Question

Topic: Strategy

Successful B2b Customer Communities

Posted by Anonymous on 1/8/2009 at 2:23 PM ET 500 Points
I would love some advice on a few of these points with reference to creating a customer community in the B2B world.

What are some ways to get your customers/partners to sign up?

Once signed up, how do you keep them active and get them to participate?

What are some suggestions for startup?

How do you keep it from fizzling out? What resources are necessary internally?

Is a forum enough, or are people looking for more? Is a B2B "facebook" a waste of time? would people participate?

What are some KPIs, or how would one measure success?

Answers to any or all would be greatly appreciated! I've got my own thoughts, but would love to hear what all of you have to say.

Thanks!
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 1/9/2009 at 2:35 PM Accepted
    Wow! Denise did a better job than I could have. Content is the key. You have to give them something valuable, since you're asking them to invest their time in YOUR community.

    I would also add that you have to stay involved with your community -- nurture the online relationship -- if you want to make sure you have a loyal and returning participant base. You can't just "turn it on and let it run" and expect them to "entertain" each other. Eventually you may get there, but not at first.

    And go very easy on the sell. People will be turned off if they perceive that your online community is a sales pitch in disguise.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 1/10/2009 at 9:36 AM Accepted
    Provide daily/weekly digests of recent activity, so people can quickly see if there's something of interest to them w/o having to remember to visit your site.

    Similarly, provide RSS feeds for your site, so people can see what's new via their RSS reader. Again, this will save them time.

    The key thing you'll need to keep people engaged is activity. In the beginning, you may have to reward people to ask/answer questions until you get critical mass of activity.
  • Posted by Mikee on 1/10/2009 at 10:30 PM Accepted
    The key is to keep the discussions moving and lively. This can be tricky. You may have to personally invite some people and give them some incentive to participate often. If there is not any activity, those who sign up will not participate. This is the hard part.

    You can try placing some polls and questions that people can quickly and easily answer to get some activity.

    You can try holding a drawing every week or month for something desireable. The only way to qualify is to have participated in the forum.

    Hope this helps,
    Mike
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