Listening to the Internet: Companies Watch Forums

[CSpec]

Listening to the Internet

Internet trends: Companies are eavesdropping on online discussion forums to find out what their customers really think about them

March 9, 2006

ONE of the things that makes the internet so appealing is that for any subject, no matter how obscure, there is almost guaranteed to be at least one website, blog or discussion forum where people congregate to talk about it. Online discussion forums cover a huge range of topics: it is not just stereotypical geeky bickering about Macs versus PCs, or Windows versus Linux. Worried mothers compare the fat content of different brands of potato crisps; car enthusiasts discuss the merits of forthcoming models; fans of obscure bands swap trivia.

The internet's oldest discussion system, called Usenet, dates back to 1979 and can now be easily reached via Google, which also maintains archived discussions going back 25 years. More recently, web-based discussion boards, and the comments that can be appended to blogs, have become the most popular forums for online debate. Most of these discussions are of little interest except to their participants. But the direct, unfiltered, brutally honest nature of much online discussion is gold dust to big companies that want to spot trends, or find out what customers really think of them. As a result, many firms now monitor online chatter as an adjunct to more traditional forms of market research.

For example, ConAgra, an American food giant known for its Butterball turkeys and Healthy Choice ready meals, tracks discussion groups to keep abreast of new diet trends, such as Atkins and organic food. “These discussion groups are very useful to determine whether a trend is really a trend, or just a fad,” says Nick Mysore, ConAgra's director of strategy. “They also help you get a read on the marketplace quickly and cost effectively, and provide you with the ‘baseline hypothesis' that you can test further, using conventional market-research techniques.”

This sort of thing has been going on, in an informal way at least, for several years. Sometimes public-relations teams are asked to keep an eye on online discussions, and switched-on company executives visit forums to stay in touch with the public mood. But companies are now looking to do it in a more systematic way. Initially, this involved throwing lots of computing power at the problem. Accenture and IBM have each built computer systems that trawl the web in search of trends and insights. But the extensive use of jargon, abbreviations and obscure slang can make it hard for computers to figure out what people are saying.

So smaller specialist firms, such as Wavemetrix in Britain and Nielsen BuzzMetrics in America, are now using a combination of computers and human researchers. They track general discussions and try to spot trends early, by identifying the members of online communities who are most likely to influence other participants. BuzzMetrics does this kind of work on behalf of 100 of the world's biggest firms, including General Motors, Ford and Microsoft.

Such research has a number of weaknesses, not least the fact that it excludes non-internet users, so it is not about to replace telephone surveys and focus groups any time soon. But it also has many advantages, notably its high speed and low cost. Opinions appear on the web within minutes of an event. Convening a focus group or performing traditional market research to gauge the impact of a campaign, in contrast, might take weeks or even months.

The results can often be surprising. Wavemetrix, for example, carried out a study for a European mobile operator that was aware that its network was less reliable than those of its rivals. Online research, however, showed that the general public believed the opposite to be true. Other surprising findings arise because participants in discussion groups can say anything they like, whereas people answering a survey answer only the questions that researchers think to ask.

What of privacy? Max Kalehoff of BuzzMetrics insists that “openness and transparency are the most important things in our industry.” Even so, many companies are reluctant to discuss their activities in this area. Although firms track only public forums, they do not obtain the participants' formal consent, and many users may be disconcerted to learn that their conversations are being listened to. That said, people who post their thoughts online generally want them to be read. While the ethics of monitoring public discussion boards are a matter of debate, there is general agreement that the active abuse of forums—in particular, posting poorly disguised product plugs—is unacceptable.

Occasionally, the monitoring of discussion groups itself becomes a topic of conversation. In one car forum, a discussion of BuzzMetrics' research for General Motors produced no objections—just disbelief that the carmaker could listen to their conversations and still produce such unappealing products. Consumers often moan that companies do not listen to them. Might the monitoring of discussion groups provide an answer to that problem? Discuss.

[Flybrian]

Well, if automakers read THIS forum, whoever penned the Kia Amanti is either royally pissed or shot themselves out of depression.

[Intrepidation]

lol

[knightfan26917]

Listening to the Internet

Internet trends: Companies are eavesdropping on online discussion forums to find out what their customers really think about them

March 9, 2006

Consumers often moan that companies do not listen to them. Might the monitoring of discussion groups provide an answer to that problem?

It might ... if feedback is given by the companies ... in the form of _showing_ that they are listening.

Other than that ... sure would love to get a job surfing the sites/forums for a company.... Hmmm......

Cort, "Mr MC" / "Mr Road Trip", 32swm/pig valve/pacemaker

MC:family.IL.guide.future = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/

Models.HO = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/trainroom.html

"We missed a page or 2 somehow" ... Suzy Boggus ... 'Cinderella'

[regfootball]

Well, if automakers read THIS forum, whoever penned the Kia Amanti is either royally pissed or shot themselves out of depression.

the amanti has a 'chinese luxury car' aura about it