IRI unveils online communities tool

US-- IRI has unveiled a new tool to allow its clients in the consumer goods industry to create their own online communities and forums.

The firm joins the likes of Virtual Surveys, FreshNetworks, BrainJuicer and Synovate in using online communities for research. It plans to combine the new ConsumerVoice service with its existing longitudinal panel to deliver “integrated insights”.

The service will be based on software from Vision Critical – which is also providing the technology for Synovate's new ‘community panels'.

Bob Tomei, president of consumer and shopper insights at IRI, said: “Historically, clients have been unable to integrate the qualitative insights provided through online consumer and shopper insights with the actual behavioural metrics obtained from longitudinal consumer purchase panels.

“The results has been an incomplete understanding of the impact of key marketing and sales programmes on actual purchase behaviour – the true measurement of ROI. Through IRI ConsumerVoice, manufacturers and retailers now have a platform to perform this integration, and perhaps more importantly, begin to develop marketing programmes directly tied to the customer insights they collect.”

As well as tapping communities for qualitative insights, clients will have the chance to use communities as a long-term source of reliable sample for quant studies, IRI said.

Author: Robert Bain