I’ve been doing a little more thinking about living in a world where everybody’s a reviewer, and here are a few things that have been shaping my thoughts:
Mike from Helpstream, a CRM-company, commented that companies should go beyond supporting customers on third-party sites, and should have customer service integrated into their own Web sites. (Amazingly, his company offers solutions to do just that.)
I agree with the theory of that, but practically speaking, depending on the business you’re in, the resources you have available, and how far along you are in your social media strategy, I think the logical first step is reaching out to people where they are, instead of trying to get them to come to you. (In a related topic, see “Blog Last“, a recent entry in the Buzz Bin blog.)
It really depends. If you’re, say, a small software developer, people will naturally be looking to you for fixes, patches and help docs, so it absolutely makes sense to try to build a support community on your own site — it’s the nature of the business.
For other businesses (like local businesses that are mainly brick-and-mortar: retailers, restaurants, entertainment venues, etc. — the kinds of businesses you would see in a social review site), this would be putting the cart before the horse. I mean, look at the time you spend on the Web site of any single one of these types of businesses, compared to a social review site that aggregates a bunch of them.
Sometimes, it’s a chicken-and-egg thing: People end up on third-party community sites related to a business, because the business never bothered offering anything of its own. A good example is the owner communities that exist for pretty much every car brand out there. The same thing for cell phone carriers, and other types of companies.
What happens in these communities? All the usual community stuff: People swap tips, tricks, gripes, deals, advice, etc. And since they’re unofficial, they all have a variant of this disclaimer (“The XX user forum is unaffiliated with XX company.”). But what you do often see are self-identified local reps participating in the forums. Or sometimes, an affiliated business (like a local dealer or reseller) will sponsor a forum within the community.
So say you’re Bob’s Transforming Yugo Motors, a local car dealership. Transforming Yugo corporate hasn’t made a community play yet, but there are established Transforming Yugo owner forums out there, some independent, some as part of larger auto fan communities. Do you try to set up community on your own site?
Well, Bob, first, invest some time and participate in the existing communities. And, of course, don’t just jump in with both feet and your mouth yapping — read for a month or two (at least), to get a feel for the place. After that, start participating (making sure you’ve clearly identified who you are) and try to be helpful without trying to sell people stuff. Seek out the local or regional subgroup most relevant to you, and become a resource for those folks. Then, figure out if it makes sense for you to set up community tools on your own site, and how to make sure that they exist in collaboration, not competition, with existing communities and resources.
If you’re participating in someone else’s community site, you give up a measure of control over your message. Which is precisely why people value them, and trust them more than company sites. What you can do in your owned-corporate site is offer canonical information and access to decision-makers — what you do with that is up to you.
Have thoughts on where and how to engage your customers? Leave a comment.
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