KEYS TO COMMUNITY
READINESS AND GROWTH
Research and Analysis by Leader Networks
Written and Distributed by CMX
Sponsored by:
Study sponsored by Salesforce, Jive and Vanilla.

STUDY SCOPE
Focus of the study:
This research study seeks to develop an Online Community Readiness Index for any organization that has or plans to
develop an online community. Using a mixed methods study approach, the study examines the organizational
people, process and technology scenarios that fuel their existing or future community initiatives.
The study outcomes are a data-driven portrait of the characteristics that can be used to predict the potential business
impact of an online community upon an organization.
Sample composition:
• The survey was administered online to 414 participants who completed it between 10/15/15 and 11/20/15.
• Seventy-six percent of participants were located in the United States.
• Survey participation was primarily driven by marketing and community management professionals. Survey takers
were gathered via social channels, email, and peer referral.
Sections:
Separate results are presented for those Having a Community (285), and those who Do Not Have a Community
[but may be considering one] (129).
2

SEGMENTATIONS
All Customer results were analyzed by the following segments.
Significant differencesare notedon the relevant slide*
• Community Size – Under 1,000 members(n=73) vs. 1,000 to Under 10,000 members(n=89) vs. 10,000
members or more (n=118)
• Age of Community – Less than a year (n=69) vs. 1-2 years (n=62) vs. 3-5 years (n=71) vs. More than 5 years
(n=73)
• Focus of Organization – B2B and B2C (n=107) vs. B2B (n=131) vs. B2C (n=69) vs. Other (n=35)
• Size of Organization – 1-50 members (n=113) vs. 51-500 members (n=94) vs. 501-5,000 members(n=62) vs.
More than 5,000 members(n=50)
• Success of Community – Very Successful (n=69) vs. Other responses (n=194)
*Note: Overall sample sizes differ based upon which respondents were presented with each of the segmentation items
3

KEY FINDINGS
86% of organizations believe that having a branded online communitywill positively impact core operations, (85%)
improve the customer journeyand (85%) increase trust.
The reasons brands launch online communities are shifting to become more strategicallyfocused on supporting
the customer journey.
• The focus on communities as a cost reduction strategy (#3 top reason why those who have an online
community launched one) is significantly less important among those that are considering launching one.
Their 3rd
most frequent reason is to support brand champions. Cost reduction fell to 10% from 31%.
Communities are becoming a strategic initiative rather than an operational effort like in the past.
Brands who have online communities are driven to build them to help ensure competitive advantage by focusing
on customer satisfaction and retention(61%) and gathering ideas to fuel future innovation (48%).
• B2B firms more likely to launch community to reduce support costs.
• Primary motivations for launching a community included customer satisfaction/retention (61%) and gathering
ideas to fuel future products and services (48%).
• After communities launched, the majority of respondents (53%) reported user-generated content as highly
valued by their organization.
4

KEY FINDINGS CONTINUED
Executive sponsorship and identifying keybusiness drivers are critical successfactorsin launching a successful online
community.
• When launching a branded online community, 56% found it important to determine a business need, 45% relied on
executive support and 39% built a business case.
Maintaining communityengagement and growthis an ongoing challenge for most, yet it is oftena leading indicator of
success for very successful communities.
• More than half of respondents are concerned that the community will fail to be vibrant. And the fears are warranted
as lack of support and low engagement are the primary reasons why communities fail long-term.
While having a strong communitystrategy and business case is at the forefront of success, the software platform can
also strongly influence the long-term community success.
• Respondents who consider their communities very successful and those from larger organizations are more likely to
report that their organization expended “high” effort in selecting a software program.
• Surprisingly, only 1 in 4 organizations are rigorous in their approach to the vendor selection process.
Organizations considering launching an online communityoftenunderestimate staffing requirements.
• The majority (91%) of brands that have a community report at least one dedicated community manager, and dedicate
more staff to larger communities. However, only 2 out of 3 brands considering a community plan to have a
dedicated resource.
5

6
KEY FINDINGS CONTINUED
There are some significant differences betweenB2B
online communities and consumer focused ones. B2B
communities are:
• Believe that community will improve the customer
journey, reduce costs, generate indirect revenue,
and streamline the supply chain.
• More likely to define community as “members who
develop relationships with each other on a
platform.”
• Their top triggers for new member acquisition are:
onboarding all customers or employees and refer-
a-peer programs.
• Expend a lot of effort in selecting community
software
• Most likely to have a full-time manager and more
likely to have multiple managers.
• More likely to report that "Gathering and organizing
product feedback” is a top challenge.
• Highly value new product ideas or feedback.
Community Readiness and SuccessMarkersfor very
successful communities:
• More likely to seek and find an executive sponsor
prior to launch
• More likely to be motivated by cost reduction as a
business driver
• More likely to see strong off-line eventsas an
indicator for community readiness
• Among those considering launching a community,
they are more likely to indicate that “solving
problems by accessing experts and FAQs” and “self-
serve through videos and how-to tutorials” would
be main member activities.

