Many months ago, I blogged about how the goal of using a corporate blogging program to build a community is not a universally applicable principle. There are some businesses whose product lines are readily amenable to community building because the customers have an ongoing relationship with the company, but there are many where the concept doesn't make sense.
A recently published Information Week column by Fritz Nelson underscores just how difficult it can be to build a community. Some of the takeaways:
Fritz makes a good case for how an airline could use data it already has available to figure out how to establish good customer relationships. For business travelers who rack up the air miles, positive engagement within the context of a community could build loyalty. As an example of how easy it is to get it wrong, he points to videos made by Microsoft for the release of Windows 7.
All of this should be a reminder to businesses that the question of community building should be approached with seriousness and openness to the possibility that it simply does not make sense. And even when it does make sense, there's no clear path to success.
A recently published Information Week column by Fritz Nelson underscores just how difficult it can be to build a community. Some of the takeaways:
- There is no formula to success. An approach that worked in one context will not necessarily succeed in another.
- The common theme among successes is that they try to "create something out of real social need, or passion".
- Identifying that need and meeting it requires listening, following, and persuading the customer to take action.
- Social gaming
- Enterprise software and hardware
- Frequently used services, like utilities
Fritz makes a good case for how an airline could use data it already has available to figure out how to establish good customer relationships. For business travelers who rack up the air miles, positive engagement within the context of a community could build loyalty. As an example of how easy it is to get it wrong, he points to videos made by Microsoft for the release of Windows 7.
All of this should be a reminder to businesses that the question of community building should be approached with seriousness and openness to the possibility that it simply does not make sense. And even when it does make sense, there's no clear path to success.
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