--- title: 3 Golden Rules for Building an Online Insight Platform description: The way we conduct research is constantly changing in accordance to the world around us, so the platforms we conduct that research on must adapt too. Here are 3 key rules to keep in mind when designing, building, and maintaining an online insights platform. image: https://blog.flexmr.net/hubfs/Golden%20Rules%20Header.png --- close ## Ready to level up your insights? Get ready to streamline, scale and supercharge your research. Fill out this form to request a demo of the InsightHub platform and discover the difference insights empowerment can make. A member of our team will reach out within two working days. close ## Cost effective insights that scale Quality insight doesn't need to cost the earth. Our flexible approach helps you make the most of research budgets and build an agile solution that works for you. Fill out this form to request a call back from our team to explore our pricing options. 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[Listen Now](https://resources.flexmr.net/mrx-lab-podcast) - ### Featured Stories - [Specsavers Informs Key Marketing Decisions with InsightHub](https://resources.flexmr.net/specsavers) - [The Coventry Panel Helps Maintain Award Winning CX](https://resources.flexmr.net/coventry-building-society) - [Isagenix Customer Community Steers New Product Launch](https://resources.flexmr.net/isa-insights) - [Curo Engage Residents with InsightHub Community](https://resources.flexmr.net/curo) - [Tech & Trends](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/tech-trends) / - [Research Methods](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/research-methods) / - [Strategic Thinking](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/strategic-thinking) / 7 MIN READ ## 3 Golden Rules for Building an Online Insight Platform #### Emily James # [Workshops and Beacons: A Guide to Building Custome...](https://blog.flexmr.net/workshops-beacons-customer-salience) Most organisations are not short of data, insight or decks.Their biggest challenge is not whether cu... [Read more](https://blog.flexmr.net/workshops-beacons-customer-salience) 9 MIN READ #### Ed Hill - [Events (1)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/events) - [Insights Empowerment (38)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/insights-empowerment) - [Practical Application (178)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/practical-application) - [Research Methods (285)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/research-methods) - [Strategic Thinking (232)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/strategic-thinking) - [Survey Templates (7)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/survey-templates) - [Tech & Trends (397)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/tech-trends) The way we conduct research is constantly changing in accordance to the world around us. Influencing factors that would never have been a factor 5 years ago, are now essential to consider as they add another dynamic layer of understanding to our insights arsenal. With the ways in which we conduct market research changing, the platforms we conduct that research on must adapt too; so in order to build the best online insights platform, how do we cater for the ever-changing requirements of market research? | ![Tweet from FlexMR](https://www.flexmr.net/images/webpage-images/45-tweet-this-from-flexmr.png) | ***Tweet This*** | | --- | --- | | [The ways in which we conduct market research are changing, so the platforms we conduct that research on must adapt too; how do we cater for the ever-changing requirements of market research?](https://ctt.ac/1654G) | | ### 1. Support Diverse Research Methods Building a platform that enables qualitative, quantitative and behavioural research tasks to be completed and recorded is essential to the success of a great online insights platform. With the number of research methods and techniques growing at a fast rate, allowing for a good number to be supported on your platform is crucial for the best chance of accurate insight generation. There are many ways to build an insights platform that collects and sorts data; you only need to google the words ‘online insights platform’ in order to see a variety of takes on what an insights platform should be like. At FlexMR we have designed our InsightHub to support both quantitative and qualitative research tasks in order for our clients to gather the best quality and variety of data possible in order to generate accurate insights. The tools we have created are a blend of quant and qual research technology; traditional research methods that still work wonders today are survey and focus group research, however creative qualitative techniques such as concept sentiment tracking and beta testing can be done through our less traditional diary and smartboard tools. This range of methods keeps research engaging and thought-provoking for both researchers and participants, which is essential for a variety of data and lots of opportunities for insight generation. However, this isn’t the only way in which research methods have been combined. [FuelCycle](https://fuelcycle.com/) is a virtual marketplace for research tools. A number of market research firms have joined together and offer their services through the FuelCycle app, so researchers can gain in-the-moment insights whenever and wherever they may be. This collaboration is entirely unique, and has the same effect as FlexMR’s InsightHub wherein researchers have a blend of research techniques at their fingertips for engaging data collection. ### 2. Facilitate Great UX for All Platform Users Think about the ways in which your customers move around a website. Most of the time, they know what they’re looking for; though sometimes, they are just looking to browse. Either way, the usability of a website is key to the customers’ enjoyment; you don’t make it hard for your customers to find what they want on your website, so why would you do the same for your research platform? Research participants will log in to your research platform either to complete a specific task, or just see what is available to them at the time. The better their user experience, the better quality (and more importantly, the more accurate) your data and insights will be. If you make it hard for participants to submit their answers, or too complicated so they can’t find their way to your research