Three Minds On Digital Marketing @ Organic

The interactivity of Web 2.0 makes it ideal for another purpose: gaining insights into customer attitudes and behavior.

For about two years Charles Schwab has been recruiting groups of a few hundred customers or prospects to participate in ongoing online communities that provide real-time, iterative feedback to the company. Schwab uses the forums to get input on prospective ad campaigns, new products, and even names for mutual funds.

The online communities "give incredible feedback," said Jonathan Craig, a vice president at Schwab. "It's amazing how much people are willing to engage with you.  We literally just listen. That's where the insight is.”

One small example of how the forum gave Schwab a new perspective came in the community's critique of a prospective ad campaign. The ad trumpeted the ability to access thousands of no-load mutual funds through Schwab. The community's overwhelming response to the ad, Mr. Craig said, was "What's a load?"

More broadly, the online group had input on the design of a high-yield investor checking account aimed at that target market. Since April, Schwab customers have opened 65,000 such accounts, Mr. Craig said. Overall, as of the end of October, the number of people in this age bracket doing business with Schwab has increased 40% from a year earlier, he said.

"The community was a big part of the information-gathering that led to the actions that drove those results," Mr. Craig said.

 Joshua Fischer