As online communities continue to proliferate, B2B marketers are concerned that their own efforts at community could be lost in the shuffle or fail to provide business value. How should B2B marketers focus their community efforts to provide compelling content for members and business value for their companies? For some answers, we went to Bill Johnston, who blogs about online community strategy and runs the Online Community Research Network. In surveys of online community leaders and managers, Johnston found that communities provide ROI, but not the kind you’d expect.

Key Takeaways from this Q&A interview include:

• Customer support costs can be dramatically reduced through communities.
• Communities can increase customer loyalty, satisfaction, and referrals.
• Only a small percentage of community members will contribute content, so active management of the community is essential.
• Reputation ranking is a critical component of community, but it must be managed carefully.
• Match your goals for the community with the needs of customers and prospects.