Customer Communities

3How the Next Generation of Communities Drives Success: The New Company-Wide Strategy to Drive Net Revenue Retention

Humans have succeeded largely by cooperating and collaborating within communities. In the modern age, where many of us are less connected to the people directly surrounding us, the Internet has opened up the opportunity for humans to once again find their community of like-minded individuals.

It's not all that different in business—companies have discovered the value and power of bringing customers together, resulting in the birth and growth of business communities over the last three decades.

The Evolution of Business Communities

Starting with the early dawn of computer-connected networks and the Internet, there have been online communities. Since that time, these communities have grown through massive changes and multiple iterations, mediums, and forums. Let's explore these phases and their significance in where we stand today.

Phase 1

The older readers among us might remember the original Bulletin Board System (BBS). Before broadband Internet was widely available, you had to dial into these networks with your PC modem (yes, those were tough times!). The BBS offered a simple way to post messages between users, just like a traditional offline bulletin board found on the walls in many public spaces. Through the 1980s and early 1990s, BBS was the primary form of online community.

In the late 1990s, after the World Wide Web arrived and Internet access was more ...