Knowing your members’ opinions is important, but understanding why they believe what they do will elevate your strategic planning to the next level. Qualitative market research is a critical complement to quantitative studies, allowing you to dig deeper and understand motivations, behaviors and opinions that help you build tactics to support your strategy.
Cooperative Insights provides a qualitative solution called the Front Porch Forum, which is customized for the unique needs of cooperatives.
A Front Porch Forum is a focus group, but you can leave the coffee and doughnuts at home because we have taken it virtual.
This service blends the familiar feel of social networking sites with a traditional focus group to provide your members with the opportunity to share their feedback.
The Front Porch Forum platform is an interactive, invitation-only space that accommodates up to 75 participants for approximately one week, and all forums are moderated by Cooperative Insights, as well as a designee from your cooperative. The methodology provides participants with go-at-your-own pace flexibility, and it can be accessed from all kinds of devices.
Online participants can be shown photos, videos and/or be directed to visit a website for review and discussion. Cooperatives can share videos and images of newsletters, webpages, bill designs and more. A service available since 2017, Cooperative Insights performs dozens of Front Porch Forums per year, covering topics from electric vehicle charging to sustainability to feedback on redesigned websites and more.
Powered by the principal of “cooperation among cooperatives,” a Forum With Friends enables 2-3 cooperatives to work together to gather feedback from their members on a shared topic of interest.
Topics offered this year include:
1. Contact Cooperative Insights, and tell us about your topic and goals for the session.
2. We will draft a discussion guide and provide it to you for feedback.
3. When the discussion guide is complete, we will begin programming it while you send us your member data.
4. We will segment the data and send e-mail invitations to your members, targeting a maximum of 75 participants.
5. The weeklong forum launches on an identified date, and members join, working at their own pace. We will moderate the forum, and you are welcome to participate in the forum at any level.
6. Upon completion of the forum, Cooperative Insights will provide a detailed report of the findings.
7. Members receive a small, one-time incentive of $15-$25, issued by Cooperative Insights or by the host cooperative.
Includes preparing and programming discussion guide, recruiting participants, moderating the forum and developing a report.
Let's talk! See how a forum can serve your cooperative, and learn more about pricing, which includes preparing and programming discussion guide, recruiting participants, moderating the forum and developing a report. Special offers apply for running more than one Front Porch Forum in a year.
