It's been a while since I popped in, and I think this is just too important to put off.
Forrester Research recently studied the return on investment of time and money spent on connecting with customers via online communities such as Facebook and Twitter. The findings were startling, at least to some.
One of the seven benefits of investing in online customer communities was "product "ideation." In other words, customers will tell you exactly what they want and how they want it. This applies from toothpaste to townhouses, and those of us who pay attention will thrive.
The key to creating and selling products and services that customers want, buy, use, and rave about is to listen. Social media/online communities is another way to do that. I know that sometimes it is hard to be quiet, even when we have the best interests of our clients at heart. Still, learning to be quiet, at least some of the time is what we need to do. Ask relevant questions and then listen to the answers. Even the tiniest business can thrive this way.
