Bulletin boards are online information resources where individuals may post information that is of interest to others. Also known as Internet forums, boards are used for holding discussions and posting user-generated content.
Similar to online focus groups, they vary from them in the fact that they can be accessed around the clock, and have no set time where users must post.
The main difference between a bulletin board and an online focus group is that the focus group is interactive at a specific time, while the bulletin boards may be live for a number of days, in turn giving the participants more time to post their comments.
However, a bulletin board is also less interactive than an online focus group so it must be understood that both bulletin boards and online focus groups have different uses, and are tools that complement, rather than compete with each other.
Typical Problems Businesses Face
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Inability to accurately collate employee feedback and deduce actionable strategy from it
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Inability to accurately get feedback from customers or core internal teams on key issues before going into a full research project
Very often, running an internal bulletin board for 3 or 4 days is an ideal way to gather comments and help shape a brief for a large and/or complex research project.
Features
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Creation of online bulletin board platform to load questions for participants to comment on
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The ability for participants to log on to the bulletin board, add new comments on questions, read and review previous comments and answer them
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Secure login details for all participants
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Ease of giving feedback – participants may post to the bulletin board around the clock, any day of the week, unlike online focus groups
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Follow comment threads and post responses to specific areas
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Personalised branding of bulletin board platform
Clear Advantages
Bulletin boards as a form of research are not a totally new concept.
The main difference we have, however, is that we don’t provide the bulletin boards as a standalone service, and instead integrate them, most specifically with online focus groups.
Bulletin boards are a great starting point for getting an overview and understanding of the key areas of focus to form the parameters for both further online qualitative and quantitative research.
How it Works
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Pre-loaded questions are posted on the bulletin board
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All participants are assigned passwords and then emailed the log-in details for the bulletin board
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Once logged in, participants will see all the questions and can leave their comments and read what others have said
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Client can log-in at any time to monitor progress and prompt/suggest additional questions - client can also be setup to add new questions themselves
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At the end of the session, the bulletin board transcripts are provided and an analysis of findings made
Main Benefit
The bulletin board is live for several days (typically anything up to 2 weeks), meaning participants can read and respond to questions and comments at their own pace, as opposed to online focus groups which occur in real time
Checklist
When looking for someone to provide this service, here are some aspects to consider. Does your choice have:
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