User communities, per se, are not a new phenomenon. They have existed for years, but in more passive forms. Housewives deriding the local grocer, students comparing the attributes of their pens and even office-goers arguing over the usability of a particular brand of laptop - these are all user communities in their most basic form. In the internet age, virtual communities and users are able to make their presence felt in a much bigger way. And today, with the advent of Web 2.0 led collaboration, virtual user communities are stronger than ever. Businesses have duly taken notice of this and have learnt how to leverage the power of these virtual communities for their own benefit.
User Communities for Brand Building
The Internet as a medium is designed for accessibility and comprehensiveness. Virtual communities further exemplify these qualities and hence, many businesses regard firm-hosted user communities as the ideal medium for improving reputation and brand image.
User feedback on internet communities affects the perception of the brand, and can help companies recognize the pros and cons of its product and where it stands with respect to its competition. If implemented tactfully, a firm hosted community can provide a feeling of involvement which adds to customer satisfaction.
User Communities to Further Core Business Objectives
Training and Recruiting
Among core business functions, training and recruitment departments have been the biggest beneficiaries of the Internet. From remote tutorials to online hiring, the web has created many usable and efficient business applications. Examples include LinkedIn for effective hiring to communities for employee interaction.
The benefits are time-saving, reducing business costs and allowing businesses to reach out to employees and customers around the world.
Customer Servicing
Firm-hosted user communities are an effective way to respond to customers while simultaneously using the interaction to create a knowledge pool for other users. Even in independent user-communities, more experienced users help new users by answering their queries and sharing knowledge. This user-to-user servicing takes a significant burden off the post-sales support systems of the company and reduces their workload greatly.
A good example of this is Hewlett Packard (HP), which has large independent user-communities such as Encompass (now amalgamated into Connect). Such communities are global in nature and significantly reduce the workload of HP service centers.
User Communities for Brand Building
The Internet as a medium is designed for accessibility and comprehensiveness. Virtual communities further exemplify these qualities and hence, many businesses regard firm-hosted user communities as the ideal medium for improving reputation and brand image.
User feedback on internet communities affects the perception of the brand, and can help companies recognize the pros and cons of its product and where it stands with respect to its competition. If implemented tactfully, a firm hosted community can provide a feeling of involvement which adds to customer satisfaction.
User Communities to Further Core Business Objectives
Training and Recruiting
Among core business functions, training and recruitment departments have been the biggest beneficiaries of the Internet. From remote tutorials to online hiring, the web has created many usable and efficient business applications. Examples include LinkedIn for effective hiring to communities for employee interaction.
The benefits are time-saving, reducing business costs and allowing businesses to reach out to employees and customers around the world.
Customer Servicing
Firm-hosted user communities are an effective way to respond to customers while simultaneously using the interaction to create a knowledge pool for other users. Even in independent user-communities, more experienced users help new users by answering their queries and sharing knowledge. This user-to-user servicing takes a significant burden off the post-sales support systems of the company and reduces their workload greatly.
A good example of this is Hewlett Packard (HP), which has large independent user-communities such as Encompass (now amalgamated into Connect). Such communities are global in nature and significantly reduce the workload of HP service centers.
Marketing
Social networking communities have become the fulcrum for the Web 2.0 based marketing strategies of many companies. Consumer goods companies use platforms such as YouTube to distribute viral ads to create buzz around their products. Marketing through social networking sites can provide a more targeted reach, and it is also a cost-effective way for a company to boost product sales.
Distribution
User communities can be utilized to streamline distribution also, especially when the user community is the distribution network as well. mGinger is an opt-in permission based SMS service where the user receives SMS advertisements corresponding to these interests from advertisers belonging to the mGinger network.
Product Modification and Improvement
One industry which has embraced product modification to great benefit is the computer games industry. Possibly, the most notable example of this is Half-Life, a first person shooter computer game. A team of British Columbia students had completely overhauled the game and created a new, vastly different version which they termed ‘Counter-Strike’.
‘Counter-Strike’ was eventually released as a product of Valve. Today ‘Counter-Strike’ is even more popular than ‘Half-Life’.
A Note of Caution
While the pay- offs from user communities cannot be debated, certain potential issues need to be addressed-
- Co-creation: who owns the right and who reaps the benefit?
- Malicious hacking: user communities can become hubs for subversive activity.
- Security and privacy : providing detailed company information on networking sites can pose risks.
Customer service has become a key differentiating factor for sustaining growth and it is here that user communities can score. Given that technology is the raison d’ętre for the Indian tech industry, it would also be a case of walking the talk.
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