Web Community Platform

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In the fall of 2000,  I submitted an entry to a coprporate challenge at UMPH to suggest "new products".   I submitted the following:

Formation of a UMPH Web Community Unit

The creation of a Web Community unit responsible for the Development and Research of Web Community enabling tools, leveraging the existing Web platform for Cokesbury.com, Cokesburytexts.com and CokesburyLibraries.com. This unit will create areas for forums supporting Customer service Issues, Product Related Research, Focus groups, and Customer discussions (between customers and UMPH-to-customer), in addition to carrying out Web marketing studies focused on the use of Online Community to enhance business, and build brand awareness and customer trust.

The target audience is both INTRA net users (UMPH MBU’s ) and Internet Users (Customers /users of our products.

(Our mission, “To be the Number One Choice For Christian Resources” should also be translated to the Internet) as:

The Internet/Web customer has been found to be expecting more immediate feedback and response. To create Web spaces in which to interact, express ideas and opinions, and see the involvement of UMPH personnel in this “Attention” to customer feedback is crucial to healthy Internet customer relations, and for the perception of UMPH as an organization that is in touch with the New Economy and the New Consumer.

The provider of Christian Resources is also called to provide a full complement of customer support regarding this content we consider to be of some theological importance, and the Community-enabling site will provide spaces for a full complement of meetings of people to explore the best possible stewardship of these Ministry resources.

Sales Revenue is impacted, but the amounts are unknown, just as are the figures regarding the revenues realized from Good Customer Service in General. Studies at a Web Community consulting firm suggest that average transaction sizes for Community members are twice as large as those of non-community members, and that Customer retention rates are 50% longer for Community members than for non-Community members. Also that at present, even though Online Community members are but 5% of the customer base, they make more than 30% of the purchases, at larger volumes.

In addition to impact studies such as these, these communities keep us in touch with our customers, and give us an opportunity to know what our customers are saying on a constant and in-depth basis, and allows us to communicate our distinctive personal commitments to supporting our Customers use of the Resources, and to support them in general in their ministries.

“In a nutshell”, we as a Provider of Christian resources on the Web, are called to do the work of Customer Communication and Endeavor to Provide the widest possible coverage of Customer needs for finding the right product(s), Using the Product, and enabling the creation of an Online Community Support Group for a wide variety of Ministries.

Later,  in a second round of ideas,  I wrote this:

I am proposing that I qualify for a “Re-submission” of this idea to give me an opportunity to explain the impact of such a thing. I think a key feature of this idea that gives it an advantage over many of them is that it does not involve as siginificant of an outlay to begin work on it. Much of the existing Web infrastructure we already have enables us to start building in the distinct Community features. The major economic impact to the House would be in the re-allocating of personell resources (me) and on the time required for key collaborations to develop (time spent by the colloborators to the project/unit).

The idea is that this is a new UNIT, not a PRODUCT. This unit ‘s work would have impact across all product lines, since it would enable Product Owners to be in much closer contact with users, and also the process of providing community interaction would expose all kinds of products to customers who have not used them, and motivate them to buy those products that are being praised by other customers. Those products that have less “customer reccommendations or constructively criticizing feedback can be improved based on customer response, a response we would not get without the use of Customer Community/Interaction tools.

This idea will have impact felt across multiple areas: Customer Service (which is measured, or assumed perhaps, somehow based on its positive influence on Sales), Customer Loyalty (many sites have found that the more active members, here designated as “COMMUNITY MEMBERS”, make a siginificantly larger typical purchases than those not involved as members.) As the Web portion of our business becomes a larger slice, the marketing piece of this puzzle becomes a much higher stakes issue. Therefore, this unit would begin to develop marketing research, study the nature and impact of online Community, and how this impacts our “Theology” of Christian Community. As our audience continues to become more Internet savvy, more Internet aware, and more a part of the culture of information and its expectations, the more we need to be “with it” in regards to understanding this breed of New Consumer, and New Communicator.

I also have to feel that this Idea has some MAJOR standing in several of the other Categories it could have fallen under:

Duh! Why Didn't I Think of That?
If we are encouraging the description of ourselves as “First Choice For Christian Resources” , then should we not embody this in all of our channels, especially the one that cuts across all “traditional” channels? This is the Internet, the Web in particular, and understanding the New Consumer represented by the Web customer. I was struck by the phrase in the Video that was shown: “Cokesbury’s Distinctive Prescence”, and there is no way to communicate this in a Web environment if our customers who do not take the time to email us (and there are MANY of these using our Web site who do not bother to compose messages concerning questions or concerns that they have, or general questions about the resources we offer, but a full-fledged Community around Products, Education Issues, Theological Issues, Reference Works (and how they are being used) is giving to our customers a way to involve them in the Exploring of How we can best achieve our Mission, which is to serve God by serving them. On the Web, we need to strive to offer the Community feel that we have thus far neglected.

