Posts

Posted on

Study Results: Online Communities and Business

Francois

Francois Gossieaux from Beeline Labs, along with Deloitte and the Society for New Communications
Research,
has done some great research on how organizations are using online communities in both the business-to-business (b2b) and business-to-consumer (b2c) contexts (some nonprofits were included in the mix as well).  Over 140 organizations were included in the study, which covered online business communities with only a few dozen members, all the way up to communities with over 10,000 members. While we’re on the topic of online businesses, the idea of using tools similar to this keyword position checker google could help you get a better understanding of the SEO side of it all and finding ways of improving your business.

Here’s a link to the Tribalization of Business study results.

Some key quotes from Francois about the findings, by way of an interview with Shel Israel:

On organizational structure: “Most community efforts ended up reporting in to the CMO, even though
that is not where they all originated. In the recent past, most
community activities started somewhere as a skunkworks project – only
to be rolled into the CMO’s turf after the program gained recognition.”

On technology versus strategy: “Another surprise was how many companies started their community
initiatives as a technology platform decision – only to realize that if
you build it, they may not come. Some very successful community
executives suggested that if your community cannot survive in a Yahoo!
Group-like discussion environment, it will probably not survive
anywhere. One of the more important factors for the success of
community initiatives is the content strategy for the community – not
the technology strategy.“ (emphasis added)

On bringing marketing back to the customer perspective: “We believe that CMOs have an opportunity to transform their role
into that of Chief Customer Officer – and represent the Voice of the
Customer at the executive table…Leveraging the power of communities and the customer insights that
they provide could put CMOs back in the strategic seats where they
belong.”

The last word: “Please, don’t start your community project as a technology platform selection.”

Click here to read the whole interview.

Click here to see the results of the study.

Posted on

BlogWorldExpo and Mobilize Pocket Guides

Two pocket guides for events this week.  Get ’em!  Click on the icons to get the guides.  They’re tuned for iPhone and
mobile, and you can also get a widget for your blog, if you’re so
inclined.

BlogWorldExpo

Picture_2_2

The first and only industry-wide tradeshow, conference, and media event
dedicated to promoting the dynamic industry of blogging and new media.
In addition to the only industry-wide exhibition, BlogWorld features
the largest blogging conference in the world including more than 50
seminars, panel discussions and keynotes from iconic personalities on
the leading-edge of online technology and internet-savvy business.

Mobilize08

Picture_1

GigaOm’s next-generation mobile conference, Mobilize is a one-day conference 
designed to bring to you the future of the broadband mobile web. Using
the existing industry as a platform, we will examine emerging ideas and
emerging markets.

Enjoy!

Posted on

It’s About Times for VRM

Picture_2
Great VRM article in the Financial Times by Alan Mitchell.  An excerpt.

"When the UK market research company CCB FastMap asked consumers
which method they most wanted companies to use when communicating with
them – e-mail, phone, letter and so on – 63 per cent ticked the box
that said “Not at all”.

Even where consumers have an existing
relationship with a company, 23 per cent prefer not to have marketing
communications from it. The rate rises above 50 per cent for some large
utilities and banks.

Consumers are also increasingly unwilling to
divulge data. The same research found that 86 per cent of consumers
routinely tick the third party opt-out box when providing personal
information. “People have become less happy about revealing information
and especially allowing third parties to share it,” says David Cole,
managing director of CCB FastMap.

This was not what customer
relationship management was supposed to deliver when it was first
touted in the early 1990s. The more data companies could gather about
their customers, it was argued, the deeper the insights they would
generate. This would lead to longer, more profitable relationships.

Instead,
many companies have found themselves stuck between a rock and a hard
place. On the one hand, most organisations’ transactions with their
customers are too limited for them to get an accurate picture of their
motivations and any data they gather quickly goes out of date. On the
other hand, subsequent attempts to fill these holes by gathering more
data simply intensify concerns over intrusion.