Community Definition

DEFINING COMMUNITY: THE KEY CHARACTERISTICS
8
4%
23%
49%
51%
54%
66%
67%
67%
68%
Other
Have an executive sponsor
Have a central gathering place
Is a line of business or a strategic initiative for the
organization
Have measurable goals and objectives
Have a dedicated community manager
Common set of people with mutual interest who
convene online
Have members who interact on a branded platform
with the brand
Have members who develop relationships with
each other on a dedicated platform
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Those with a B2B focusand
those in larger organizations
are more likelyto indicate
that an “online branded
communityhasan executive
sponsor.”
Those who considertheir
communityverysuccessful
are more likelyto indicate
that an online branded
communityis definedby
having“memberswho
developrelationships with
each other on a platform.”
The relationships members form among peers and brands on a dedicated platform are the primary
differentiations for an online community.
HOW DO YOU DEFINE AN ONLINE BRANDED COMMUNITY IN YOUR
ORGANIZATION? [SELECT ALL THAT APPLY]
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

7 IN 10 RESPONDENTS HAVE AN ONLINE BRANDED COMMUNITY
9
DOES YOUR ORGANIZATION HAVEAN ONLINE BRANDED COMMUNITY?
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth" by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

Have Online Branded Community

ORGANIZATIONS LAUNCH ONLINE COMMUNITY TO IMPACT
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND RETENTION
11
25%
5%
5%
7%
8%
8%
13%
14%
19%
27%
31%
48%
61%
Other
Customer dissatisfaction
Because our competitors have one
To influence NPS scores
Executive mandate
Market forces to compete
Replace or supplement in-person events
Customer requests
Generate revenue
To support brand champions
Reduce support costs
To gather ideas to fuel future products and services
Customer satisfaction / retention
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Organizations witha B2B focus andthose withmore than50 employees aremore likelyto identify“reducingsupport costs”as a primary
driver of their online community.
The most commonother
responses were: creating
space for collaboration,
UGC and the organization
identifying as a community
itself.
WHAT WERE THE PRIMARY DRIVERS BEHIND YOUR ORGANIZATION’S LAUNCH OF AN
ONLINE COMMUNITY? [SELECT UP TO THREE]
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND FUELING FUTURE INNOVATION
ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT DRIVERS OF COMMUNITY
12
2%
1%
3%
4%
3%
4%
5%
6%
4%
10%
7%
18%
9%
4%
2%
1%
2%
4%
3%
4%
5%
5%
10%
9%
17%
23%
18%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
3%
3%
9%
6%
14%
12%
25%
Other
Deflect customer dissatisfaction
Because our competitors have one
Influence NPSscores
Executive mandate
Market forces to compete
Replace or supplementin-person events
Customer requests
Generate revenue
Support brandchampions
Reduce support costs
Gather ideas to fuel future products & services
Customer satisfaction/retention
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
3rd 2nd 1st
PLEASE RANK YOUR DRIVERS FOR AN ONLINE COMMUNITY FROM MOST TO
LEAST IMPORTANT.
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

BEST TWO WAYS TO GAIN FUNDING: COMMUNITY SOLVES A
BUSINESS NEED & EXECUTIVE BUY-IN
13
8%
13%
14%
17%
29%
39%
45%
56%
Other
Conducted customer journey mapping
Built a financial model for community returns
Purchased a platform for an online community
Cited customer requests/used customer data
Developed a business case
Found strong executive support
Identified business needs community could help with
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
• More than half of respondents reported that they gained funding by identifying business needs that the community
could help with
• Slightly less than half reported that they relied on strong executive support
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST SUCCESSFUL APPROACH TO GAIN FUNDING FOR THE
BRANDED ONLINE COMMUNITY? [SELECT UP TO 3]
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

