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RAKESH S K

S U R YA T E J A R E D DY RAGHU RAMA RAO

M A H E N D E R KO N D A A B H I S H E K S U R YA P E TA
WHAT IS THE CASE PROBLEM?

A requisition of service from Williams, Director of Brands at Simmons, a


major Consumer Packaged Goods company.
Their request was not for the regular market research insights that
Communispace provided, but for a WOM Campaign.
Simmons is a big company with $12 billion annual revenue under its belt,
would be a great addition for Communispace.
But, should they enter into already crowded WOM market or still focus on
the infant online private, brand focused communities business?
COMMUNISPACE

It started in 1999 as a tech start-up providing a platform for client


companys employees to easily communicate and collaborate.
It evolved as a company that ran private, brand focused, online
communities that enabled members to engage with each other and the
company as well.
By 2009 it had 350 insight communities serving over 100 clients, revenues
rose from $5 mn in 2004 to an expected $36 mn by 2009.
The company operated on subscription-based model in which the clients
commit to a 12 month contract.
HOW DID IT WORK?

The Client

The Community Members

The Communispace Team


THE CLIENT
The company/brand that wants to
subscribe for the community.
85% of these clients focused on
marketing to end consumers,
remaining focusing on B2B markets.
They wanted insights for new
product development, feedback on
marketing campaign, understand
consumer mind-set, etc,.
Each client receives weekly update
regrading the happenings in the
community.
The clients can also raise a question
and get answer within 24 hours.
THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS
The members were recruited based upon the agreed criteria of the client and
communispace.
In the words of Laura, VP, Member services, profiles ranged from Latino
moms who regularly purchased in a particular product category, to
medical professionals who worked in a particular type of hospital unit,
to guys who really like to wax their cars, to high net worth individuals a
few years prior to retirement, to women runners from around the globe
Incentives gift cards every 4 to 6 weeks.
For members it was more of sharing their insight, being part of innovation,
networking with their peers, gaining support and possibly friendship, etc,,
Typically, 300 to 500 members per community, they would access the community
and atleast spend 30 minutes on an average per week.
Community was refreshed every 6 months.
THE COMMUNISPACE TEAM
Building and managing the communities.
They in conjunction with the client would design a membership profile,
locate potential members in US or across the globe and recruit them.
They needed to strike a balance between facilitating and discussion without
dominating the conversation.
They also handled the client interface and were responsible to listen and
respond to their needs.
Their another job was to analyse the conversation threads and pass on the
necessary information to the clients.
They report to the Directors of Client Services, who were often veteran
marketers and market researchers., they helped the clients in implementing
the suggestions given by the members.

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