Communispace:IndividualAssignment1byAnuraagVermaforMKT512,Fall2016

Asabrandmanager,wouldyouuseCommunispacesservice?Whenwouldyouuseit?Whenwouldn't
youuseit?Whataretheadvantages/disadvantagesofthismarketresearchtoolcomparedtoalternative
methods?

Asabrandmanager,IwoulddefinitelyuseCommunispace'sservice.IknowIcantrustCommunispacewith
marketresearchbecause:

Itisthemarketleaderincreatingandmanagingprivate,brandfocusedonlinecommunitiesfor
majorcorporateclients.
IthasworkedwithhighprofilecompaniessuchasBestBuy,Unilever,Pepsi,KelloggandHome
Depot(accordingtoExhibit1fromthecase)
Itisknownfordevelopinggreatrelationshipswithclientsandcommunitymembers.
Thepricingoftheirserviceisappealingwithservicepricesunder$10,000.
Itallowsmetobeflexibleinmylevelofengagementwiththecommunity.Icouldlogintothe
communitieseveryday,initiateengagementactivitiesforthemembers,and/orparticipatein
forumsorbrainstormingsessions.Icanalsochoosetoonlyreceiveperiodicreports.

IwoulduseCommunispacesserviceforgainingfeedbackonnewproductdevelopmentorforaproductin
thematuritystageofitslifecycle.Theirservicecouldprovidevaluablecustomerinsightsthatcanbeused
towardsbrandingmyproductandassessingstrengthsandweaknessesofthecompetition.Accordingto
Exhibit2,gatheringinsightswoulddiscusstrends,attitudes,preferencesandlistentothememberskey
ideas.OneofthemostimportantfeaturesCommunispaceoffersisactionablerecommendationsintheir
reportsthatcouldbereallyhelpfulformyproductdevelopmentprocess.

IwouldnotuseCommunispacesserviceformarketingtocommunities.Thecasementionsthatpeoplefeel
empoweredtospeakupintheseforumsbecausetheybelievetheirvoicewillbeheardandtheiropinions
givenimportance.ThewayIseeit,thewholepointofhavingthesecommunitiesistomakepeoplefeel
includedinthedevelopmentofproductsbyprovidingasafeplacewheretheycandiscussthingsfreely.IfI
startmarketingtothemdirectly,theauthenticityofthechannelwouldbelost.Likeinanymarketing
activity,Iwouldhavetoincentiviseactiveparticipantswhomaybewillingtochangetheirbehaviorin
returnformeetingtargets.

Comparedtootherresearchmethods,Communispacehasanicheintheresearchmarketforitsservice
tool.Ithasthefollowingadvantages:

QualityFeedback:Communispacecloselylistenstoitscommunitymembersonlineoveran
extendedperiodoftime.Thisallowsthemtodevelopandgatherqualityresponsesfrom
communitymembers.
Faster:Itsdifferentfromtraditionalmarketresearchbecauseitdoesnttakeaslongtoplanandto
gettheinformationback.Within24hours,myteamcanhaveusefulinformationtoworkwith.
SmallerCommunities:Theircommunitieshavebetween300500members,andthisrangeis
backedbyresearchthatshowsitsthesweetspotinordertobalancediversityofopinionswhile
makingmembersfeelthattheirindividualvoicesmatter.

 LowerCosts:Communispaceofferstheirserviceforanaveragepricebetween$5,000to$10,000
perproject.Thisisareasonablepriceassomeinternalcompaniesconductabroadbasedsurveyof
severalhundredorseveralthousandindividualswhichcouldcostfrom$10,000to$100,000.Anda
singlefocusgroupcouldrunupwardsof$15,000.
Convenience:Membersdonothavetoleavethecomfortoftheirhomestoprovidetheirinsights
andfeedback.

Theirservicetoolhassomedisadvantagestoo,themostprominentbeingthefollowing:

LengthofContract:AprojectwithCommunispaceconsistsofa12monthcontract,whichisalong
timetowaitforcompleteinformationaboutaproduct.Whilethisdoesmakewayfordeepinsights
andlongtermrelationships,thissetupmaybeunappealingtosomeclientsdesiringfasterresults.
LimitationsofOnlineCommunities:Someconcernswithonlinecommunitiesarethe
representativenessofthetargetedpopulation,gatheringenoughmemberstoprovidefeedback
andtheidentityofmembers.Respondentscanmakeupinformationaboutthemselvesandprovide
unrelatedinformationbecausethereisnodirectverbalorvisualcommunicationfromthe
members.Onlinecommunitiesalsoproposetheproblemofcontinuouslygatheringenough
respondentstokeepuptheinflowofinsights.

WhatisCommunispacescompetitiveadvantage?Howaretheycreatingvalue?

