The Forrester Wave™: Community Management Software For B2B, Q4 2023

Community Management Software For B2B Vendor Product Comparisons 2023

Key features and pros and cons of top Community Management Software For B2B products:

Gainsight - Strong Performers

Pros:

Robust integration with Gainsight's flagship customer success product, providing account-level community activity visibility
Native integration with Northpass customer education platform for course creation and monetization potential
Visible improvement in commitment to innovation following the purchase of inSided
Recent upgrade to home page customization capabilities
Described by customers as a 'one-stop shop' when integrated with Gainsight ecosystem

Cons:

AI features currently limited to AI-powered spam detection only
Language localization remains an ongoing pain point
Cross-product integration benefits are most valuable within the Gainsight family; organizations using other CSPs will have a different experience
Best fit requires ability to leverage connection to Gainsight's CSP platform

Higher Logic - Strong Performers

Pros:

Strong foundation in forums and discussions
Easy setup noted by multiple reference customers
Lots of out-of-the-box functionality
One of the highest R&D investments by percentage of revenue among evaluated platforms
Moderation add-on available for teams lacking bandwidth or experience
Focus on B2B use cases with Higher Logic Vanilla solution

Cons:

Platform can be 'tricky to customize' according to reference customers
Reporting is limited compared to stronger competitors
Enterprise-level features like email digest and automation rules came later to the offering
Least transparent in pricing model among evaluated vendors
Would benefit from more specific examples for customers new to community
Customers must be amenable to an 'are we there yet?' journey as the platform evolves

Khoros - Strong Performers

Pros:

Aurora platform represents first substantial evolution following 2018 acquisition of Spredfast and Lithium
Superior roadmap including host of AI-driven features
Extra layer of community manager enablement with robust reporting and dedicated business value team
Proactive delivery of guidance and tools for community managers who want to level up
API-first approach with updated low- and no-code UX customization
AI-assisted chat and automated workflows to reduce workload
Vision for integrated customer engagement across digital interactions
Reference customers note company is 'very invested in customers being successful'

Cons:

Not for the faint of heart - requires experienced community managers
Requires willingness and ability to devote services and developer resources to optimize the platform
Classic version has required substantial resources to scale and achieve impact
Too early to tell whether Aurora platform will be a lighter lift than classic version
Enterprise-focused solution best suited for well-resourced organizations

Verint - Strong Performers

Pros:

Tops among evaluated vendors in incorporating AI-driven features like automated moderation and recommendation engine
Strong reporting and analytics capabilities
Community health summary that rolls up activity in easy-to-access format
Marketplace supports focus on integration partners
Vision for digital experience connecting across multiple channels and customer data sources
Multiple release updates per year rather than single annual release

Cons:

Roadmap described as 'reactive' and 'underwhelming' by some reference customers
Community does not always appear as company's top priority
Marketplace lacks community manager must-have automation software like Zapier
Should improve user experience regarding updates and bug fixes
Less visible in market than competitors

Influitive - Contenders

Pros:

Robust gamification designed to engage and activate advocate storytellers
Highest number of out-of-the-box integrations in this evaluation
Strong, multifaceted community supporting advocate marketers
Integration with third-party review sites G2 and TrustRadius for easier customer review encouragement
Instrumental in elevating advocate marketing in B2B companies
Strong fit for advocacy and loyalty use cases

Cons:

Vision, roadmap, and innovation scored low compared to broader community platforms
Primary focus is advocacy use case rather than full community management
Lags competitors in broader community-enabling features like federated search
Limited AI-powered features compared to competitors
Customer marketers often use Influitive in combination with another community platform
Not on par as a full-blown community management competitor

Salesforce - Contenders

Pros:

Integration with Salesforce CRM platform for connections to customer and account data, support cases, and ideation
Appeal of working with known entity for IT and CFO decision-makers
Checks boxes for functionality with drag-and-drop design and community activity reporting
Responsive support noted by customers
Highly customized Trailblazer community serves as collaboration hub for community managers
Bundled pricing and existing relationships can facilitate approval

Cons:

Vision and roadmap don't seem to prioritize community manager needs
Attaining expected value requires substantial developer resources
Community managers indicated vision and roadmap don't prioritize their specific needs
Organizations must be willing to forego experiential value for internal approval benefits
Declined to participate in full Forrester Wave evaluation process

FAQs

Q: Which vendors are Leaders in 2023?

Q: What does "Leader" mean in Forrester Wave terms?

A: The report does not contain an explicit definition of what 'Leader' means in Forrester Wave terms. However, it should be noted that this particular Wave evaluation produced NO Leaders - all six evaluated vendors were classified as either Strong Performers (Khoros, Gainsight, Verint, Higher Logic) or Contenders (Influitive, Salesforce). The Forrester Wave methodology typically identifies Leaders as vendors with both strong current offerings and strong strategy, but this evaluation did not identify any vendors meeting that threshold for the Community Management Software for B2B market in Q4 2023.

Q: How do I interpret a Forrester Wave?

A: https://www.forrester.com/policies/forrester-wave-methodology/

Report:

Top Vendor Products for Community Management Software For B2B in 2023

Community Management Software For B2B Vendor Product Comparisons 2023

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FAQs

Q: Which vendors are Leaders in 2023?

Q: What does "Leader" mean in Forrester Wave terms?

Q: How do I interpret a Forrester Wave?

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