tasks in the first place, then you will either get frustrated, rushed answers or no answers at all. The usability isn’t just beneficial for your research participants; it greatly impacts the work your researchers will do too, as the harder it is for researchers to moderate focus groups, programme surveys, conduct sentiment analysis or beta tests, and subsequently export the data for analysis, then the lesser quality analyses and insights you will gain from the research you conduct. James Higham states in his paper *Developing a research platform: Personal reflections*, experience shows that distinction in research is built upon a strong and clear research platform, which requires an approach to research that is carefully planned and concerted. ### 3. Build and Maintain with Innovation in Mind Every market research platform that is around today was once at the peak of innovation when it first appeared on the scene. The key is to first identify which innovative aspect of the insights industry you wish to incorporate within your online insights platform, and then keep up with innovative trends and evolve your product to keep up with the demand. Innovation can be tricky to pin down, especially when there are so many different market research platforms out there already. So how do you make yours innovative in order to compete with the rest? | ![Tweet from FlexMR](https://www.flexmr.net/images/webpage-images/45-tweet-this-from-flexmr.png) | ***Tweet This*** | | --- | --- | | [Innovation can be tricky to pin down, especially when there are so many different market research platforms out there already. So how do you make yours innovative in order to compete with the rest?](https://ctt.ac/3e10m) | | Keeping up with the latest technology, the latest research trends, and latest consumer behaviours will help in this regard. Technology such as Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality allow for better [concept testing](https://blog.flexmr.net/top-10-dos-and-donts-of-concept-testing) and sentiment analysis research to be conducted. However it isn’t just AR and VR that are transforming the industry, automation is a very appealing concept for many within the Insights Industry. We already know that [bots](https://www.insites-consulting.com/bots-take-over-the-heavy-lifting/) and chatbots can be used to take over research tasks that require no human empathy, however with advancements in Machine Learning and AI, soon their reach may extend to moderation and other interactive research tasks that might normally be conducted by humans. This is definitely a trend to watch in the future in order to realise and take advantage of its full untapped potential. As far as research trends go, keeping up with research professionals on social media and in articles has informed me of many innovative research trends that are taking the industry by storm; Betty Adamou’s recent publication on [*Games and Gamification in Market Research*](https://www.researchthroughgaming.com/gamification/the-book-is-here-games-and-gamification-in-market-research-increasing-consumer-engagement-in-research-for-business-success/) for example, is especially exciting as it innovates typical market research techniques in order to enhance market research engagement. One research debate that is going on at this present time within the industry is the effectiveness of behavioural research techniques such as social listening in the accurate prediction of consumer behaviour. Arguments for and against are being had over social media, research magazines, webinars and podcasts, and will go on until a research method that yields continuously accurate predictive results whether that be with behavioural research techniques or other research techniques entirely. Until the predictive need has been met, there will be arguments for and against each research method under the sun. ### Conclusion Of course there are more aspects of an online insights platform that you should consider, however, in order to create a successful online insights platform that continues to be relevant throughout the years, there are three key rules you need to keep in mind. Allowing a mix of market research methods to be conducted on an innovative insights platform with great user experience will open your users up to more opportunities for better quality insights that are generated from a variety of sources. [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/1682149/a07b9b9f-fee9-447c-a050-1e3fa9d77f53.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/1682149/a07b9b9f-fee9-447c-a050-1e3fa9d77f53) #### About FlexMR We are The Insights Empowerment Company. We help research, product and marketing teams drive informed decisions with efficient, scalable & impactful insight. #### About Emily James As a professional copywriter, Emily brings our global vision to life through a broad range of industry-leading content. #### Stay up to date ## You might also like... ![Blog Featured Image Header](https://blog.flexmr.net/hubfs/Marketing_Files/Blogs/Headers/retaining_human_touch_customer_salience_cx_ai.png) ### [Retaining a Human Touch with Custom...](https://blog.flexmr.net/customer-salience-cx-ai) In recent years, companies have embraced artificial intelligence (AI) at pace, swept up in a technological momentum that promises efficiency and cost savings. However, in their rush to pursue quickly ... [Continue reading](https://blog.flexmr.net/customer-salience-cx-ai) 5 MIN READ ![Blog Featured Image Header](https://blog.flexmr.net/hubfs/Marketing_Files/Blogs/Headers/casual_conversation_iosetta_santini.png) ### [A Casual Conversation... with Ioset...](https://blog.flexmr.net/casual-conversation-iosetta-santini) Most research projects still currently end with a powerpoint report and a debrief. This has become deeply entrenched as the industry standard, and it is what stakeholders have come to expect when they... [Continue reading](https://blog.flexmr.net/casual-conversation-iosetta-santini) 4 MIN READ ![Blog Featured Image Header](https://blog.flexmr.net/hubfs/Marketing_Files/Blogs/Headers/synthetic_data_richer_market_insights.png) ### [Synthetic Data: The Key to Richer M...](https://blog.flexmr.net/synthetic-data-richer-market-insights) In the dynamic world of market research, the need for robust and accurate data is critical. Whilst the increased prevalence of generative AI has provided a range of benefits to market research process... 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