The Social Side of Productivity
As the number of online communities grows, marketers not there yet may be temped to rush into the fray. Be careful. A headlong approach instead of a well-planned strategy can be “disastrous,” warns Dave Hersh, CEO of Jive Software. Why? A rushed approach can lead to piecemeal, siloed communities that have no integration points. Yes, a company may want to have several communities – for example, for support, feedback, affinity, developers, etc. – that have different goals, but ultimately, those communities should be linked though a holistic strategy (and probably a bit of technology…).
Imagine the potential insight from a set of connected communities that potentially link to an organization’s CRM system as well. Many of today’s online communities are about innovation, Hersh says. The potential for innovation could grow exponentially from a bit of integration.