FREQUENTIDEA SHARING & CUSTOMER PRODUCT FEEDBACK =
SIGNS OF COMMUNITY READINESS
14
10%
15%
31%
31%
34%
38%
46%
53%
54%
Other
We didn’t look for signs to validate
They asked for online community
They build things independently& wanted to build together
We have successful offline events
We help solve complex issues, so there is a lot to discuss
They trust and want to engage our expertise
They frequently reached out for answers to their questions
They frequently give us product feedback or ideas
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
• Respondents with largercommunities were morelikelyto indicate that users “reachedoutto get answersto their questions.”
• Organizations witha B2C focus were less likelyto “report successful offline events.”
• The majority of organizations surveyedwho have an online community sought to validate the need
for community with their customers
WHAT WERE SOME SIGNS THAT YOUR CUSTOMERS WANTED A BRANDED ONLINE
COMMUNITY? (SELECT ALL THAT APPLY)
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

LENGTH OF COMMUNITY EXISTENCE
15
13%
12%
22%
25%
26%
2%
Less than 6 months 6-11months 1-2 years 3-5 years More than 5 years Not Sure/Do Not
Know
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
• 26% indicate that their community has existed for over 5 years, which represents a surprising maturity given the
relative newness of community to businesses.
HOW LONG HAS YOUR BRANDED ONLINE COMMUNITY EXISTED?
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth" by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

SIZE AND GROWTH OF COMMUNITY
Question: How many total membersare in your community?
16
Under 100
8%
100-499
11%
500-999
7%
1,000-4,999
21%
5,000-9,999
10%
10,000-
50,000
12%
Greater than
50,000
31%
• Over 3 in 10 respondents report communities larger than 50,000 members
• Close to a quarter indicate that their community has at least doubled in the past year
• Younger Communities were smaller and reported more rapid growth.
It has
declined
5%
Has not
changed
8%
Grown 1%to
9%
18%
Grown 10%
to 25%
23%
Grown 26%
to 50%
14%
Grown 51%
to 75%
6%
Grown 76%
to 99%
3%
Grown 100%
(doubled) or
more
23%
TOTAL MEMBERS GROWTH IN PAST YEAR
Question: What has the growth in your community been over the past year?
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

MANY METHODS ARE USED TO TRY TO GROW COMMUNITY, BUT
THERE IS NO MAGIC BULLET
17
23%
2%
18%
19%
20%
29%
32%
37%
37%
58%
Other
Purchase lists
Share an online tour of the community
Refer-a-peer programs
Offer incentives andgiveaways
Onboard allcustomersor employees to the community
Develop personalizedoutreachto prospectivemembers
Email invitationsfrom our organizations list
Run events
Use social mediamarketingto raise awareness
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
• Communities most commonly try to attract new members through social media marketing and events.
• Respondents with smaller communities and younger communities were more likely to use email invitations.
• Organizations with B2C Focus were more likely to offer incentivesand giveaways.
Multipleother
responses cited
“word of mouth” and
“product support.”
HOW DO YOU ATTRACT NEW MEMBERS TO JOIN THE COMMUNITY?
(SELECT ALL THAT APPLY)
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AND AUTOMATIC ONBOARDING YIELDS
THE MOST NEW MEMBERS
18
19%
1%
1%
3%
6%
9%
10%
11%
18%
23%
Other
Purchase lists
Share a publically available online tour of the community
Offer incentives andgiveaways
Refer-a-peer programs
Run events
Email invitationsfrom our organizations list
Develop high-touchpersonalizedoutreach to prospective new members
Onboard allcustomersor employees to the communitybydefault
Use social mediamarketingto raise awarenessabout our community and drive traffic to it
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
• A wide variety of approaches are used to attract new members and no one proves to be highly successful overall.
Successful new member acquisition methods seem to be based on community profiles.
• Respondents who consider their communities very successful are more likely to report that “onboarding all customers
or employees” and “refer-a-peerprograms” are top triggers to new memberacquisition.
There were no themes
in the other responses.
AMONG THE ACTIVITIES YOU USE TO ATTRACT NEW MEMBERSHIP TO YOUR COMMUNITY,
WHICH ONE HAS BEEN THE MOST SUCCESSFUL IN CONVERTING NEW MEMBERS?
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

ONLY 4 IN 10 ORGS RESEARCHED PLATFORMS RIGOROUSLY, VERY
SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITIES DEVOTE MORE EFFORT TO THE
SELECTION PROCESS THAN OTHERS
19
High
39%
Medium
18%
Low
21%
Not Sure/Don't
Know
22%
Respondents who consider
their communities very
successfulandthose from
larger organizations are
more likely to reportthat
their organization
expended“high” effort in
selecting a software
program.
HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE LEVEL OF RESEARCH EFFORT THAT YOUR ORGANIZATION
DEVOTED TO SELECT A SOFTWARE PLATFORM?
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

