Toluna Communities are online research communities that give brands continuous access to consumer feedback. Think of them as digital spaces where companies can engage with a group of well-profiled, pre-recruited consumers who have opted in to participate in ongoing research activities.

These platforms are designed for speed and agility. Brands can test ideas, evaluate messaging, and track evolving consumer behavior all within a centralized environment. Whether it's a quick pulse survey or a series of open-ended qualitative questions, Toluna lets you run targeted research in real-time, without starting from scratch each time.

How It Works

Brands work with Toluna to set up a dedicated community tailored to their audience – be it Gen Z snackers, working parents testing new apps, or B2B tech decision-makers. Once the community is established, you can launch surveys or activities on-demand using intuitive tools within the platform.

Here's a simplified breakdown of how most teams leverage Toluna:

• Recruit: Define your audience and recruit members to build a community that matches your target market.
• Engage: Launch surveys, polls, diary studies, or discussion boards to gather qualitative and quantitative data.
• Analyze: Use built-in analytics tools or outside expertise to surface patterns and unlock deeper behavioral insights.
• Iterate: Reconnect with the same audience to test refinements, dig deeper, or explore emerging topics.

This iterative research model is especially powerful. Rather than conducting one-off studies and moving on, Toluna Communities support ongoing learning cycles. Need to explore why a product test scored low? Follow up that same week. Want to re-test a revised concept? Ask the same group again. This creates a tight sync between internal decision-making and consumer behavior.

For insights professionals and business leaders alike, tools like Toluna signal a shift toward more democratic, accessible, and responsive market research. No longer limited by long timelines or budget-heavy studies, even lean teams can use platforms like Toluna to gather directional feedback quickly and at scale.

Backed by behavioral tracking capabilities and systemized data collection, Toluna allows you not just to ask what people say – but observe what they do over time. And with today’s market conditions evolving faster than ever, staying close to consumer behavior is no longer optional – it’s critical.

One of the main reasons brands turn to Toluna Communities is the ability to get real-time feedback from consumers. In fast-moving industries like retail, healthcare, or technology, speed is everything – and traditional research methods can often fall behind.

Online communities like Toluna bridge that gap by allowing teams to engage directly with consumers, test hypotheses quickly, and adapt strategies as new insights emerge. Below are some of the key benefits of using Toluna for agile consumer insight gathering:

1. Fast and Scalable Feedback Loops

Pulse surveys are among the most popular tools on the platform. Want to test a new product name by next week? Launch a 2-minute survey to your community today. This allows for near-instant feedback on products, branding, experiences, and more.

Because the audience is already onboarded within the community, you don’t need to recruit from scratch every time. This dramatically reduces setup times and encourages repeat testing – a perfect setup for iterative feedback cycles.

2. Behavioral Insights Over Time

Unlike single surveys, Toluna Communities track consumer behaviors and preferences across time. This unlocks deeper behavioral insights, letting you observe how feelings or actions evolve during product cycles or seasonal shifts.

For example, a (fictional) CPG brand might notice that respondents initially trying a new snack report high satisfaction – but engagement dips by month three. With this insight in hand, they might explore loyalty programs or flavor extensions to address satisfaction drop-off.

3. Qualitative and Quantitative in One Place

The best market research platforms today don’t force teams to choose between qual and quant. With Toluna, you can use discussion boards, open-ended responses, and video feedback alongside structured surveys. That gives you a more complete consumer story – the numbers and the nuance.

4. Enhanced Research Execution With On Demand Talent

While Toluna is designed as a DIY research tool, maximizing its value often requires strategic thinking and experienced execution. That’s where SIVO’s On Demand Talent comes in. These expert insights professionals help teams go beyond the basics – guiding research design, interpreting complex results, and identifying patterns across multiple touchpoints.

Unlike hiring freelancers or external consultancies, On Demand Talent allows for true plug-and-play support, without lengthy onboarding or long-term hiring commitments. Whether you need short-term bandwidth or a niche skillset, On Demand professionals help elevate your DIY tool investment and ensure research remains objective and actionable.

5. More for Less – Without Compromising Quality

Toluna enables organizations to conduct continuous research at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods. And with budgets under pressure, this kind of flexibility is invaluable. But speed should not come at the expense of rigor. Tools alone aren’t enough – having seasoned experts who can guide your team on how to use Toluna effectively is what drives real impact.

In short, Toluna Communities offer a powerful way to keep your finger on the pulse of your audience – and with the right people guiding that research, the value only multiplies.

One of the biggest advantages of using Toluna Communities is the ability to gather fast, actionable feedback through pulse surveys and iterative research loops. These tools enable brands to quickly validate ideas, test assumptions, and refine their strategies in real time. Rather than waiting weeks or months for traditional market research results, modern insight teams can tap into on-demand, always-on feedback.

