It Doesn't Take A Genius Bar: Why Apple Consumers Are Turning to Customer Communities for Their Answers

Q: Help! My iPhone won't turn on! WHY APPLE CONSUMERS V 116 REPLIES IT DOESN'T TAKE ARE TURNING TO A GENIUS BAR CUSTOMER COMMUNITIES FOR THEIR ANSWERS There are currently Within the stores, there are But where else do 246 Apple stores in 27,350 retail employees, Apple consumers get their answers? the United States, and 7,700 U.S.-based throughout 44 states. AppleCare Advisors. In free, member-driven communities, where people can help one another with their various issues. This supports the new wave of social, where members within brand communities serve as their own experts, their own moderators, their own tech support, and enthusiastic envangelists. * GENIUS BAR® IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF APPLE, INC. A Self-Sufficient Community Approximately 27,500 people have participated in around more than 6,000 topics in the Free Get Satisfaction community over the last 5 years. The community is 100% created and run by Apple customers. ... & How They Get There Self-Organization Average Response Time Engagement and Activity 92% of community pageviews 100% of problems or questions came from organic searches on sites such as Google. answered in the Apple Despite the fact that no Apple There were 111,468 visits Free Community were in the last month. 28,136 actions employees are active in the community, the average by members; not have been taken. This includes Apple employees. community member gets a replies, "me toos," and stars. response in under 2 days. "DATA GATHERED FROM OCTOBER 8 TO NOVEMBER 6, 2012. Hot Topics What has Everyone Been Talking About? NUMBER OF PAGEVIEWS FROM LIFETIME DATA 119,958 112,473 89,157 88,740 80,741 "iPhone back light "My iPhone won't "My iPhone is stuck in "Having trouble exporting "How to sync iTunes won't work." sync to iTunes." headphones mode." iPhone contacts to a library on multiple CSV or any flat file." computers?" The Top Five Products Members Are Obsessing Over NUMBER OF TOPICS FROM LIFETIME DATA 811 558 402 275 255 #1 iPhone #2 iTunes #3 iPod Touch #4 MacBook Pro #5 MacBook Group Grief: What Issues Are Most Common Among Members? !!! NUMBER OF "ME TOO'S" Apple has charged my bank account, but I didn't buy anything. My iPhone calendar won't sync with Outlook 2007. I can't verify my iTunes store account. 278 517 354 There are unauthorized charges charged to my bank account from Apple My iPhone won't download/sync apps iTunes. 176 220 Curious Cats Most Activity Involves Asking Questions PERCENT OF ALL ACTIVITIES Question 61.4% Problem 24.1% Idea 12.1% Praise 2.4% Meet Your Geniuses: The Knights With Shiny iMacs The group of people who compose the foundation of these free communities are what Get Satisfaction calls "Knights With Shiny iMacs." Although they're not Apple employees, they're tech-savvy and on top of the latest gadget news. Because of this, they like to chivalrously share their knowledge in online communities and help fellow consumers solve issues. Who are these most active users on the Apple Free Community and what can we tell about them? TOP 3 MOST ACTIVE MEMBERS' (BY REPLIES) Username: Eric S. REPLIES: 7,548 TOPICS: 121 STARS RECEIVED: 756 TOPICS FOLLOWED: 121 Username: AlexJames REPLIES: 567 TOPICS: 20 STARS RECEIVED: 143 TOPICS FOLLOWED: 99 Username: Nate T. REPLIES: 276 TOPICS: 452 STARS RECEIVED: 32 TOPICS FOLLOWED: 1,600 Why Do People Turn to Customer Communities for Help? 24/7 The opportunity to connect with other A quick, 24/7 response time. A preference for social support people with similar problems and interest in Apple products. from fellow consumers rather than formal customer support. 2 REAL USERNAMES WERE NOT USED IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE IDENTITY OF MEMBERS. ALL DATA GATHERED FROM JANUARY 1, 2008 TO NOVEMBER 7, 2012 UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. satisfaction CREATED BY: www.getsatisfaction.com COLUMN FIVE SOURCES: GET SATISFACTION / APPLE.COM