Briefly described, a customer panel is a meeting of various people from the target audience who visit or have visited your website. A panel is therefore a suitable way to quickly gain insight into their wishes and what they miss on the website. In a panel, emotion and speaking freely play a large part in something we can measure less or not at all online.
Ensure during the panel discussion that everyone feels welcome to share experiences and/or express opinions. The panel leader explains the rules of the panel discussion to the participants beforehand. If you are the panel leader, try to remain neutral; afterwards, you can determine how relevant a particular answer was.
Purpose of the customer panel
As specialists, we at Follo want to gain more insight into the expectations of a customer when they visit a website. Does the website meet the expectations and buying behavior of the customer? During a panel discussion, you can thoroughly inquire about which motivations are missing and how the customer reacts to the website. Signals we look for include:
- Is information missing
- What emotion is present among the panel members
- Does the page have the right structure and layout
- Are there elements that negatively distract (pop-ups, etc.)
- Is it clear what the page is trying to convey
Method
We conduct a customer panel by clicking through the website in a group and asking questions on certain pages. The pages we recommend highlighting are the following:
- eCommerce
- Homepage
- Category page
- Product detail page
- Service page (FAQ)
- About us
- Leadgen
- Homepage
- Information page
- Landing page
- Form page
- Thank you page
Information gathering before the customer panel
At Follo, we find it important that there are always two panel leaders present, so you can switch between the two roles. These roles are crucial for data collection.
Data collection
Make sure to record the panel discussion. If you work with two panel leaders, you can turn on audio recordings on two different phones or use other recording equipment. Usually, the recording is kept for 60 days, and only the action points are stored as a summary afterwards. By indicating what is done with the data, you ensure transparency, which can again foster trust among the panel members.
Role 1: Presenting leader
The presenting leader is the speaker towards the participants. Additionally, the presenter guides the participants through the website. Questions are always prepared before a customer panel. The presenting leader asks the questions during the panel discussion.
Role 2: Observing leader
The observing leader maintains an overview within the group. The observer takes notes alongside the recording, where it is important to note the time, so it can be found later via the recording. Additionally, the observing leader asks in-depth questions after the presenting leader asks the pre-prepared questions.
Not all information is equally useful. Both panel leaders will need to prioritize the recording and notes afterwards based on the received points and/or feedback moments. Keep in mind that after conducting the customer panel, the administration will also take some time.
Inviting participants
We recommend maintaining a customer panel of at least 4 and at most 12 participants. It is possible that participants drop out at the last moment. It is important to take this into account. Our experience is that there are always a few participants who do not show up. Additionally, it is important that the participants fit within the target audience.
Below you will find some suitable participants:
- Participants who are not yet familiar with the brand but fit within the market.
- Commercial sellers and/or representatives of a brand or company in the same industry.
- Someone who recently purchased something from the brand
Make sure to invite a diversity of participants whose ages and places of residence also differ. The target audience must fit within the brand's personas.
What we are less fond of:
- Friends and/or family of employees or panel leaders.
- People from one channel; this is further explained under “recruitment of participants”.
- People who frequently participate in prize draws.
Recruitment of participants
When recruiting participants, it is important to consider a number of things:
- Inviting participants is best done through various channels; think of email, social media (from Instagram to LinkedIn), word-of-mouth requests, telephone contact.
- Tone-of-voice: it should mainly feel pleasant and grateful that we are being helped.
- Combine the panel discussion with a tour and/or demonstration.
To recruit participants, it can of course be mentioned that they will receive a small compensation after the research. However, we recommend not to focus on this.
Time/date of the panel discussion
Research which times work; especially with consumers (B2C), it may be that a moment on the weekend and/or in the evening works better. Try to set the date as soon as possible, so participants can reserve time in their agendas well in advance. Indicate in the invitation how long the panel discussion will last. This will be between 1 and 1.5 hours.
Covid/lockdown rules
Due to possible corona rules, it is wise to put the email addresses of the participants on a special email list. If new measures are announced that are unfavorable for the panel discussion, it will have to be rescheduled. You can quickly inform the participants via the mailing list.
A customer panel can also be held digitally, for example via Zoom, but this is not our preference.
Also want to hold a customer panel?
By engaging an external party like Follo, you ensure sufficient neutrality to hold the customer panel. Additionally, we also take the pressure off you, so you can continue focusing on your own tasks.
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