Forum Moderators: rogerd
I run a retail site in a popular activity area. I am considering adding a forum to the site to build a community, etc.
My question, is there any negatives to having a forum on a retail site.
For example, lets say we sell widgets, and run a forum that consists of many areas that can discuss the activity of playing with widgets. Is this a good idea? Others sell widgets of course, so I was wandering if there may be a conflict of running the forum.
Will members be hesitant to join such a community? Obvoiusly the forum would be biased to our widgets, but does this cause issues?
My forum has been getting quite popular lately. Why? Because I offer an unbiased forum on widgets. I don't think people like to join biased forums. If they are looking to but a widget, they would prefer to go to a site that has honest information about where to buy the best widget, find the best price and service, etc. etc. etc.
What you could do, and I personally wouldn't because of the ethics involved, is build a new site about widgets that is not connected to your site at all. You could be a member of the forum and recommend your own widgets and give reasons why you recommend them. But keep in mind that if you get caught and news spreads of what you are doing, you may have a dead forum on your hands.
Just some thoughts.
It seems like one major issue is how to deal with complaints or negative statements. E.g., "I tried product X and it didn't work well. It's overpriced, too." Clearly, one could moderate flames and mindless bashing. But does one edit even well-reasoned negative statements? Or mildly negative comments? At what point does the moderation effort become perceived as heavy-handed censoring of any dissent? Or, do you leave these posts but reply to them?
This is what I was thinking. Of course there will be some customer service issues posted on the forum, but this would be a great chance to turn the negative post into a positive to show the forum members that customers and customer service does indeed matter.
Thanks for your input. I want use the forum to set us apart from our competitors. I think this may be possible by keeping the bias to a minimum.
For example, if a question is raised about a particular widget we carry, then recommend ours of course. However, we would allow members, etc. to recommend their favorite suppliers, etc. Add our input but not censor the members opinions, etc.
I would think the popularity of our community would depend clearly on the members overall thoughts as to how the forum is run as you touched on.
I know of a site that is in the same boat as you. They have a forum that is considered unbiased and get visits even from competitors. Even though their products are not the least expensive, they still do quite well and lots of users from the forums buy their products. Why? Because they have become the experts. They welcome other views on the products. They have even aired out service problems and have dealt with them in a timely manner, all on the forums. It gives people confidence not in your product, but the company that sells the product. That can go along way to success.
I used to visit a forum for a specific product, where very real issues were aired about a number of problems. However, no one from the company ever responded to these posts (including a lot of "me too's"). Users felt, as a consequence, that they were being ignored. Posts were made saying this explicitly. They probably weren't - the company was, and still is, developing its main product - but that's the impression the company gave by saying nothing.
The site degenerated into a general complaints forum about the company's lack of response to users' complaints. It has now been shut down, but not before it created a negative feeling (for me and probably a lot of others) about the product.
The strange thing is that the product is an excellent one. But nothing is perfect, and the company's failure to appear to take customers' concerns seriously probably did a lot of damage to it.
When I'm buying software (and some other products), the first thing I do is head for the support forum. I look for general activity level (too few posts suggests an overall lack of popularity), what kind of complaints users have, and how well (and quickly) the firm responds to these. If I happened on the forum you described (many complaints with no timely replies), I'd immediately move on to my next prospect.
If the pricing issue is ultra-sensitive, you could pre-mod all new threads or even all posts.
There is NO way that the customers can help each other with tech support. As I mentioned in another thread, our customers are SUPREMELY technically challenged. They have a hard enough time when people who made the product tell them how to fix problems let alone a third party who isn't involved with the company. Eeesh, I shudder to think what would happen. "Yeah, to fix that problem just give the booger-biters full access to everything on that server." Oiks! Not good.
I'm too much of a pessimist and control freak to welcome a forum with open arms. Maybe if it wasn't connected directly to our commercial site, but then, the customers don't feel connected to the company so what's the point?
<added>BTW - I don't want you to think that I don't believe in forums. I totally do or I wouldn't be here. Just that I know that if I'M in this situation, it is likely someone else is too. We have unique challenges to overcome in trying to create a forum that is right for our business and industry. I don't mean in any way, shape or form to deter anyone from creating a forum when it would be beneficial to his/her customers.</added>
Nevertheless, there are some great examples of company-owned forums that undoubtedly have strengthened the company's perception in the marketplace and increased sales. The key factors, I think, are good planning, posting rules that are clear and fair, and quick responses. Moderation must be diligent but friendly.
Note that if the forum is a low-volume forum, moderation may not be that difficult - a good e-mail notification system (perhaps that includes the text of new posts) can allow the mod to visit the forum only when there's a problem.
Of course, particularly if it's an "industry discussion" forum, the mod(s) or someone else have to assume the responsibility of discussion host - keeping the discussion flowing, posting thought-provoking topics, etc.
