CRM - April 2009 - (Page 19) Insight customers suggesting product ideas and voting on them,” Fernandez says. To power the site, Marketo turned to Web 2.0 customer support platform provider Helpstream, which blends traditional service with community functions. When a user posts a support issue, for example, that issue can be looped into the user’s CRM record in an integrated CRM system. (See Rising Stars, page 37, for more on Helpstream.) “The key with a community is to ignite critical mass,” Fernandez says, “If a customer goes and there isn’t activity [she’ll] quickly abandon it.” That, he says, is why Marketo emphasized participation to its employees, and they’ve eagerly responded. For that matter, any time a customer does something on the community site, the appropriate Marketo representative will Vendors unleash a new round of community forums for their customers get an alert to go respond—and a quick response is critical, Fernandez says. Zoho, a company consistently on the brand’s customer loyalty rating as measor Blake Kadatz, vice president of marketing for Vancouver- ured by the Satmetrix Net Promoter cutting edge with free and low-cost solubased marketing firm Antarctica score. (For more on the Net Promoter tions, has its Zoho Marketplace—essentially a location for its users to buy and Digital, participating in a social score, see page 17.) Other vendors are climbing on board, sell Zoho Creator applications to one community requires faith.“The motto is, ‘By sharing your knowledge, you hope too. With the My Oracle Support site, another. Zoho serves as the intermediary, that others will reciprocate,’” Kadatz says, Oracle has added another community to letting site users negotiate prices and explaining that, when he finds a creative its portfolio, allowing users and develop- transactions in their own manner. “Free” is a compelling factor in these way to do something, he usually thinks to ers to exchange code, discuss projects, share it with the community. Why? Well, and even swap documents. Marketo, a communities. John Purdy, a field acbecause when he’s in a slump himself, he marketing automation provider, entered count executive with technology comwants to be able to turn to the commu- similar territory with the January launch pany CDW, says he uses the Act! by Sage nity for help. It’s all about give and take. of its Success.Marketo.com. The new community site nearly every day. The This give-and-take idea also benefits microsite includes not only a discussion fact that the site is run mostly by users, the host of the community. A well- forum, but also a knowledge base and but that paid Sage employees contribute frequently, gives the managed forum can free up time and support dashboard for Marcommunity value and subenergy required for other customer ser- keto users, says Phil Fernan- “The key with a stance, he says. vice measures. Other benefits include the dez, the company’s chief execcommunity is to When Purdy encountered camaraderie among users, a stronger utive officer. Fernandez says that the ra- ignite critical mass.” a recurring error message brand, and the generation of market rewhile reinstalling Act! on a search. For these reasons, it’s no wonder tionale behind the microsite that software vendors are jumping at the speaks directly to his company’s mission. replacement computer, he immediately chance to engage their users by hosting “It was a part of [our] founding vision to turned to the Act! by Sage community. try to understand how [to] bring com- He queried the problem and quickly community forums. These communities continue to blos- munity into an enterprise,” he says. Not discovered that he wasn’t alone: Sevsom. The Act! by Sage Community site, only are Marketo users—such as Antarc- eral people had encountered the same for example, had more than 8.9 million tica Digital’s Kadatz—posting campaign problem. He found a list of steps to page views and 266,000 searches in its ideas, discussing trends, and sharing solve the issue—a resolution reached first year, according to the company. Sage software techniques, but they’re also without the vendor’s involvement, but says that the community has helped gen- helping Marketo’s development team made possible by the vendor-sponsored erate a 15-point increase in the Act! with its product offerings.“We now have community. —Lauren McKay Social Support for Software F www.destinationCRM.com CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | APRIL 2009 19 http://Success.Marketo.com http://www.destinationCRM.com
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