The Evolution of Online Community

August 06, 2009 | David Raffauf

Henry Ford famously declared: “If I’d asked my customers what they wanted, they’d have said a faster horse.” But when it comes to improving on a great idea, your community of customers is an invaluable source of ideas.

Humble Beginnings

Years ago companies began to realize that their support forums were being filled with better answers from customers than from their own support staff. Customers ran into more errors, frequently undocumented, than customer service could anticipate. The myriad issues could never be fully addressed from inside the company. Armies of loyal customers were a better source for informed troubleshooting and often more responsive than the official support staff. This is where online communities got legs.

Beneficial Mutations

Not long after, sites like Yelp and Digg took the idea further by building their whole businesses around user generated content–tech speak for community. Locals shared first-hand, credible reviews on Yelp; and techies shared their favorites findings online through Digg. In a recent move to Oregon, armed only with an iPhone with the Yelp app, I was able to find the best place to buy a mattress and the best place to eat brunch within minutes. This kind of spontaneous, informed decision-making was science fiction even ten years ago.

Top of the Food Chain

In 2009 we’re beginning to see this idea taken to the next step. Companies like GetSatisfaction and UserVoice are offering completely outsourced, community-based Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools. Plug a couple javascript snippets into your website and you can collect feedback on errors, product suggestions, prioritization of customer feedback and much more. This kind of community feedback gives product managers and producers an invaluable way to plan new features and improve their designs. And the value of the community is so apparent that you can pay GetSatisfaction up to $899/mo for these benefits.

Examining the Fossil Record

First community drove support. Then community drove content. Now community is driving the direction of products. The good news is that there has never been more potential for products to realistically adapt to customer needs. Of course customer demands will still need to be balanced with business needs and other parties involved in your business. The bad news? I can’t think of any.

What Does Community Mean for Your Business?

Savings. Loyal customers can address many support issues. A quick look at a list of complaints, errors or bugs can help you decide which fixes to include in your next software release. Feature requests weighted by votes can help you determine the priority of features in your product roadmaps. Community can save you money and steer you in the right direction.