But how can you make sure you're consistently and effectively gathering this information? One solution is to create a customer research panel.

What is a customer research panel?

A customer research panel is a group of representative customers who have agreed to regularly provide feedback and insights on your products, services, and marketing efforts.

By establishing user research via a customer research panel, you can ensure that you have a consistent source of customer feedback. You can conduct regular research to gather the information you need to inform your decision-making processes.

Research panels are also an opportunity to evolve your ideas. By involving the same target group and panel members throughout your business you'd be better equipped to move in the right direction.

But how do you create a customer research panel? We’ve compiled a few practical tips to help you get started.

1. Identify your target audience

2. Recruit participants

3. Set up a system for gathering feedback

4. Share feedback with the relevant teams

1. Identify your target audience

Who are your customers, and what are their needs, intent and preferences?

Make sure you have a clear understanding of your target audience. When you truly know your specific audience it's a lot easier to recruit the right participants for your customer research panel.

2. Recruit participants

Your customers are your business. Reach out to them and recruit. A representative sample of your target audience is vital to your research project.

Ask if they would be interested in participating in your customer research panel. To encourage participation try offering incentives, like discounts or exclusive access to new products or services.

3. Set up a system for gathering feedback

Determine your research method. How will you be collecting feedback from your customer research panel? Will you be conducting surveys, social media initiatives, online panels, interviews, market research panels or focus groups?

Choose the method that best suits your offerings and make sure you have a plan in place for regularly gathering and organising this information.

4. Share feedback with the relevant teams

Feedback is vital. After all, that’s what research panels are for.

Make sure the feedback from your customer research panel is shared with your relevant teams and incorporated into decision-making processes.

This ensures that customer insights are given the weight they deserve in product development and marketing efforts.

Creating a customer research panel can help you conduct continuous customer discovery. It vastly helps you gather the insights you need to inform your decision-making processes.

By following these practical tips, we’re confident you can establish a viable customer research process and start gathering valuable insights on a regular basis.

This can lead to more successful products, stronger customer relationships, and ultimately, greater business success.

Working with Codehouse

At Codehouse, we perform user research for our customers to help validate ideas both in the early design phases as well as for those products and services already in the users’ hands.

You should book a slot for a 15 minute, complimentary, consultancy session with our Head of Product Strategy. He will give you advice and guidance on how you can get to really know your customers and exceed their expectations.