Communispacescompetitiveadvantageisitsstrengthinlisteningcloselytoandengagingmembersin
conversationsinonlinecommunitiesandtheresultingdepthofexperiencethatitprovidestoitsclients.

Thecommunityispurposedrivenratherthanprofiledrivenandfocusedondeliveringfeedback.Members
aretheretohelpthesponsoringbrandandtohelpeachotherandthiscollectivepurposeremainsthe
centerofgravity.Thisiswhatdifferentiatestheirproductfromtraditionalconsumerresearch,andfrom
socialnetworkslikeFacebook.

BecauseofCommunispacesabilitytocreatealongtermrelationshipwithconsumers,theintimate
environmentcreatesaleveloftrustandhonestythatdrivesdeep,richinsight.Theycreatevalueinthe
formofreportsforclientsthatincludekeyinsights,analysisandrecommendations.Bybuildingatrusted
community,theyareabletotapintolatentconsumerneedsandwantsthatmaynotbecomeapparentvia
othermarketresearchtechniques.

WhatdoyouthinkaboutCommunispacesbusinessmodel?Howisitdifferentfromtraditionalmarket
researchcompanies?

Ibelievethebusinessmodelisuniqueandeffective.Itisasubscriptionbasedmodelthatconsistsof
creatingsmallandprivateonlinecommunitiestoprovidevaluablefeedbacktoproductbasedclientsover
anextendedperiodoftime.Itincentivisesparticipantsbyperiodicallysendingthemtokensof
appreciation.Thebusinessisdesignedanddevelopedontheinternet,whichallowsforquickerfeedbackto
theirclients.Theseclientshavetheabilitytoobservecurrentcommunityresponsesbyloggingintotheir
system.Astechnologycontinuestoevolve,peoplewillcontinuetovieforimmediateandquicker
feedback.

Itisdifferentfromtraditionalmarketresearchcompaniesbecausecommunitiesarenotonetimeprojects
thewaysurveysorfocusgroupsare.Theyprovideacontinuousflowofinformation,notasnapshotin
time.
Thelevelofclientinvolvementisalsointerestingtonoteinthisbusinessmodel,asbrandscanguide
conversationsincommunitiesandevengetsuggestionsurgentlyonapressingproblem.Thecommunity
itselffeedsitsinterestinthebrandtoalargeextent,somethingthatisntpossibleintraditionalmarket
researchcompanies.

IfyouwereDianeHessan,wouldyoulaunchaWOMproduct?Whatimpactwouldthislaunchhaveon
thecompanybrand?

IfIwereDianeHessan,IwoulddefinitelylookintolaunchingaWOMproductbecauseofthefollowing
reasonscitedinthecase:

ClientsallovertheglobehadbeenaskingCommunispacetoleverageitssecretsauceinthe
consumerinsightsareaandapplyittoothermarketingactivities.
ThemarketforWOMcampaignshadgrownfrom$76millionin2001to$1billionin2006andtoan
expected$3.7billionin2011.
Astheindustrydeveloped,itsleadershadfoundedtheWordofMouthMarketingAssociationto
createthefoundationforeffectiveandethicalwordofmouthmarketing,withseveralmajor
corporations,suchasMicrosoftandWalmart,electedtojointheassociation.
Socialmediamarketingwasontheriseformostmarketingmanagers.Asbrandmanagerswere
tryingtounderstandthesocialmediaspace,aonestopshopforbothcommunityinsightsand
WOMadvertisingwouldbeappealing.
Competitorswerealreadyofferingthismixofservices.Sincetherewerentanyclearmarketleaders
yet,therewasanopportunitytograbmarketshare.
Byrefusingtotakeonthisnewclient,thecompanywouldbeforegoingnotonlytheimmediate
revenuefromanewcommunity,butthefuturerevenuesfromadditionalcommunitiesforthe
parentcompany.

Thislaunchwouldhavetobedealtwithverycarefully.Firstofall,Communispacewillneedtobuildits
capabilitiesinprovidingmarketingtools.Withtactfulmarketingandstrictinternalmonitoring,
CommunispaceshouldbeabletosuccessfullyconductbothlisteningcommunitiesandWOMcampaigns.I
believethebrandimageofCommunispacewillnotsufferiftheproductislaunchedinawaythatprovides
acleardistinctionfromitscurrentofferings.Anewdepartmentmustbemadesothattheresnoconflictof
interestsandcommunitymembersmustbefullyinformedsotheydontfeelliketheyarebeingexploited
andknowfullywelltheyarepartofawordofmouthmarketingcampaign.Theeffectontheclientsbrand
shouldbepositiveintermsofbrandawarenessaspeopleparticipatingintheeffortwilldefinitelyinfluence
otherpeopleonlineandgetthemtalkingaboutit.