2014 Market Report Online Community Trends GetSatisfaction

GET IT TOGETHER: WHY YOU NEED AN ONLINE COMMUNITY A MARKET REPORT ON WIDE-RANGING COMMUNITY TRENDS SEPTEMBER 2014

www.getsatisfaction.com

INTRODUCTION

YOUR AUDIENCE IS READY AND WILLING TO BE MORE THAN JUST CUSTOMERS. Despite consultants and analysts repeatedly explaining for years (in every variation and in no uncertain terms) how the customer landscape changed, brands still aren’t listening. Many companies slightly tweaked their strategies a few years ago, signing up for Facebook and Twitter and calling it a day. But now they’ve fallen behind, as the gap between best-in-class enterprises and laggard businesses grows every month, week, and day.

Introduction

WHAT YOUR CUSTOMERS WANT Cold-call sales and please-take-a-number support don’t fit in a good customer engagement strategy anymore. Those days are in the past, period.

Instead, your policy should treat each customer like employee of the month. After all, they’ve earned it.

There is a way to make the customer experience more thorough, comprehensive, and fully engaging: provide a community.

Most organizations think developing community means addressing support calls and briefly responding to social media questions. —but that’s talking at customers, not conversing with them.

Your audience has a lot to say, and it’s invaluable information. They want to tell you exactly what they expect from your support, marketing, and product innovation teams. They’re even willing to work with you.

It’s up to you to initiate, continue, and expand that conversation. Branded online communities provide an open discussion forum that encourages and facilitates the collaboration of customers and enterprises. Organizations that incorporate community into their customer strategies have seen tremendous results across the board, as they integrate it into multiple departments and connect it to all aspects of audience engagement.

2

SURVEY RESPONDENT BREAKDOWN

INTEGRATING COMMUNITY INTO YOUR MIX: • Improves customer experience • Reduces support workload

INDUSTRY 1

27.55% B2B Technology (SaaS/Software)

• Utilizes resources more strategically

2

21.76% Other

• Adds a dynamic marketing element

3

13.77% Consumer Internet/ Online Technology

4

8.82% Consumer Goods

5

7.99% Education

6

6.61% Nonprofit/Government

7

5.79% B2B Technology (Hardware)

8

4.13% Consumer Hardware/Electronics

9

3.58% Finance

9

7 1

• Helps innovate products and features

For the inside scoop on customer wants, needs, and expectations, Get Satisfaction conducted a market survey of 800+ professionals in more than a dozen industries, ranging from technology to education to consumer hardware.

8

6

5

4 2 3

REVENUE

NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS

5 4 5

26.98% 10K+

5

5.85% $501M–$1B

4

7.92% 5K–10K

4

3

5.85% $201M–$500M

3

11.73% 1K–5K

2

16.31% $50M–$200M

2

11.44% 500–1K

1

41.94% 100–500

5

4

1

Introduction

8.62% $1B+

67.08%