The digital era has also changed the way surveys are conducted. Telephone surveys are swapped with the research panelist community. Wondering, what a research panel is? It is a pre-profiled group of people, who are keen to participate in studies like online surveys, focus groups, IDIs [in-depth interviews], IHUTs [in-house usage tests], or mobile ethnographies. To become a research panelist, the members share a lot of personal information with the panel provider company. It includes –

• Behavioral data
• Demographic data
• Household data

With this readily available information, research practitioners can use them for their potential survey. It helps them establish the survey budget and a timeline.

Why choose research panelists from panel providers?

Research panels can either mean managing an in-house panel or outsourcing from a panel provider. The reasons why market research participants are better from a panel provider are –

• Hundreds and thousands of global participants are curated carefully before recruiting.
• Invited panelists are ID-proofed and then profiled for project qualification.
• The validated panelists are offered relevant rewards for their efforts and kept active and engaged.
• Feel confident about data quality.
• Contact their experts to design your survey, NOW!

Having pre-validated respondent groups offer multiple advantages to the survey like –

Quick fieldwork turnaround

When you have limited time and there is a need for a quick survey then approach panel providers because they have a pre-profiled research panel. As the panel has respondents suitable to your research needs, it becomes your target market sampling. You can certainly attain a cost-effective and quick information-gathering.

High-quality response rates

The panelists have willingly agreed to take the survey and the panel providers are kept motivated in their research. It means the chances to get ‘caught cold’ in a survey is possibly low.

Diverse perspectives

A solid research panel comprises many individuals belonging to professions, diverse backgrounds, locations, and age groups. This eventually allows you to reflect on your specific target customers during the research project.

Better brand positioning

Brands and organizations do everything possible to gain an edge in this cutthroat marketplace. It is hard to distinguish based on your unique selling point [USP]. The area, which you can still take hold of includes customer experience. Online research panels help to reach the core of your customer experience.

Who makes use of market research panelists?

The 3rd party panelists are used by research organizations and market research companies to reach interested respondents for their different survey projects. Studies that need to reach a specific kind of audience employ market research panels. Trying to search specific audiences is time-consuming and expensive in comparison to hiring a pre-profiled market research panel.

If you plan to perform a lot of B2B market research then manage your own panel because it helps to –

• Control respondent quality
• Create every panelist’s rich profile
• Deliver insights frequently and instantly
• Saving costs down the road
• Use panelists for any type of research methodology [3rd party research panels are generally used for quantitative researches]

Managing your own panel needs plenty of upfront investment. Once the in-house panel goes live, it needs time investment to nurture, engage, and manage the team. To maximize the reliability and quality of your 3rd party research panel ensure to choose the ideal panel provider.