Social Dollars and Online Customer Communities

Many companies have now launched brand-specific online communities. Using data from a specific retailer, a research team from University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and Wilfrid Laurier University sought to measure the actual revenues generated by an online community — also known as ‘social dollars’. Their findings confirm the effectiveness and profitability of online communities. Nearly 20% of the revenue from community customers in their research could be traced to their joining the community. Social dollars also persisted over time — the spending was not a temporary spike due to the novelty of the community — and appeared in both online and offline channels.