New Research on Hard Benefits of Online Customer Communities
S + B reviewed a research paper published by The Ross School of Business in January 2012 which tracked the impact of company community membership on the amount of money members spent on the firm's products and conclude:
The research authors go on to say "We find that social dollars represent about 19% of revenue once customers join the online community. These social dollars arise primarily via more frequent orders with the firm, rather than increased shopping basket sizes."
This is just one type of online community and a one-dimensional perspective on its benefits but nevertheless it is very encouraging to see that there are real hard benefits to be found beyond all the hype.
Read A Big Payoff from Online Company Communities
Read the full Research Paper: Social Dollars: The Economic Impact of Customer Participation in a Firm-Sponsored Online Community
About Ken Thompson
Ken Thompson delivers keynote conference speeches, workshop facilitation and in-house consultancy in four key business areas:- Creating High Performing Teams in enterprises including Virtual and Mobile Teams (based on the Bioteams Book)
- Establishing effective Collaborative Business Networks enabling companies to co-operate effectively in areas such as sales and product development (based on the book - The Networked Enterprise)
- How to use the latest social media technologies including blogging and online communities to promote enterprises, brand, organisation or event
- Development of graphical on-line interactive Business Dashboards and What-if Simulators for organisations to support Performance Improvement, Strategy Development and Executive Team Development.
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Bioteams Books Reviews
Mobile phone users: are we now cyborgs
The term cyborg is used to designate an organism which is a mixture of organic and synthetic parts so designed to enhance its abilities via technology. William Mitchell a professor at MIT Media Lab believes that through our mobile devices we are all becoming mobile cyborgs and its for the better. In his book Me++: The Cyborg Self and the Networked City which he discusses in an interview with James Harkin Mitchell describes how the new communications technologies have overlaid our city spaces with central nervous systems connecting us into the wireless ether via our mobile devices which act as umbilical cords to anchor us into the information society's digital infrastructure.
Buy it now from:
Amazon.Com
Amazon.Co.UK
Related Virtual Communities Articles
Virtual communities can engage charity supporters
Just over two years ago Nick Cater, writing for The Guardian Newspaper, Virtual communities can boost charities, suggested that Internet-based group tools offered charities and voluntary organisations an important new channel to re-energise the engagement with their staff, supporters and clients. He also noted that this could require significant investment in time and resources. It would be interesting to see how much, 2 years on, charities have exploited this opportunity?
Games Teams Play
In 1964 psychiatrist Dr. Eric Berne published a wonderful book Games people play in which he identified the different games people play, often unwittingly, in social situations based on his concept of transaction analysis. People in teams play games too including Freeloader, Pseudo-engager, Chase-me, Senior Partner, Inquisitor, Stop-Starter, Overcommunicator, Email Fixater and Attachmentitis.
The River Diagram: Strategic community change management
Crucially the value of customer communities is a measure of good will. Something no one's been able to calculate, but now it's something that actually drives up share price.