Private Panel
An online customer panel, also known as a private panel or participant panel, is an on-line environment which you can use to get in touch with your target audience. A panel is used when it is necessary to regularly conduct research on a particular target audience. It is a very suitable way to enter a dialogue with your customers and collect feedback on issues. It is not suitable for conducting customer satisfaction research or image research, because panel members are often prejudiced with regards to the organisation.
Advantages of the Customer Panel
Customer Interaction
A customer panel is often used to actively interact with customers. Involving customers in the process of developing products and services can advance innovativeness, and result in discovering new trends.
Higher Return
The panel stimulates customer retention because the customer knows he or she is heard. This makes the customer feel more involved with the company and that will have its effects.
Quick, Cheap, and Simple
Working with a customer panel is quick, cheap, and simple. These advantages are all connected to the online aspect. You connect quickly to your target group. Secondly, background data does not have to be gathered anew each time, because it is already documented. It is cheap because you can communicate through e-mail. Evaluations can easily be repeated.
Reliable and Good Service
It has been proven that only 3% of the interviewed clients have had a negative experience with online panel agencies. 71% are very positive about the agencies. The speed, reliability, and quality of service that the agencies offer creates high customer satisfaction (Clou, November 2008).
Your Exclusive Panel Members
Characteristic of a private panel is that the panel members in the panel are yours exclusively. You have control over how often the respondents are invited, whether or not they will receive a reward for filling out a questionnaire, what the topics are, etc.
Maintaining a Private Panel
Do keep in mind that a customer panel requires maintenance. Make sure the panel members have the right expectations. Do not be overly enthusiastic at start, and make sure to meet the expectations you raise.
ISIZ can manage your panels for you. ISIZ can ensure that you will have a fixed number of people in your panel. ISIZ also keeps track of which people are actively participating. This way, you can be ensured that your panel is always up to date.
Synchronise with your Organisation!
Because of various web service skills of ISIZ, it is possible to link your panel to your SAP, PeopleSoft, Dynamics, web site, CRM application, and more. This allows your customers to log in with the data that already exists in your company. You can also use background information to conduct targeted samples.
Standards
Because there are no official standards or guidelines for using access panels, ISIZ adheres to the ISO 26362. This ISO norm is aimed at public panels, but is very useful because it has many points in common to customer panels. More information on panels can be found on the Wiki. This information is only in Dutch available.
If you would like to see for yourself how a panel works, please check the demos.