THE WEB WAS THE MOST COMMON METHOD OF RESEARCHING A
COMMUNITY SOFTWARE PLATFORM
20
22%
14%
19%
22%
36%
41%
46%
58%
Other
Issued an RFP
Attended vendor conferences or meetups
Attended webinars
Peer referral
Conducted demos
Developeda business and technical requirements checklist
Web-based research
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
The most commonother
responses were “built our own”
and“not sure.”
Respondentsfromlarger organizationswere more likelyto indicatethat theirorganizationdevelopeda requirements checklist, issuedan
RFP, andconducteddemos.
WHAT TACTICS DID YOU USE TO RESEARCH A COMMUNITY SOFTWARE PLATFORM?
[SELECT ALL THAT APPLY]
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

ALMOST ALL COMMUNITIES HAVE A COMMUNITY MANAGER
Question: Is your community staffed with a dedicated Community Manager?
21
Yes – Full
time
68%
Yes – Part
time
22%
Yes –
Outsourced
2% No
8%
• More than 9 in 10 respondents indicate that they have a manager. Half of those have a single manager.
1
50%2 to 5
40%
6 to 10
5%
More than 10
5%
HAVE MANAGER NUMBER MANAGERS
Question: How many community managers does your community have?
IF YES
Larger, older, and
very successful
communities are
more likelyto have
a full-time manager
andmore likelyto
have multiple
managers.
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

TOP THREE CHALLENGES FACED: INTERNAL AWARENESS, LONG-
TERM STRATEGY, AND METRICS
22
2%
6%
11%
13%
13%
14%
18%
18%
20%
22%
27%
31%
37%
44%
Managinga team ofcommunitymanagers
Outreach to other communitiesin your industry
Gathering andorganizingproduct feedback
Serving as the voice of users in business meetings
Budgeting
Managingcommunityambassador program
Managingoffline and/or online communityengagementprograms
Generate revenue
Buildingrelationships withusers
Integrate withother linesof business(e.g.customer support)
Creating and executingon content strategy
Managingbusiness/communitymetrics
Buildinglong-termcommunitystrategy
Internal awarenessof the value of community
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
• Internal awareness of the value of the community is identified as a top challenge by close to half of
respondents.
• Respondents who considertheir communities verysuccessfulare less likelyto report “buildingrelationships with users” as a top
challenge andmore likely to report “gatheringandorganizingproduct feedback” as a challenge.
• Larger organizations are more likelyto identify“integrationwithother linesof business”and“internal awareness ofthe value of
community” as topchallenges.
PLEASEIDENTIFY THE TOP CHALLENGES YOU FACE AS A COMMUNITY BUILDER (SELECT UP TO 3)
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth" by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

ORGANIZATIONS VALUE UGC & COMMUNITY SIZE ABOVE ALL ELSE
23
19%
7%
17%
17%
36%
37%
46%
53%
Other
None, we do not track outcomesof our
community.
Revenue generatedfrom the online
community via adsandsponsorships
Social shares
New product ideas or feedbackon existing
products andservices
Customer or user testimonials
Number of members
User created content
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Respondentswhoconsider
their communities very
successful are more likelyto
value “new product ideas or
feedback.”
Top Other Responses:
Support Deflection: 16
Engagement: 13
Satisfaction/Retention: 11
WHAT COMMUNITY OUTCOMES ARE MOST VALUED BY YOUR ORGANIZATION?
(SELECT UP TO 3)
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

9 IN 10 CALL THEIR COMMUNITY A SUCCESS, HOWEVER ONLY
26% REPORT THEIR COMMUNITY IS VERY SUCCESSFUL
24
Very successful
26%
Moderately
successful
59%
Moderately
unsuccessful
12%
Unsuccessful
3%
HOW SUCCESSFUL IS YOUR COMMUNITY?
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth" by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

TRUST & CLEAR STRATEGY: THE PREDOMINANT REASONS FOR
COMMUNITY SUCCESS
WHAT IS THE PRIMARY REASON THAT YOUR ORGANIZATION’S BRANDED ONLINE COMMUNITY IS A
SUCCESS?
Our members are
engaged/trust
community, 33%
Clear business
strategy, 22%
Excellent
community
management,
14%
Community
solves problems
for members,
14%
Great content,
8%
Strong
community
growth &
retention,
8%
Other,
4%
25
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth" by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

