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Research
Online Community Revenue and ROI Techniques
19 Oct 2007, Bill Johnston
Bill Johnston (Forum One Communications) sent approximately 250 survey invitations to online community professionals in our network of executives and practitioners. We received 51 completed surveys. Participants included large software companies, large community destination sites, niche community sites, independent consultants and platform providers.
While the study didn’t find a single “magic model” for revenue and ROI techniques, we did uncover several interesting findings, including:
- Respondents generally valued non-fiduciary dimensions of value, like loyalty, over direct revenue.
- The most effective revenue generating techniques were advertising and charging for community subscription.
- A member-first attitude is needed when considering the addition of fee-based or revenue-generating services. The best way to find out what your members do or don’t want? Ask them.
A note about the report: the “good stuff” in qualitative research is generally found in the detailed comments. I encourage you to comb through the report with that in mind.
Highlights from the report include:
- Community-based Revenue (page 6): percentage of revenue attributable to community activities;
- Community Activities (page 7): a list of community-building and engagement activities;
- Dimensions of Value (page 10): a ranked list of dimensions of community value;
- For-Fee Activities (page 12): a list of community activities that hosts are charging for;
- Revenue Generating Strategies (page 14): a list of effective strategies for generating revenue;
- Advice on Revenue (page 23): advice on how to introduce revenue-generating activities.
Download (PDF, 576 KB)
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