Helping the Groundswell Support Itself 

Helping your customers support themselves will make them happier, save money, and generate insights.  But it will require a great deal of effort for the company.  Li and Bernoff outline 3 questions you should ask before you start:

1. What problem is your support activity trying to solve? – Why will people participate?
2. Groundswell support needs your participation – Support communities need activity – few will go to a forum that’s not buzzing with activity.  Activity creates content, which creates traffic and links, which boosts search engine placement, which drives more traffic, and so on.
3. Why build it if you can join it? – You should check whether there is an existing community for your customers.