Customer involvement through online communities

• Development of new online collaborative technologies provides businesses with new opportunities to interact with customers and get them involved more actively in product or service development processes. Different types of online communities provide access to global customers: their ideas and opinions. This chapter presents a review of three types of online communities which might be valuable for businesses, namely marketing activities and new product development. Online communities can assist companies in benefitting from the “wisdom of crowds”, creating customer-oriented image, boosting product portfolio with new ideas and handling negative online publicity. While some types of communities are more effective for solving sharply defined tasks, others can help with creative views due to members’ ability to think “outside of the box”.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Ekonomi

Economy

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