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Online communities have been around for years, but we now have more tools for building them. The options include Weblogs (blogs), wikis, forums (bulletin boards), email discussions and online chats. Each has its strengths and weaknesses.

In forums, any registered user can start a new topic, with others responding. The content in wikis is open to the community for adding, editing and deleting as a collaborative effort. (See Wikipedia for a large and well-known example that's done well.)

With blogs, the bloggers control the conversation as they post the topic while customers or others respond through the comments or trackback feature. Only the authors have the ability to modify the original posting. For example, BzzAgent, through its Beelog blog, opens its doors and lets visitors see the inner workings of the company. Such topics have covered the process of hiring a new employee, with the employee introducing herself and writing about her first days with the company. And Marqui has not only its own blog but also a program that invites other bloggers to write about the company.

AbsoluteWrite and AWAI (American Writers & Artists Institute) use forums. Both cover writing-related discussions where writers help each other by giving advice, feedback on content and potential market information. Since AWAI's forums consist of students taking its courses, they often discuss assignments, post study-buddy requests and share drafts for input.

Every one of these communities has success stories, but how do you choose which tools to use in your business?

Have more pressing problems than building a village? The community of 200,000 "MarketingProfs Today" readers is ready to help provide you with new and creative answers to your challenges. Share a marketing challenge and receive a complimentary copy of our book, A Marketer's Guide to e-Newsletter Publishing.

This Week's Dilemma

Building a customer community

We are a new incarnation of a previous analytical instrument company. Our customers are a relatively limited group of chemists and other scientists. I like the idea of a Web-based medium for exchanging information and developing an ongoing relationship with customers and prospects. However, I'm not certain whether a blog, forum or wiki format makes better sense, given the small size of the community How do you determine which format to use for your community?

—Mike K., director of marketing and sales

Previous Dilemma

Mixing and matching marketing tools

I work in a high-tech company and lead a marcom team that produces marketing collateral for hundreds of products for businesses. Which marketing tools are the most effective in a sales cycle, especially when selling to other businesses? How does a company determine which collateral format works best for particular activities, or to target specific decision makers?

—Josie, product manager

Summary of Advice Received

Before determining which marketing vehicle is most appropriate, understand that successful B2B marketing starts with the premise that business people buy when they trust that the perceived value is applicable to them and comes from a stable company. Our responses mirror the four main points of this mantra:

  1. Earn trust.
  2. Show value.
  3. Establish relevancy.
  4. Demonstrate stability.

Once you understand this concept, determine how it will best fit within each of your activities. Doing so should help you decide which particular collateral format works best. Below, you'll find a chart based on information from our readers that lists which particular marketing vehicle is best suited for specific situations. Josie, we hope this will make your selection process easier!

1. Earn trust

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hank Stroll (Hank@InternetVIZ.com) is publisher at InternetVIZ, a custom publisher of 24 B2B e-newsletters reaching 490,000 business executives.