{"id":8575,"date":"2022-11-23T07:28:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-06T07:28:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=8575"},"modified":"2023-07-13T01:25:53","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T01:25:53","slug":"how-online-communities-help-build-brand-trust-and-boost-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/in\/blog\/how-online-communities-help-build-brand-trust-and-boost-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"How Online Self-Service Enhances Customer Experience & Efficiency"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How can a business bring all stakeholders together to exchange ideas and information and extend support? Self-service online communities can offer a way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, online communities have emerged as an efficient and effective way for organisations to bring people together for a shared purpose or goal. By connecting people with similar interests or requirements \u2013 such as partners, employees, or customers \u2013 brands let them build strong connections by interacting freely, sharing ideas, and answering questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, a brand-owned online community can be an efficient self-service channel, offering self-service tools such as Q&A forums, knowledge bases, tutorials, and blogs. Forums have, in this way, become places to seek vital information and critical support, creating virtual groups emotionally invested in the respective brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The different types of self-service online communities <\/span> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From a Quora<\/a> thread, where customers, experts, and brand spokespeople answer questions posed by prospects, to brand-owned customer service and troubleshooting forums, the online community domain covers the full spectrum. However, it is majorly divided into three categories: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customer service community <\/span> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Customer service communities are online spaces that provide customers with easy solutions to their general issues related to a product or service. Customers can also self-serve on these portals. Some examples include checking and making changes to orders, tracking order status, updating accounts, learning about new releases and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such a self-service portal usually includes a Knowledge Base<\/a> with frequently asked questions and how-to articles, downloadable user guides, and so on, helping users to locate answers independently. In case the customer faces a difficulty, chatbots and human service reps pitch in via live chat facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JSW Steel,<\/a> for instance, has created a self-service platform that lets customers easily track their orders in real-time, shipment status, ledger information, MoUs, and other information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even educational institutions have jumped on the bandwagon. Pune\u2019s FLAME University<\/a> has created a student community portal that serves as the initial point of contact for potential students to engage with the university, learn about offered programs and submit their applications. It also lets current students connect with one another, work together on assignments and facilitate quick project completion and learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies can also open up such self-service forums to enable free-flowing conversations between customers, letting them resolve common problems on their own. When customers engage with one another, they can quickly and easily find the assistance they require without speaking to a customer service representative or contacting the brand\u2019s customer support centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The platform can also act as a forum where people can share their thoughts, allowing brands to gauge how the target audience feels about the product and brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Partner community <\/span> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A partner community is a specialised information centre for B2B organisations, enabling sales teams and resellers to quickly obtain necessary data and work together in real-time to clinch more deals. It is a platform where partners can run their businesses, learn industry best practices, and obtain the brand assistance they require.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leading auto manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra<\/a> has created a robust online community for its dealers to help them monitor customer data, nurture leads, handle inquiries, and more, enabling them to deliver more value to customers. The dealer portal enabled seamless handing over of leads from service reps to dealer sales consultants, reducing the lead response time by 50%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employee community <\/span> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An online employee community can serve as a platform to inspire, educate and inform employees. Employees can connect with one another, with HR and IT teams, and access shared files, knowledge databases, training materials, schedules, and organisational paperwork or announcements. This virtual environment not only brings together all staff members but also helps streamline procedures, such as those related to remote work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Systems integrator ABSYZ<\/a> leverages a feature-rich employee intranet to help employees manage all data and processes from hiring to exit, upskill themselves and increase internal collaboration. For the company itself, the intranet is a means to evaluate personnel, manage timesheets and expenses, conduct training, and measure employee productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benefits that online communities offer all stakeholders <\/span> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Online self-help communities are vital in enhancing the customer journey and brand trust, making them integral to brand growth and popularity. For an organisation, the advantages of building a community for customers include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n