A research
project in vendor relationship management at Harvard University Law
School’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society has suggested a way
through the impasse. The core idea of vendor relationship management
(VRM) is simple: the more empowered individuals are when it comes to
managing and using personal data – including the ability to manage
their relationships with vendors – the greater the benefits to both
sides."

The whole article is here.

Posted on

On “Free” and Business Models

(Background: "Free: Why $0.00 is the Future of Business" and "Steal This Slide:The Six Kinds of Free")

Maddie Grant has been thinking about what "free" means to associations, which have historically relied on membership dues to provide a sizable proportion of an organization’s annual revenue.  However, over the past thirty years, membership dues have continued to shrink in this regard.

Picture_1

(source: ASAE)

Membership dues have served multiple purposes, such as enabling discounts on other products that are offered by the organization, or enabling access to "members-only" information or services.  These dues help to fund the "mission" of the organization, whatever it may be. 

These dues also are a way to "value" the opportunity to join the community of like-minded individuals who are members of the organization.

In this context, Grant looks for analogs for each of the six kinds of free, and how they apply to her industry.  Grant asks:

Can these [six kinds of free] be translated to member services?

  • Freemium – Free entry to online communities, charge for "premium" areas/functionality?
  • Advertising – On websites, online communities, e-newletters, sponsorships?Cross subsidies – free initial access to articles, charge for distribution?
  • Zero marginal cost – Webinars, podcasts, other e-learning modules?
  • Labor exchange – Wikis?
  • Gift economy – Any social object that promotes the association / donated labor or barter system?

(N.B. The more this comes up, the more it feels like the discussions that were heralded by Doc Searls circa 2004-2005 regarding blogs, and the different "monetization" models that were being applied to them.  The net of the ‘net: you will likely make money because of something you’re doing, rather than with it.  More on this here.  And a the seeds of the "because effect" were sown here.)

Back to the point above, the one about membership dues being a way to "value" the opportunity to join a community of like-minded individuals who are aligned around a particular mission or affinity.  Does that model still work?  With ambient "community" showing up, well, in practically every system or business plan that is being created, is there value in tithing when an individual can simply find others with similar interests via blogs, or even on Facebook or LinkedIn?  (I don’t have an answer to this quandary and am hoping others with opinions will weigh in via the comments.)

So what about your business?  If your "traditional" revenue stream began to tend to free, how would you make money?

Posted on

Hurricane Gustav Mobile Resources

Hurricanegustavsatellite

On Saturday, we created a mobile resource guide for those affected by Gustav, as many in the path of the storm would not have internet access.  As people begin returning home and begin the process of rebuilding after nearly $8billion in damage, we hope this mobile resource guide will aid the Hurricane Gustav relief efforts. 

There are three versions of the Gustav Mobile Resource Guide available:

The guide offers quick access to…

News – Minute-by-minute updates from government agencies and citizen journalists.

Info – Quick references for how to help.

People and Shelters – Searchable self-reported listings of shelters, resources, aid providers, and evacuees.

Raise awareness about the relief efforts by adding this guide to your blog sidebar. Stay connected to the latest info by bookmarking it in your iPhone or other mobile device.

Mobile version

Photo2_3

 

Widget version

Posted on

Report: How Associations Are Using Social Technologies

Executivesummarycover
If you’re a member of an association, or are an executive at one, you’ll want to check this out.  Our friends over at Principled Innovation have just published the Association Social Technologies Executive Summary.  Some really great information in here.  A few highlights:

  • 31% of associations have a social networking presence
  • 10% of associations will have a social networking presence "soon"
  • 31% of associations are exploring the idea of using social networking
  • 24% of associations report that their association has a blog
  • 92% of those blogs allow reader comments (sweet! – ed.)
  • 14% of associations report using a wiki

A lot of really, really great stuff in the exec summary; can’t wait for the full report.  Check it out here.

Related: Social Networking for Businesses and Associations