Clearly Customer Driven

This is the ONLY reason for being concerned with how well we are doing in Working at being a Community on the Web as well as we strive anywhere else. I believe that on the Web we have several advantages:

We can present/aggregate a wide variety of Customer input on a wide variety of topics and service issues

People can browse through discussion, tips, resolutions on a wide variety of commonly encountered problems occurring with WebSite navigation or functions, Product usage, 

Shipping or Billing Issues, etc. and discover that their problem is not necessarily unique, and have a point of reference with which to confidently contact us without fear that we won’t know what they’re talking about.

We can offer a selection (of discussion forums) limited only by how informative and expansive we wish to be, each of which would address the needs and desires of the customers to see how others are using the product, how others have found products they need, how others have used the site to do “task X”,, and to interact with others on a wide range of issues within a particular product area, or subject area (with links to and from Product Areas to Topical Areas and vice versa. 

All of the above is the ultimate form of responding to Customer Needs on the Web, or a means to finding out what people are liking, disliking, looking for, wondering about, etc.

These interaction opportunities also offer people a way to “extend” the time and attention they are given opportunity for in the face to face world. Online, discussions can occur and continue without the “face to face” limitations of time, social pressures, and logistics issues. 

Great Fit With UMPH Mission

This is the greatest reason for UMPH Web Community Management Structures in my estimation. To be “The First Choice For Christian Resources” translates to “Be the First Choice for Christian Resources ON THE WEB” when we talk about carrying out our mission there. And the best way to let our “Cokesbury Distinctiveness” show is to be there, and invite people to explore just what Christian Resources they need, and what they would like to be able to do over the Web. I was doing a Dmin program at United Theological Seminary in Dayton when I came to work for UMPH in May 1997. I was then, and even more so now, convinced that working to enhance the possibilities for “additional” Community in the Church on the Web. “Additional” in terms of extending what is already being done in Churches and at UMPH for the Churches, but also additional in creating new ways to experience Community, with people we may well otherwise never meet, and even discover people in their own local church that they never knew held certain convictions. This is entirely possible as we begin to explore how Web Community functions can be offered to churches at the local level.

Taking Our Ministry/Business to a Whole New Level!

This one is a gimme. The Internet has taken all levels of Human interaction and Business operation to a new level. We need to figure out the hows, whys, and be open to discovery.

Sales growth in a Product Line or Customer Base We Thought We'd Lost

This being new territory, we may already be in the proccess of losing a certain segment of Web user, and the Big Players in Web Services have recognized that Communities of Interest are big builders of Customer Loyalty and lend strength to the Internet branding of the Company.

Best Use of Electronic Technologies for Product Development, Product, Delivery, Marketing, or Sales

All of the above. Product development would have a constant flow of Customer input, all organized by the Profile types of Users in Particular Customer focus groups. Focus Groups could operate much more often, and on a continuing basis. Product Marketing could be more tightly focused on Community Areas of Particular Topics, around Particular products, and to Particular Market Segments (another issue in organizing a Customer-centric Site is organizing by Customer Groups rather than Product offerings. The Product offerings come further down at the “Customer Group” level, where we know more directly what products need to be highlighted on the Front Page and at the top level.

Most Emphatically Focused on Our Core Audience

(this is the area this was placed under, which was just as fitting)

When we focus on Communities of Interest (around products, which ties into issues people are passionate about….or around issues, which allow us to suggest Resources we can offer to help them in their Church’s endeavors in this area, or help them to convince their church’s people to rally around minstries related to these issues), then we are building a structure for Tackling the Issues facing our core audience, and are forced to become more information aggregator as we become more of a Product developer. In fact, the supporting Information aggregations around our products become a value added service, offering our expertise in Christian Education resources to the task of providing a look into the broader Christian World of issues and ministries, as well as a more extensive coverage of United Methodist ministry stories, all tied together in a collaboration (aggregation) of resources, with our brand on it.

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© Copyright 2003 Dale Lature. Last update: 9/23/2003; 3:37:38 PM.