Beem opted for Rival’s Voice of Market solution to support faster, more flexible concept testing with BC-based consumers sourced from the Angus Reid Canadian panel. The solution allows the team to design its own surveys, test ideas in a more interactive way, and receive feedback quickly, while still having expert support from the team at Rival.

At Beem, the Innovation team’s approach works like a funnel. For each strategic priority, the team tests multiple concepts with real consumers — five different approaches to growing deposits, for example — narrows it down to the strongest one or two, then iterates on the winners. From there, testing can go as granular as individual features and user experiences.

The flexibility of Rival’s platform has enabled research across other Beem business units to do research too. It’s supported testing on digital banking features, small business, and retail banking solutions. And when BlueShore Financial joined the Beem family in 2025, the team tested onboarding flows to support a smooth member transition.

With Rival sourcing and vetting real, local consumers for every study, the team gets fresh perspectives without ever managing recruitment themselves. The team at Rival also supports studies from end to end, in a partnership that extends well beyond onboarding. "I consume research, and I love research, but I'm not a research analyst," she says, “Rival's hands-on support is what makes running studies workable me and my team.”

Next up: Beem is building an Insight Community made up entirely of its own members, with a privacy-first design that meets the credit union's strict compliance needs. The insight community gives product, marketing, and communications teams a direct line to current members, while innovation continues to reach non-members for exploratory concept work. Longer term, Beem sees the potential to connect what members say with behavioural data it already holds — turning the community into a true member intelligence engine.