COMMUNITIES MOST LIKELY TO FAIL WHEN NOT GIVEN
ADEQUATE SUPPORT AND RESOURCES
WHAT IS THE PRIMARY REASON THAT YOUR ORGANIZATION’S BRANDED ONLINE COMMUNITY
WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL?
Lack of internal support
and resources, 31%
Not enough
engagement, 24%
Doesn’t address
member needs, 17%
Other, 14%
Poor community
management, 7%
Problems with
platform, 7%
26
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth" by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

WHAT MAKES FOR A VERY SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITY
Question: How successful is your community?
27
Overall Very Successful= 26%
Those respondents who report high community growth and “new product ideas or feedback on
existing products” as their most valued community outcome are almost twice as likely as others to
state that their community is very successful.
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth" by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

28
Organizations Considering
A Community

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND RETENTION IS THE MAIN REASON
COMMUNITY IS CONSIDERED
29
10%
1%
2%
5%
9%
9%
10%
15%
15%
20%
37%
52%
67%
Other
Customer dissatisfaction
Executive mandate
Because our competitors have one
To influence NPS scores
Market forces to compete
Reduce support costs
Customer requests
Generate revenue
Replace or supplement in-person events
To support brand champions
To gather ideas to fuel future products and services
Customer satisfaction / retention
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
There were no consistent
themes among the other
responses.
WHAT ARE THE PRIMARY REASONS YOU ARE CONSIDERING LAUNCHING AN ONLINE BRANDED
COMMUNITY? (SELECT UP TO 3)
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

SHARING IDEAS & AMPLIFYING BRAND MESSAGE ARE VIEWED AS
THE MOST IMPORTANT ACTIVITIES AMONG ORGS CONSIDERING
A COMMUNITY
30
1%
5%
7%
7%
11%
15%
13%
13%
2%
3%
8%
17%
12%
15%
14%
13%
3%
4%
5%
8%
10%
7%
15%
37%
Other
Participate in researchactivities
Self-serve through videosandhow-to tutorials
Create user generatedcontent to reduce our content
developmentburden
Get product support from eachother
Solve problems byaccessingexperts and FAQs
Amplify our message, member advocacy programs
Share ideas /support each other
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
3rd 2nd 1st
Organizations witha B2B Focus are more likelyto indicatethat “[solving] problems byaccessingexpertsandFAQs” and“self-serve through
videos andhow-totutorials”wouldbe mainactivities.
IF YOU WERE TO LAUNCH AN ONLINE COMMUNITY, WHAT WOULD BE THE MAIN ACTIVITIES OF
THE MEMBERS?
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

COMMUNITIES OF THE FUTURE WILL BE BUILT ON A STRONG
BUSINESS FOUNDATION
31
1%
13%
25%
28%
31%
46%
48%
50%
8%
13%
14%
17%
29%
39%
45%
56%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Other
Purchase platformfor an online communitythenbuilda
plan
Build a financial modelfor community returns
Conduct customer journeymapping
Cite customer requests/usedcustomer data
Develop a business case
Identify business needs communitycould help with
Found strongexecutivesupport
Have an online community Consideringan online community
METHODS FOR GAINING FUNDING FOR AN ONLINE COMMUNITY
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

TWO-THIRDS OF ORGANIZATIONS CONSIDERING COMMUNITY
PLAN TO STAFF IT IN-HOUSE
Question: Does your organization plan to staff the online community with a dedicated community manager?
32
Yes - In
House
64%
Yes -
Outsourced
5%
No
5%
We’re not
sure
23%
I don’t know
3%
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth" by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

CUSTOMER TRUST IN BRAND EXPERTISE IS PRIMARY DRIVER FOR
CONSIDERING LAUNCHING AN ONLINE COMMUNITY
33
7%
5%
6%
12%
18%
24%
29%
Other
Our customers or users asked for an online community
None, we didn’t weighwhether we wouldbe successfulor
not.
We had the abilityto create successfuloffline events with
customers or users
Our users frequently outreachedto us to get answers to their
questions
Our organizationhelps solvecomplexissues so there is a lot
for our members to discuss
Our customers or users trust us and want to engage withour
expertise
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
WHAT IS THE MAIN REASON YOUR ORGANIZATION BELIEVES MEMBERS WOULD PARTICIPATE
IN AN ONLINE BRANDED COMMUNITY?
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

