Following a study of nearly 3,000 global consumers to determine the importance customers attach to being seen as stakeholders by corporations, Gongos, Inc. is launching a new online community service model, as announced by president & CEO Camille Nicita. The “Customer as a Stakeholder” service model facilitates a more reciprocal relationship between customers and corporations to ensure a more authentic fusion of the customer into decision making. The global study was conducted the week of July 1st in partnership with Dynata, the world’s largest first-party data platform.
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Gongos Inc. is launching the “Customer as a Stakeholder” service model, facilitating a more reciprocal relationship between customers and corporations to ensure a more authentic fusion of the customer into decision making.
Spurred by last year’s Business Roundtable Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation and as evidenced by consumers’ desire to be heard and valued by corporations, particularly during this year’s executive stay-at-home orders, this study underscores the need for online research communities to act as an avenue to drive value over a customer’s lifetime and as a customer experience touchpoint. The “Customer as a Stakeholder” service model, paired with the unique i°Communities environment, instills an imperative for creating new engagement strategies between customer and corporate stakeholders.
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According to the study, 80% of U.S. consumers (66% globally) believe that providing their input via a private online community can truly make a difference in the success of the business. Added to this, 75% of U.S. consumers (68% globally) prefer that companies ask them directly for their feedback rather than gather information about them without their knowledge, e.g. transactional and social data.
However, only 46% of global consumers who participate in online research communities currently agree that being a member makes them feel like a stakeholder in the business. This points to an opportunity for corporations to treat customers as stakeholders, while truly leveraging their voice to grow the business.
“Events of 2019 and 2020 demonstrate there’s a need to elevate the role of consumer to that of stakeholder in the success and sustainability of corporations,” said Nicita. “A customer’s experience heavily weighs on the relationship built between corporations and consumers—and we believe online communities provide a powerful platform to help build that reciprocity.”
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