I found the Communispace case-study to be really interesting as this company has managed to take a pure social media tool and connect it into old world marketing practices. So often companies are based on social media alone, while Communispace uses is to enhance an already existing service. Two points I want to focus on are the what makes Communispace so successful and a great irony I found in COmmunispace's choice for future products.
Communispace was so successful because it initially possessed first mover advantage, but due to the low cost of entry into their market they had to survive based on their product quality. Their product was the communities that they formed and sold to companies. These communities were not unusual, yet theirs were the highest of quality. The groups were invitation only, and really engaged the members. By only inviting people to allow them in members felt valued, and the duration of their work really connected them to the service they provided. These communities became like special clubs that only a few were allowed into, and once one was in they didn't want to go. Also the communities were formed by people specifically outlined by the companies who were true users of whatever they were improving on or would use. Overall these dedicated members created dedicated groups that offered better results than any other group feedback system in the industry. Thanks to all of this Communispace had to barely incentivize their members to keep them working for them.
The part of this case-study I enjoyed the most was the cliffhanger at the end where we aren't told what course of action Communispace took. I believe that they should have expanded as their networks were already set up, yet they were not being used to their fullest potential. I thought it was highly ironic for a company that does market research and brand image work to not use their network of customers to help them decide whether they should venture into the WOM branch of services. I think with such a low risk of testing out a WOM campaign in a network that Communispace is very good at operating they should definitely have tried it. Their market hold in the service they sold was solid, they had scale to absorb the small cost of trying WOM, so they should've gone for it.
I'd really like to know what you think Communispace should have done. Should they have expanded into WOM and why or why not?
Peace, Love, and Social Media.
Charlie,
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed the case, but I said that they shouldn't have gone for it. I think in the end, it was too risky given that communities, and not advertising campaigns, was their core competency. Its a thin line, and one that may undermine what they're known and trusted for. I'll be interested to see what our speaker has to say and what they ended up doing!
I agree with you. Communispace really knows how to apply the social media as opposed to most companies that simply just set up a twitter or a facebook page. I also agree that the communities are successful being that they are small, simple, and engage the customers. Kind of like the advantage of a small class room as opposed to a 300 student lecture hall. Customers feel more involved and able to share their feedback.
ReplyDeleteLike Maria, I just didn't think it was a wise choice possibly compromising the trust of the communities by implementing such a advertisement driven component to the consumers in the community. The reason they wanted to be in these communities was because they had a real say about the products and no one was trying to sell anything to them, rather, try to gather their insights so they could improve or develop products for the consumer. If they implemented the WOM campaign, it would be feeding the communities marketing messages and seeing how they could be manipulated, essentially. And I feel like consumers are already so skeptical about marketing messages that when they saw through the purpose of the new implementation, conversation wouldn't be as organic as before.
ReplyDeleteCharlie,
ReplyDeleteI liked the cliffhanger at the end as well. It made me think about it more, especially more than I would have if the author gave the answer right at the end of the article. I think that there would be a lot at stake if Communispace moved forward because they could compromise their credibility which, like Maria said, they are known and trusted for. At the same time, though, I think that they would have a lot to gain from accepting Simmons if the WOM campaign was successful. They would move into a new market and have a well-known firm to speak for their services, which would help expand their business into a new realm. I have not come to a clear decision about what I think would have been the better route to take, so I am anticipating finding out the answer from our guest speaker on tuesday!
I basically agree completely with Jessica, it was time for them to expand their abilities. This is a fast moving industry with low barriers to entry, as mentioned. If you are not growing/expanding than your dying. This could provide a great alternative offering to Communispaces' clients, an ideal new client with many future business opportunities, and lastly a great reference for their new product all in one fowl swoop. Tough to pass up!
ReplyDeleteWow, lots of comments. Nice work Charlie. As I wrote in my blog, I think that Communispace should have expanded into the WOM arena, given that, WOM is directly aligned with the company's core competency and, at the time, there was no market leader. I think if communicated properly, so as to clearly distinguish between consumer insights and WOM campaigns, the risk of consumer distrust can be effectively mitigated. Not to mention, the consumers who participated in the insight communities are probably, naturally, the best brand ambassadors.
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