Lithium Finds Identification of Customer Influencers Increases Campaign
Effectiveness by 50 Percent
EMERYVILLE, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
Lithium Technologies, the leading provider of Social CRM solutions to power the
customer network, today announced initial findings from its collaborative
research on the impact of customer networks on word-of-mouth marketing
campaigns. The report marks the first joint research produced by Lithium`s chief
scientist, Michael Wu, and leading researchers studying marketing and social
media, including Barak Libai, of MIT Sloan School and the Leon Recanati Graduate
School of Business in Tel Aviv; Eitan Muller, of New York University Stern
School of Business and the Recanati School; and Renana Peres, of The Wharton
School, University of Pennsylvania and Hebrew University of Jerusalem. A white
paper elaborating the findings and providing practical advice for marketers is
available for download today from Lithium.
The goal of this research is to quantify the impact of customer networks - a set
of interconnected online relationships among members of a company`s customer and
prospect base - on word-of-mouth marketing campaigns. Findings indicate that
word-of-mouth campaigns executed across customer networks can increase product
adoption by as much as 107 percent.
Initial research findings highlight the critical nature of Influencers:
* Influencers matter: Influential customers within branded customer communities
can increase the effectiveness of word-of-mouth marketing programs by as much as
50 percent.
* Influencers accelerate sales: Influencers within branded customer communities
can help accelerate new product adoption. In competitive markets, almost all of
the value of word of mouth programs originates from accelerated product
adoption.
* Influencers produce high ROI: Companies can achieve more than 80 percent of
the potential value of the word-of-mouth campaign by targeting fewer than 5
percent of the potential audience.
"Identifying your most ardent customers creates tremendous opportunity for
companies," said Lyle Fong, CEO Lithium Technologies. "We are seeing that the
ability to identify, engage, and create lasting relationships with passionate,
influential customers is a core competitive advantage for companies today."
Choosing to build a branded customer community and engaging with users willing
to share their product experiences with others not only enhances customer
support, but also has been found to amplify word-of-mouth marketing programs and
accelerate sales cycles.
This new research builds on Lithium`s report about community health, where the
company identified and provided open standard metrics that help understand the
efficacy of customer communities. And, the new white paper explains the role
that these health factors play in effective propagation of word-of-mouth
messaging and offers practical suggestions for marketers on how to ensure that
brand communities maximize opportunities for success.
Methodology
The researchers studied the interactions within communities of top brands
focused on consumer products ranging from high-tech to finance, and with
revenues ranging from $15M to more than $70B.
Additional Resources:
For more information about this research, see Lithium`s whitepaper.
About Lithium Technologies
Lithium is the leading provider of Social CRM solutions to power the customer
network. Working with market leaders such as Best Buy, Sony, AT&T, Research In
Motion Limited (RIM), Univision, and PayPal, Lithium is delivering the next
generation of customer relationships by unlocking the value of the social
customer network. Lithium solutions combine the power of online customer
communities with the broader social web and traditional CRM business processes
to inspire customers to innovate, promote, and support on the company's behalf.
As a result, businesses measurably improve their marketing and sales, accelerate
innovation, and increase customer satisfaction. Lithium's platform is proven in
high-volume, growth environments and provides the security, analytics, APIs, and
multi-language support that enterprises demand. Founded in 2001, Lithium is
privately held with headquarters in Emeryville, California. For more
information, visit www.lithium.com
Horn Group
Erin Maher, 415-905-4019
emaher@horngroup.com
Copyright Business Wire 2009
