Consumer Panel Management

Since the behavior of consumers is always changing. To keep up with an

evolving marketplace and better understand what consumers are buying
brands turn to consumer panels for answers.
A consumer panel is defined as a method of gathering ongoing data
from shoppers in order to gain insight into their attitudes, behavior, and
purchasing habits. It is also defined as a representative group of people
used for marketing research or it is defined as a group of individuals
brought together with the express purpose of providing opinions, insight,
and feedback on products and services. In simple terms, a consumer
research panel is the participating audience in market research
campaigns.

How is consumer panel data collected?

Consumer panel data is collected through surveys and receipts of
shoppers who have agreed to participate. Surveys are used to reveal
attitudinal data: how consumers are thinking and feeling about their
shopping needs and experiences. Receipts shed light on longitudinal
data, which examines how consumer spending and purchasing behavior
change over a period of time.

What does a consumer panel reveal in market research?

A consumer panel’s distinct advantage over other types of market
research is that it can answer a range of questions about key consumer
habits in great detail.

● Who: Consumer panels are used to understand the behavior of a

specific population of people, so the data is drawn from a

representative sample of consumers being studied in order to
present an accurate picture.
● Where: Panels collect shopping and purchasing data from all retail

outlets, including ecommerce and online channels, specialty

 stores, as well as new forms of product distribution such as Click
and Collect.
● What: To best measure sales and purchasing behavior within a

category, panels capture spending on all products and available

brands that make up the category.

The one disadvantage of consumer panels is that they aren’t always

able to answer the question of why consumers may choose certain
products over others. However, Numerator consumer panels address
and overcome this issue through our surveys, which allow consumers to
share the reasoning behind their purchases.

Why are consumer panels important?

With the in-depth insights consumer panels provide, brands are able to
identify how consumer behavior is changing in real-time and the impact
those shifts are having on product sales. For instance, panels can clarify
whether a decrease in sales is due to fewer households buying the
brand or to existing buyers purchasing less than they did previously. A
few of the consumer behavior patterns panels analyze include:

● Basket attributes: Spend per trip, the time of day shopping

occurs, payment methods, and usage of different delivery methods

● Demographic attributes: Age, income, ethnicity, household size,

education, and employment

● Attitudinal and psychographic attributes: The interests,

attitudes, and lifestyles of buyers

● Volume and shifting buyer behavior: How the behavior of new,

lost, or retained buyers impacts product volume and which stores

they choose to shop in
● Brand interactions: The different brands buyers consider

purchasing
Additionally, consumer panel data breaks down overall household
purchasing behavior. A few common household metrics captured
through panels include:

● Household Penetration: What percentage of households are

buying a product?
● Purchase Frequency: How often are households making

purchases?
● Buy Rate: How much are households spending when they shop?

● Repeat Sales: Are households returning and purchasing the same

products?

Managed consumer panels provide trustworthy results

Though there are different types of consumer panels, two of the most
common are managed panels and convenience panels.

A convenience panel allows consumers to opt-in and out of the data

gathering process at will. This means demographics and other details
are only available if a consumer voluntarily gives them, which creates
gaps not only in track but in projection. In other words, it’s difficult to
anticipate how accurate or trustworthy the results will be.

Managed panels consist of a static group of consumers who are willing

to give regular insight and updates into their shopping behavior along
with verified demographic information. For example, Numerator’s
managed panels provide demographic profiles for 100% of their static
panelists and psychographic attributes for 97% of them. This means
brands can trust they’re receiving consistent and conclusive data on
whether buyers have truly changed behavior.

Consumer panel data vs POS (Point of Sale) data

POS (Point of Sale) data is essentially about measuring sales. POS data
is collected directly from retailers through store scanners. By recording
the sale of every unit scanned from every shopping trip, POS data
captures and tracks information including the number of sales at each
retailer, average pricing preferences, and the best-selling products. It’s
an ideal source of sales insights but misses out on the human
component.

Consumer panels collect point of sale data but are also about
understanding people. Panels are better able to break down who the
different buyers are of a particular product over a specific time period as
well as why they’re buying those items. This deeper analysis of
consumer behavior helps brands track sales and figure out how to
improve them.

Consumer panels vs focus groups

Focus groups are another popular research method used to primarily
collect opinions and feedback from consumers. While this makes focus
groups a great source of attitudinal data, they’re often limited in scope
because the information is gathered only once and the participants may
vary with each group.

Consumer panels document shopper attitudes by studying the same

group of participants on an ongoing basis. By continuously monitoring
shoppers, brands gain a greater awareness of where behavioral trends
are headed and can better adapt their marketing and promotional
approach as a result.

***

Brands win when they understand who their consumers are and what
they want, not just what they’re buying. Consumer panels offer thorough
and firsthand data on the evolving shopper mindset giving brands the
ability to strategize and best meet consumer needs both now and in the
future.

Why set up your own panel?

When a company wants to collect reliable information on its targets in order to

carry out a complete market study, it must interview consumers. For this, two
panel survey options are available to the organization:

Hire a survey agency

Decide to carry out your studies internally by creating your own panel of
buyers.

Each of these solutions has certain advantages, but for a company that
wishes to question its customers on a recurring basis and be free to use the
data collected, it is more interesting to mobilize the means to constitute its
own panel and manage it independently.

How to build your consumer panel?

1. Determine sample size

In order for the sample to be representative, the right number of panelists to

be recruited must be determined.

2. Recruit panelists

To inform individuals about the recruitment of a consumer panel, a company

must first prioritize the use of internal means that it can easily dispose of and
without incurring significant costs. It is obvious that people who are already
customers will be more inclined to become a member of a panel.
3. Motivate individuals to be part of your panel

In order to convince a person to join a panel, it is necessary to inform them

about several key points:

What is the purpose of this study?

What is the duration of the commitment?

What reward will the member get in exchange for his participation?

On what topics and themes will he be questioned?

How often will it be requested?

It is also important to inform the candidate about the type of test that will be
submitted to him.

Maintaining a relationship with respondents to keep them engaged over the

long term

Once you have recruited enough participants, you will need to manage your
communications with them by explaining what it means to be on your panel
and how you will contact them for future surveys.

Be clear about your expectations

The most important thing to keep your panel motivated over the long term is to
be transparent with them. He will be all the more involved if he knows that the
time he has spent answering is well used by the company.

Maintain personal contact with panel members

Personalization is an aspect that will boost the engagement rate and the
participation rate. Sending personalized messages or not submitting the same
questionnaire several times to the same person helps keep members
engaged and involved.

Reward your panelists

Rewards are essential not only to attract panelists, but also to maintain good
response rates when you launch your survey. Keep your rewards relevant,
money is usually a better motivator than gifts. Monetary rewards can be
accumulated through a points system based on the number of studies in
which panelists participate.

These analyzes make it possible to identify the key success factors that can
help improve business performance at several levels. Obviously, the longer a
marketing panel is questioned over a long period of time, the more relevant
and precise the summaries will be.