Research Communities: Building authentic Customer Closeness in an era where authenticity is under threat
For many research participants, the typical experience can feel familiar: an unexpected survey link, a long list of questions and little indication of what happens once “submit” is clicked. Without the right approach, research risks becoming transactional, impersonal and disconnected—and for brands, capturing truly genuine customer insight has never been more challenging. In today’s environment, where bots and low-quality responses can undermine confidence in the data, the challenge of authenticity looms larger than ever.
A research community works very differently.
A Different Kind of Experience
When someone joins a community built around a brand they already know and use, the relationship changes from the very beginning. They’re welcomed as a valued customer with an important role to play.
Participants understand the context. They see their feedback goes directly to a brand they already engage with, through a credible, independent research provider who is overseeing the project. That connection makes their input more thoughtful and invested.
The tasks feel more engaging. Quick polls, discussion forums, diary exercises and concept tests keep the experience varied and relevant. Participation feels less like filling in disparate boxes and more like contributing to something that matters.
They see the impact. Unlike cold surveys, community members can hear back about what’s changed because of their input. That feedback loop builds trust and encourages continued involvement.
Why It Works for Participants — and for Brands
Small incentives can play a role, but they’re rarely the main motivator. The real draw for participants is being heard. Getting early access to ideas, the chance to co-create and the reassurance that their perspectives matter to a brand they already value drives contribution.
For brands, the benefits extend far beyond engagement:
Confidence in sample quality: Community members are known customers that can be matched back to the CRM. This reduces the risk of fraudulent, bot-driven, or low-effort responses that trigger additional data integrity checks when working with access panels.
Consistency and depth: Communities let brands observe how attitudes and behaviours shift over time, unlocking longitudinal insight that one-off surveys cannot provide.
Richer data, faster turnaround: With a standing community, insight teams can move quickly without compromising quality, tapping into a pre-profiled audience whenever questions arise.
Greater ROI: Efficiency grows over time. With each cycle of research, the community builds a richer foundation to draw from, reducing duplication and spend.
Stronger customer relationships: By involving customers in decision-making, brands strengthen loyalty and advocacy. Research becomes not just a data-gathering exercise, but a driver of brand equity.
Customer Closeness in Action
At its heart, a research community is about more than data collection — it’s about customer closeness and the authenticity of the voices being heard.
By keeping customers engaged in an ongoing dialogue, brands stay in touch with the real people behind their metrics. They don’t just ask what customers think; they build an ongoing relationship where customers feel heard, valued and included in the brand’s journey.
This closeness translates into a competitive edge. Brands that cultivate communities don’t just gain insights —they gain trust. They avoid the risks of synthetic responses while amplifying the authentic voice of the customer in strategy, innovation and day-to-day decision-making.
What We’ve Seen Across Sectors
Communities are already demonstrating their impact across industries:
Major UK retail and digital banks: Communities allow these organisations to explore customer habits, test early-stage digital features and refine marketing messages, ensuring product and service innovations resonate with target audiences.
Housing associations: Tenant communities provide insights into lived experiences and evolving needs, enabling organisations to adapt services, communications and investment priorities more effectively.
UK charities: Supporter communities help organisations better understand donor experiences, engagement drivers and fundraising preferences — informing strategies that strengthen relationships and optimise giving.
These examples highlight how customer closeness and authentic insight are achievable across sectors, directly shaping stronger decisions, more impactful strategy and deeper trust.
The Harris Poll UK Perspective
At The Harris Poll UK, we’ve spent over 25 years helping brands get closer to their consumers. Our research communities are hosted on Quest, our secure and flexible platform, supported by our teams of expert consultants — a combination designed to deliver fast, robust and meaningful insight.
We’re continually evolving our approach to reflect modern expectations for speed, interactivity and authenticity, ensuring communities remain a powerful tool for today’s decision-makers.
For us, communities aren’t just about collecting data. They’re about building ongoing, trusted relationships where customers feel heard and brands can act with confidence. That’s why we see communities not only as a source of insight, but as a sustainable capability for genuine customer closeness.
The Harris Poll UK, A Stagwell Company, is a leading market research company that provides some of the UK’s best-loved brands with game-changing insights. We utilise a combination of proprietary software and advisory services to deliver data insights via custom service models. We help our clients make informed decisions based on our in-depth industry expertise and our continual exploration of evolving consumer needs and priorities. We know that when a company’s Business Strategy and Customer Strategy are one and the same, their brand and their employees are better placed to succeed.
If you’d like to hear more about how communities are evolving — and what that could mean for your brand — we’d be glad to continue the conversation.