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Empowering Members of a Brand Community to Gain Consumer Insights and Create New Products: The Case of the Vorwerk Thermomix Research Community

In: Strategy and Communication for Innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Madeleine Kröper

    (HYVE)

  • Volker Bilgram

    (RWTH Aachen/ HYVE)

  • Ramona Wehlig

    (Vorwerk International and Division Thermomix)

Abstract

Online Research Communities (ORCs) have ushered marketing research into a new era and are one of the fastest-growing segments in the industry. ORCs offer a selected number of consumers a closed online environment in which they interact and co-create with the company not only in “one-off” projects but over an extended period of time. The approach distinguishes itself by the flexibility and diversity of market research methodologies that can be applied. In our case study we describe the set-up, live phase and post-processing of the Vorwerk Thermomix Research Community. Over the duration of 3 weeks, Thermomix invited customers, who are also registered users of the brand’s official online recipe community, to participate in a moderated ORC. There were two major goals. First, Thermomix wanted to understand consumers’ “cooking journeys”, i.e. learn how they decide what to cook, plan their cooking, buy groceries etc. Second, Thermomix aimed to co-create with its customers and develop new features and functionalities for the Thermomix recipe community which serves as a central meeting place for cooking enthusiasts and brand fans. In the study, we show how the ORC was designed to answer our research questions and what methodological benefits the method yields. Furthermore, we investigate the user types that contributed to the platform most and provide insights into how to boost activity levels on the platform. In today’s social media context, ORCs are a valuable tool for brands to connect with their customers and engage them in value creating activities. This chapter sheds light on this new research approach and unveils the potential of brand community members for insight generation and co-innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Madeleine Kröper & Volker Bilgram & Ramona Wehlig, 2013. "Empowering Members of a Brand Community to Gain Consumer Insights and Create New Products: The Case of the Vorwerk Thermomix Research Community," Springer Books, in: Nicole Pfeffermann & Tim Minshall & Letizia Mortara (ed.), Strategy and Communication for Innovation, edition 2, chapter 0, pages 415-426, Springer.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-642-41479-4_24
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-41479-4_24
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    Cited by:

    1. Alexander Brem & Volker Bilgram & Adele Gutstein, 2021. "Involving Lead Users in Innovation: A Structured Summary of Research on the Lead User Method," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Alexander Brem (ed.), Emerging Issues and Trends in INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT, chapter 2, pages 21-48, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..

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