ORGANIZATIONS PERCEIVE A VARIETY OF OBSTACLES TO
LAUNCHING AN ONLINE COMMUNITY
34
18%
8%
10%
13%
20%
33%
38%
41%
41%
57%
Other
We are in a regulated industry
Legal concerns
We don’t have executive support
Members will criticize our companyor say thingsonline that
we don’t support
We don’t have the staff or expertise to runan online
community
Creating newcontent ongoingis a burden
We don’t understand theoperational impact of running a
branded online community
We don’t understand all the costsassociatedwiththis
initiative long term/it may be tooexpensive.
The communitywillfail to bevibrant
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Several other
respondents
identifiedtime as
an issue.
WHAT ARE YOUR ORGANIZATION'S BIGGEST CONCERNS ABOUT LAUNCHING AN ONLINE
BRANDED COMMUNITY? [SELECT ALL THAT APPLY]
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

LACK OF VIBRANCY IS THE BIGGEST CONCERN SHARED BY
ORGANIZATIONS CONSIDERING AN ONLINE COMMUNITY
35
15%
2%
2%
3%
4%
7%
9%
9%
14%
35%
Other
We are in a regulated industry
Legal concerns
We don’t have executive support
Members will criticize our companyor say thingsonline that we
don’t support
Creating newcontent ongoingis a burden
We don’t have the staff or expertise to runan online community
We don’t understand all the costsassociatedwiththisinitiative
long term/it may be too expensive.
We don’t understand theoperational impact of running a
branded online community
The communitywillfail to bevibrant
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Various others includingstaff
time/bandwidthandlackbusiness
case
WHAT IS YOUR ORGANIZATION'S MOST IMPORTANT CONCERN ABOUT LAUNCHING AN
ONLINE BRANDED COMMUNITY?
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

36
Have Or Considering A Community

GAINING TRUST, IMPROVING CUSTOMER SERVICE AND CORE
OPERATIONS ARE VIEWED AS BIGGEST BENEFITS COMMUNITY
HAS TO OFFER
37
7%
11%
4%
2%
18%
17%
18%
5%
2%
4%
2%
2%
49%
37%
33%
29%
12%
10%
14%
13%
17%
24%
32%
40%
43%
40%
36%
35%
9%
11%
13%
24%
42%
46%
47%
50%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Streamline the supply chain
Generate direct revenue
Reduce costs
Generate indirect revenue
Improve the “customer journey”
Yield feedback to improve core operations
Provide better customer service
Enable greater trust with your organization
Definitely Will Not Probably Will Not May or May Not Probably Will Definitely Will
Those who consider their community very successful are more likely to believe that a community will improve the
customer journey, reduce costs, generate direct revenue, and streamline the supply chain.
USING THE SCALEBELOW PLEASEINDICATE TO WHAT DEGREE DO YOU BELIEVE A BRANDED
ONLINE COMMUNITY WILL DO EACH OF THE FOLLOWING.
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth" by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

8 IN 10 CONSIDER INTEGRATING CORE BUSINESS PROCESSES INTO
COMMUNITY TO BE IMPORTANT
Very important
46%
Somewhat
important
37%
Somewhat
unimportant
12%
Very unimportant
5%
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO INTEGRATE CORE BUSINESS PROCESSES SUCH AS
E-COMMERCE OR CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT INTO YOUR COMMUNITY?
38
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

39
Firmographics

ORGANIZATION SIZE AND FOCUS
Question: What is the size of your organization (number of employees)?
40
Both businessto
businessand
businessto
consumer
31%
Business to
business
37%
Business to
consumer
21%
Association or
membership
organization
7%
Other
4%
ALL ORGANIZATION SIZES WERE REPRESENTED, AS WERE A VARIETY OF ORGANIZATIONAL FOCI.
35%
20%
9%
15%
4% 4%
12%
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
Question: What is the focus of your organization?
SIZE
FOCUS Most “Other”
respondents
were nonprofits
or education
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016

MANY RESPONDENTS FROM COMMUNITY AND MARKETING
BUSINESS UNITS
Question: What Department are you in?
41
18%
0%
0%
0%
3%
6%
8%
8%
23%
32%
Other
Legal
HR
Finance
Sales
Strategy
Communications
Product development
Marketing
Community
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Over half of respondents are inthe
Communityor Marketing
Departments
Top Other Responses:
Support: 19
IT: 7
Executive: 7
“Keys to Community Readiness and Growth"
by Leader Networks and CMX, 2016