Report:
The Forrester Wave™: Community Management Software For B2B, Q4 2023
How does Forrester define the Community Management Software For B2B market in 2023?
Online community management software has evolved beyond traditional discussion forums and online chats to become a core part of customers' digital experience. B2B customer community platforms now offer robust experiences for end users and enable community managers to be proactive, elevating community from disconnected discussions to a hub for customer-company connection. These platforms integrate with CRM, learning, support, and other platforms to hide the seams between previously disparate interactions. Interest in B2B customer communities has increased as companies focus on enhancing customer experience as a differentiator to retain and grow existing customers.
Key Facts for The Forrester Wave™: Community Management Software For B2B, Q4 2023 in 2023
- Publication Date: 29-Oct-2023
- Document ID: RES179971
- Summary: In our 18-criterion evaluation of community management software providers, we identified the most significant ones and researched, analyzed, and scored them. This report shows how each provider measures up and helps B2B community professionals select the right one for their needs.
- Authors: Amy Bills, Dave Frankland, Dan Beaton, Kate Pierpont
How did the Community Management Software For B2B market evolve in 2023?
- Community management software has evolved beyond traditional discussion forums and online chats
- B2B customer communities now offer robust experiences for end users and proactive management opportunities
- Companies are focusing on enhancing customer experience as a differentiator to retain and grow existing customers
- Modern platforms enable integration with CRM, learning, and support platforms to create seamless customer experiences
- Six vendors were evaluated: Gainsight, Higher Logic, Influitive, Khoros, Salesforce, and Verint
- AI features are currently limited to first-wave capabilities like assisted chat and content moderation
- Minimum inclusion criteria required $10 million annual revenue from B2B customers
- Evaluation materials were collected through August 9, 2023
What product features are required to be included in this year's evaluation?
- An established, standalone community platform offering for B2B use cases. Included vendors have a standalone offering with unique capabilities to support B2B online communities. The offering may be their sole focus or part of a larger portfolio.
- A minimum of $10 million annual revenue from B2B customers. Many of the vendors serve B2B and B2C use cases and have products other than community platforms; we considered only B2B revenue for community platform offerings for the most recent fiscal year.
- Relevance to the Forrester B2B customer base. Forrester clients ask about the evaluated vendors and products during guidance sessions and interviews and/or have B2B use cases that these vendors are well-suited to support. Alternatively, in Forrester's judgment, evaluated vendors may have warranted inclusion because of their capabilities and market presence.
What are the common features of top products in the Community Management Software For B2B space?
No common features specified.
Scope Exclusions
- Forum, chat, and Q&A mechanisms with limited use cases
- Scaled versions of online customer councils meant primarily for gathering insights only
- Solutions that do not integrate with other parts of the postsale customer ecosystem
- Platforms focused primarily on B2C use cases
- Vendors with less than $10 million annual revenue from B2B customers
Inclusion Criteria
Vendors must, among other requirements:
- An established, standalone community platform offering for B2B use cases
- A minimum of $10 million annual revenue from B2B customers
- Relevance to the Forrester B2B customer base
Offering Strengths — Relative Weighting
- Deployment and integrations — 25%
- Member experience — 25%
- Community manager experience — 25%
- Data capture and activation — 25%
Strategy Strength — Relative Weighting
- Vision — 25%
- Innovation — 25%
- Roadmap — 25%
- Partner ecosystem — 5%
- Pricing flexibility and transparency — 10%
- Community — 10%
FAQs
Q: What does this research cover?
A: This research evaluates six community management software providers for B2B use cases using 18 criteria grouped into three categories: Current Offering (deployment and integrations, member experience, community manager experience, data capture and activation), Strategy (vision, roadmap, innovation, partner ecosystem, pricing flexibility and transparency, community approach), and Market Presence (annual revenue and number of B2B customers). The evaluation helps B2B community professionals understand how each provider measures up and select the right platform for their needs.
Q: Who should use this research?
A: This research should be used by B2B community professionals and organizations evaluating community management platforms who want to elevate community from disconnected discussions to a hub for customer-company connection. It's particularly valuable for community managers who need to demonstrate the power of community to drive retention, growth, and efficiency, and for organizations looking to integrate community platforms with CRM, event, customer success, support, and social media platforms.
Q: What are the mandatory features of vendors included in this market?
A: Vendors included in this evaluation must have: 1) An established, standalone community platform offering specifically designed for B2B use cases with unique capabilities to support B2B online communities, 2) A minimum of $10 million in annual revenue from B2B customers for their community platform offering, and 3) Relevance to the Forrester B2B customer base, meaning Forrester clients actively ask about these vendors during guidance sessions or the vendors have demonstrated significant capabilities and market presence in the B2B community management space.
Q: What are some reasons for not being included in this report?
A:
- Annual revenue from B2B customers below $10 million threshold
- Limited use cases compared to full community management platforms
- Primary focus on B2C rather than B2B use cases
- Lack of standalone community platform offering
- Limited relevance to Forrester B2B customer base
- Solutions focused primarily on forums, chat, and Q&A without broader community capabilities
- Platforms designed mainly for gathering insights rather than full community management
Q: What should buyers consider when evaluating products in this market?
A:
- Prioritize enabling community managers with training and certification, proactive customer success resources, actionable reporting, and guidance on using data to drive decisions
- Minimize the need for a developer army through low- and no-code options, out-of-the-box integrations, reliable APIs, wide selection of partnerships, and robust vendor communities
- Take an earnest, but honest, approach to machine learning and generative AI - be careful not to mistake AI headlines for actual utility and availability
- Evaluate integration capabilities with CRM, event, customer success, support, and social media platforms
- Consider vendor transparency regarding current-, near-, and future-state AI capabilities
Q: How has the Community Management Software For B2B market evolved in 2023?
A:
- Community platforms now integrate with CRM, event, customer success, support, and social media platforms to create seamless customer experiences
- Artificial intelligence is emerging in community platforms with features like assisted chat and content moderation automation
- Community managers need to demonstrate the power of community to drive retention, growth, and efficiency through actionable reporting and impact metrics
- Low- and no-code options are becoming essential to minimize the need for extensive developer resources
- Communities are being elevated from disconnected discussions to strategic hubs for customer-company connection
Q: What differentiates Strength of Offering vs. Strength of Strategy?
A: Current Offering evaluates the vendor's position on the vertical axis and indicates the strength of its current offering, focusing on deployment and integrations, member experience, community manager experience, and data capture and activation options. Strategy evaluates placement on the horizontal axis and indicates the strength of the vendor's strategy, including vision, roadmap, innovation, partner ecosystem, pricing flexibility and transparency, and their own community approach.
Reference
- Forrester, The Forrester Wave™: Community Management Software For B2B, Q4 2023, 29-Oct-2023, ID RES179971
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