New study on customer communities

May 8th, 2006 Lois Kelly Posted in Communities, Marketing trends, Research |

Are online customer communities an undervalued marketing approach?

A new research study released today by Communispace, “What
Companies Gain from Listening: The Effect of Community Membership on
Members’ Attitudes and Behavior in Relation to the Sponsoring Company,” found that:

82
percent of the surveyed community members said they were more likely to
recommend a company’s products since joining its community.
76 percent felt more positively about the company.
75 percent felt more respect for the company.
63 percent said that membership had increased their trust of the company.
52 percent were more inclined to purchase products from the company.

Why do communities affect people so much? One reason may be that it
provides a way for people to talk with a company and feel heard: 91
percent said they felt that their community allowed them to give candid
feedback and suggestions to the company.

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