorporate design feedback directly into your development cycles.

FAQs about Market Research Online Communities

Make Smarter Decisions with a Touchstone MROC

If you want deeper insights, faster turnarounds, and continuous access to your target audience, market research online communities are an ideal solution. With Touchstone’s tech, talent, and tailored support, your MROC can become a powerful driver of strategic clarity.

Contact us today to explore what a custom research community could look like for your brand.

About the Author

Aaron Burch

CEO & Co-Founder, Touchstone Research

Aaron Burch is the CEO of Touchstone Research, where he leads a team of experts in delivering innovative, tech-forward market research solutions for global brands. With over 20 years of experience in qualitative, quantitative, and youth-focused research, Aaron has helped shape industry best practices in market research online communities & panels, data privacy, and AI-powered insights. He is a recognized leader in the research space, known for building strong client partnerships and driving continuous innovation across methodologies.