Feeling Trashed on the Web?

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SPECIAL REPORT

Inside Innovation

• Editor's Note
• New Innovation Tools and Trends Worth Trying
• Social Networking Graduates and Hits the Job Market
• Radical Collaboration
• Feeling Trashed on the Web?
• Six Sigma Kick-Starts Starwood
• A Formula One Designer Shifts Gears
• Pushing the Boundaries of Design
• Nokia's Global Design Sense
• Eco-Chic: How Hot is Their Air?
• September 10, 2007 Issue of BusinessWeek

Companies from Malibu Rum to Nike and Apple (above) to Palm are trying to bolster their brand messages by creating online alliances with their customers.

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2. Find and Court Existing Communities

Identifying user communities whose needs and interests match those of a company's is hard. A Coca-Cola attempt was a classic failure. In 2003, the same year MySpace.com was launched, the beverage giant created its own social network, MyCoke.com. Although an innovative branding strategy then, the site was clearly a marketing vehicle and nothing more. It failed to offer any distinct value for consumers or an incentive to favor it over pure social-networking sites such as then-popular Friendster.

Nike, on the other hand, wooed communities—and got it right. It began building online networks around specific sports, not just products. The athletic apparel maker launched joga.com during the 2006 FIFA World Cup and had 1.5 million soccer fans sharing video, images, and opinions by the tournament's end. Some athletes showcased Nike footwear, but the online talk mostly centered on fans' love of the game. Nike also joined with Apple in 2007 to offer Nike+, an iPod program that allowed runners to listen to music and simultaneously measure the distance they ran and how many calories they burned. On the online running community Nike+, runners sent data and songs to their friends, challenged them to virtual contests, and arranged real meetups. The project was healthy for Nike's bottom line—40% of users on Nike+ become converts to the company's shoes, says Trevor Edwards, Nike vice-president of global brand management.

3. Listen to Consumers and Build Partnerships

Savvy companies can tap consumers to help improve customer service. Blog critics can "define what better is," says blogger Jeff Jarvis of BuzzMachine.com. In July, 2005, Jarvis wrote about Dell's poor service, echoing mainstream media reports. The pc maker recognized Jarvis's influence—his blog traffic since doubled—and founder Michael Dell personally apologized to Jarvis. Dell added phone reps and saw improved ratings in the University of Michigan's annual customer-service study. This year, the company launched its own blog, direct2dell.com, to solicit and monitor dialogue between consumers and employees. But its work to reconnect with users may have just begun; the latest Michigan study, published on Aug. 14, indicates Dell's ratings fell last year.

Engaged users can also be a company's best marketers. Three years ago, Andrew Carton, a loyal Palm user, set up the blog Treonauts.com, where smart phone shoppers read posts comparing the Treo to its rivals, the BlackBerry or iPhone. The Sunnyvale (Calif.) company found the site could be an asset, even if it couldn't limit negative comments. "We can't control it," admits Charlie Simpson, the company's director of Web retail. Palm doesn't need to; fans often defend its brand. Today, its customers voluntarily share troubleshooting tips, helping Palm's own customer service operations and cutting costs. Palm now directs customers to Treonauts directly.

Such partnerships can pay off. Attracting 300,000 unique visitors monthly, Treonauts.com sells phones and accessory devices and claims $2 million in Treo sales to date.

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Maha Atal is an intern at BusinessWeek. Conrad Wilson is an intern for Businessweek.