What Are Pulse Surveys?

Pulse surveys are short, focused questionnaires that quickly check in with consumer community members. Because respondents are already engaged in the community, brands can deploy these surveys and receive feedback within hours – sometimes even minutes.

Use cases for pulse surveys using Toluna include:

• Testing initial reactions to product concepts or messaging
• Rapid reads on ad campaign effectiveness
• Understanding consumer sentiment during breaking events
• Tracking evolving attitudes over time

For example, a fictional food & beverage brand could use weekly pulse surveys to measure shifting consumer preferences during a product launch. Based on the results, they might tweak packaging, promotional channels, or digital messaging within days rather than weeks.

The Power of Iterative Feedback Loops

Using iterative feedback means you aren't relying on a one-and-done research project. Instead, you gather feedback continuously as ideas evolve. Whether you’re refining a prototype, evolving brand positioning, or adapting user experiences, this approach minimizes risk and enhances decision-making along the way.

This cadence of real-time feedback from consumers supports:

• Faster product development cycles
• More agile marketing sprints
• Greater alignment between brand and consumer expectations

With Toluna Communities, these feedback loops are streamlined, connected, and easy to manage within one platform. Combined with other DIY research tools and behavioral tracking options, brands can gain both qualitative insight and measurable trends to drive smarter decisions at every stage.

When used consistently, these tools shift consumer research from being a background activity to a central strategic asset – helping teams move faster without sacrificing insight quality.

While platforms like Toluna Communities offer tremendous agility and access, the full value of these online research communities is unlocked when paired with the right expertise. That's where On Demand Talent from SIVO comes in.

Experienced consumer insights professionals can elevate research by interpreting patterns, asking the right follow-up questions, and avoiding common pitfalls in DIY research tools. These On Demand experts act as embedded team members – bringing strategic direction to fast-paced research efforts.

When Do You Need On Demand Talent?

Many brands adopt Toluna and similar market research platforms as a cost-effective way to do more in-house. But over time, teams often face challenges such as:

• Lack of bandwidth to oversee community activity or analyze data deeply
• Limited expertise in structuring research for strategic outcomes
• Uncertainty interpreting qualitative signals alongside quantitative readouts

On Demand Talent professionals can fill these gaps quickly – without the long ramp-up time of hiring or the cost of traditional consultants. Whether it's building out your community roadmap, structuring meaningful pulse surveys, or synthesizing behavioral insights, these experts ensure your tools are used to their full potential.

For instance, a fictional consumer electronics brand might deploy Toluna to collect feedback on feature preferences over several product iterations. An On Demand Talent expert can join to refine each wave of research, analyze shifts in consumer acceptance, and deliver briefs for internal stakeholders in days – not weeks.

Rather than just running studies, they help teams interpret insights, connect the dots, and turn findings into action. This blend of powerful technology and expert judgment offers a smarter way to do research that works for both lean and growing insights teams.

As consumer expectations evolve and business timelines accelerate, brands need research methods that combine speed, depth, and flexibility. Traditional survey panels or large-scale qualitative studies still have their place, but online communities – like those hosted by Toluna – represent the next evolution in agile, real-time market research.

Why Are Online Communities Growing in Popularity?

Today's leading brands are turning to online research communities for several reasons:

• Always-on Access: Respondents are pre-engaged and ready to give feedback as needed
• Speed: Studies can go live in hours, not days or weeks
• Depth: Behavioral data and qualitative input can be tracked over time
• Cost-Effective: No need to constantly recruit new participants
• Integrated Tools: Combine surveys, live chats, heat maps, and more in one platform

These factors make it easier for insight teams to keep up with the increasing demand for faster cycles of learning and iteration – especially in marketing, innovation, and CX functions.

More Than Just Data Collection

With the rise of AI and new DIY research tools, simply gathering data is no longer enough. The future of agile research depends on knowing what to ask, how to ask it, and what to do with the answers. Online communities allow you to do all three – and they’re increasingly being used as a long-term asset, not a one-time project.

Many brands are building full research ecosystems within tools like Toluna, creating an ongoing dialogue with their customers. This unlocks a cycle of continual learning, allowing teams to:

• Refine messaging in real time
• Evaluate evolving needs and behaviors
• Build empathy with target audiences

And as technologies and markets shift, staying close to your consumer base becomes a competitive edge. Communities offer a built-in way to do that.

For lean teams or those experimenting with agile frameworks, combining platforms like Toluna with the strategic guidance of On Demand Talent offers a future-proof model. It’s modern research that can scale with your organization – flexible, fast, and grounded in human understanding.