Business Blogs and Forums

This is a continuation of a post from a couple of days ago (blogging for business)


In an attempt to post more often, this previous post was very incomplete, especially in my admonishing of forums (in particular Gdiapers as an example).


This was very apparent when I received a fantastic comment by the Gdiapers CEO Jason Graham-Nye (see below for his Comment). I stand corrected as this forum is not run by Gdiapers….though if you find it from organic search results, I’m not too sure people pick up on that.


Let me start off by first addressing Gdiapers:


I believe Gdiapers is a top-notch company with a very important product and I am routing for them. I know that I, myself, have probably told a dozen personal friends to use their product w/ their newborns. And, I’m not your average WOM promoter.


I also think the company’s website and messaging is extremely well-designed. I think Jason is doing the right thing because he feels its right…..however, I think Gdiapers is the exception here and businesses in general have to ask fundamentally, how can/is this forum affecting the perception of my Brand with potential customers.



-------------------------------
Comment:
“My name is Jason Graham-Nye and I am the CEO of gDiapers. I take a different view of our Online User Group.

Firstly the fact that a customer started it and moderates it and that there are nearly 700 members in the 8 months it has been around speaks volumes about the brand. If the brand was out of control, we wouldn't have the members we have or the sales we have.
I believe it is critical that customers act as moderators. It offers authenticity and allows customers to be forthright about their views of the product. And that is what a smart company needs. If your brand and product gets bagged on your own forum then there is a problem that needs addressing. If the forum is tightly controlled by the company and negative comments are deleted, you end up doing your business a huge disservice.
What is useful is for the company to come in from time to time to add comments to a string that may clarify a point or correct a factaul error. Otherwise, get out of the way and let your customers help you develop better products and be a better company. This is the heart and soul of 2.0.

If the company is perceived to be all over the Boards, customers withdraw and the forum withers.

I have no problem with customers using our product in conjunction with others. The diaper decision is a complex one. I take my hat off to anyone who chooses to use gDiapers even partially. And for those who tried it and it didn't work out - while we'd love them to come back, that's fine too. Whatever floats your boat. There is nothing to be gained by diving on to a Board and deleting negative comments or comments from customers who no longer use the product.

The group offers the richest insight imaginable about our customers. Otherwise, we'd be flying blind.
They are family and they are growing. “
--------------------------




The above comment brings up excellent points. From my wife who attended the natural parents convention in L.A., let me set the diaper wearing “potential customer” stage with on observation from this “naturally concerned” convention:


She was amazed how many BMW’s, Mercedes, etc attended the convention and how many parents strolled around with $1600 bugaboos and wearing clothing from Ann Taylor.


With that said…..here are some take-away’s I see from Jason’s comment. One note, the forum in question is not run by Gdiapers….but they regularly participate.


1) Yes, 700 members is a very strong statistic. And, giving a platform to customers to act as moderators is what forums are all about. This forum may work well for loyal, extreme customers.


a. However, if one is starting a business or is a small business, one has to ask, do you have enough time to monitor this forum, explaining your shipping policy (who forum members thought were excessive), etc and so forth….which leaves a history trail of pages. Is there a better vechicle that you can set up to gather and address this form of feedback?

b. An alternate view would be to garner this feedback through surveys and inclusive focus groups. This might give the company an even stronger and focused dialog to address issues and their remedies. A great book is the Ultimate Question, by Reichweld.

2) I agree, you don’t want to hide bagging of your own product. You want to address it in a forth-right manner. However, should you be giving a forum (I may be mistaken hear, but the forum use to be linked from the Gdiapers website and does show up in a lot of search results), to then TAX new “potential customers: to wade through the “bagging”. Remember the 90-9-1 rule (by Jakob Nielson’s group).

a. This forum may be working for that 1% to 9% who is actively participating but how about the 90% that are being influenced? This is where my concern about loosing control of your “branding” comes from. Even though….I must say that I was a bit out of bounds…..nevertheless, how many customers have been giving up trying Gdiapers, because of their exposure to the forum.

b. Also, having “bagging” about your brand…..I think this puts the company in the defensive and leaves a history of people complaining about flushing, modifying the Gdiapers to use cloth, etc. Keep in mind, when newbies read a forum, they might just read what’s wrong and “click off” the Gdiapers bandwagon. You are asking a lot of potential customers to read the whole history of these posts. For one, I have had friends that never would have considered shipping to be excessive and the cost of getting refills, however, due to their exposure to the forum (they’re bugaboo users), they have become turned off (even though they can obviously afford the shipping;))

3) I looked at the forum of late and I’m reading about ear infections, Gdiapers being discontinued in WholeFoods, and the markup on Formula for Nestles. There’s a lot of noise hear for what’s supposedly a Gdiapers forum. Again, this is why I wondered about branding loss here.

4) The best part of Jason’s comment (which is why they are such a great company) is he equals customers with “family”. Hats off to Gdiapers!