Meet the corporate research department

The phenomenal ratings success of ``American Idol," where couch potatoes vote for their favorite performer, hasn't been lost on the nation's business community.

A growing number of companies are also giving their customers a voice, setting up online communities that act as on-call focus groups for everything from developing new products to fine-tuning advertising messages.

One of the leaders in this emerging area of consumer research is Communispace Corp. of Watertown. The private company stumbled upon the business somewhat by accident, but now sets up and runs password-protected online customer communities for such clients as Kraft Foods, Hallmark Cards, Unilever, the Chicago Tribune, and Charles Schwab.

``The real trick of marketing is walking in the shoes of your consumers, and this allows companies to do that," said Diane Hessan , chief executive of Communispace.

Hallmark, the greeting card company, used its online community to explore the nature of humor in a post-9/11 world. Unilever was taking heat for its Axe Tsunami deodorant body spray after the devastating tsunami in December 2004, but decided to stick with the name after receiving positive feedback from young men.

Kraft decided which Asian entrees to include in its South Beach Diet series of meals based on poll data from one of its five online communities. CDW Corp., which sells technology products to businesses, developed an online search tool for computer hardware in collaboration with its five communities.

``This is the type of research that's powerful to do but in the past not very cost-effective to do," said Calvin Vass , senior manager of research at CDW in Vernon Hills, Ill.

``It really gives us a unique way to stay in touch and be close with consumers," said Gretchen Waitley , a consumer insight manager with Kraft. ``We're on their turf."

Communispace started out in 1999 trying to create websites where company employees could share ideas. But at a meeting with Hallmark, an executive asked whether the collaboration could be extended to customers. The Hallmark Idea Exchange was launched in November 2000, and since then, Communispace has created close to 225 online communities.

The cost is roughly $200,000 a year, including recruitment of members, website development, facilitators, and regular reports.

In an age of Do Not Call lists and TiVo time-shifting, what's amazing about the online communities is the willingness of people to participate, committing to at least 30 minutes a week. The only financial incentive they receive is a $10 Amazon.com gift certificate once every six weeks.

Part of what draws people in is what Julie Wittes Schlack , Communispace's vice president of innovation and design, calls the ``anonymous intimacy" of the Web.

Many community members spend much more than a half-hour a week on the websites. When they're not responding to company postings, they're trading gossip, posting pictures, or networking. Schlack says it's a chance for people with similar interests to talk about personal or business issues with one another, everything from investing philosophies to losing weight.

On their own, the young men in Unilever's AXE deodorant community arranged Wednesday night online gatherings to talk about all sorts of things. At one such session, said Alison Zelen , director of consumer and market insights at Unilever, members began posting pictures of their girlfriends and asking other members to rank them on a scale of one to 10.

Zelen said the spontaneous member postings gave her Unilever team valuable insights into the young male mind. She said those insights help in the development of Axe products and advertising, which is heavily focused on how Axe products can help attract women.

Other features on the Axe community website include the Female Fight Club, where members vote for their favorite female celebrity in head-to-head competitions. Winners advance through brackets much like the World Cup.

There is also a lingo-lexicon area where members define the slang they use. Many of the postings on the Axe website might be considered offensive anywhere else.

``I liken it to being in a locker room with the guys," said the 35-year-old Zelen. ``That's something I would never be able to do."

Consumers also participate in the online communities because it gives them a feeling of power. They seem to love the idea of being consulted, and love even more the notion that they are being listened to.

Most companies do consumer research using surveys and focus groups, and the consumer rarely, if ever, hears how that research was used. With online communities, it's not uncommon for the members to not only be consulted but also be told what the company ultimately decides.

``They're providing guidance to a Fortune 500 company and they're seeing results from that feedback," said Vass at CDW. ``They want to feel that they can have an impact on the company."

At some firms, the online communities have become so popular that the participants don't want them to disband. One Communispace client, Charles Schwab, decided to target a different set of investors with a new community but decided not to discontinue its existing communities.

``The experience of being heard is so rare," Hessan said. ``Few companies do it anymore. Even if they do, they don't use it. For the majority of consumers, this is the first time this has ever happened to them."

Bruce Mohl can be reached at mohl@globe.com.