8 Benefits of Online Communities

During the recent crisis, many companies were forced into a new way of doing business. Offices were forced to close, and employees were encouraged to work from home. Now, as we adapt to the new normal, we are finding that working from home is not just a short-term change, but one that many organisations are looking to retain permanently.

As a result, it is now more important than ever for organisations to have the rights tools, processes, and technology in place for staff to collaborate with their co-workers, partners and clients for business continuity and success. Online communities allow businesses to do just this by offering companies the opportunity to provide all stakeholders with the ability to share knowledge, simplify processes and communicate through instant messages, emails, forums, and discussions.

At KINSHIP digital we believe in the importance of an online community and are proud partners of VERINT, an online communities software provider. KINSHIP deploys and provides managed services for Verint’s community software for both external customer and internal employee communities.

Below we provide you with the top 8 benefits online communities can provide your business which is also presented in the infographic on the right:

1.      Customer Support

Customers can ask questions and raise concerns via an online community without needing to call the support team. This not only saves the customer time by not having to wait on hold to speak with a customer service representative, it also frees up the call centre to handle more complex inbound support issues.

Support enquiries managed via an online community allows for multiple team members to view the query and improve SLAs, streamline responses, and allow for faster response times.

2.      Online Collaboration

Online communities are the central hub that filters all communications from multiple sources including, instant messages, emails, forums, and discussions, all into the one place. This encourages the sharing of ideas, facilities a two-way dialogue between a company and its stakeholders, introduces personalisation and the ability to connect not just locally but also globally.

3.      Customer Loyalty

Online communities give customers the platform to provide open feedback and suggestions back to the business. It allows users to feel heard and apart of the changes implemented by the organisation.

The community also provides customers / users with the opportunity to share experiences, discuss certain topics and provide support to each other.

4.      Flexibility

Using a flexible white-label, mobile responsive platform allows customers to create incredible social communities as unique as their brand for customer and employee engagement.

Verint online communities’ acts as a single platform that can be deployed for external and/or internal communities, on-premises or cloud, with no limits to functionality or integration options.

5.      Improve Efficiency

Online communities simplify processes, increases work satisfaction therefore breaking down silos and, increases the speed of communication.

6.      Increase Revenue

Online collaboration allows for faster problem solving, increase in innovation and productivity and faster supply and demand chains.

7.      Capture Knowledge

Acts as a hub for information and the transfer of knowledge between all users and the organisation. Companies can manage stakeholders from the one location to avoid duplication of work, allow for better coordination and improve best practices. 

8.     Empower Stakeholders

Gives employees/ users a voice to make meaningful contributions, increase engagement, satisfaction, and retention.

To learn more about online communities contact us today!