Second Life, or by writing their own blogs. And a growing number of marketers are using Web 2.0 tools to collaborate with consumers on product development, service enhancement and promotion. But most companies still don't appear to be well versed in this area.

Web 2.0 tools can be used to do what tr aditional advertising does: per suade consumer s to buy a
company's pr oducts or ser vices. An executive can wr ite a blog, for instance, that r egular ly talks up the
company's goods. But that kind of appr oach misses the point of 2.0. I nstead, companies should use these

How can you do that? A leading gr eeting-car d and gift company that we spoke with is one of many that have set up an online community -- a site where it can talk to consumer s and the consumer s can talk to each other . The company solicits opinions on var ious aspects of gr eeting-car d design and on ideas for gifts and their pr icing. I t also asks the consumer s to talk about their lifestyles and even upload photos of

gr oups and sur veys used in the past. The conver sations consumer s have with each other, he adds, r esult in "some of the most interesting insights," including gift ideas for specific occasions, such as a college graduation, and the prices consumers are willing to pay for different gifts.

Similarly, a lar ge technology company uses several Web 2.0 tools to impr ove collabor ation with both its business partners and consumer s. Among other things, company employees have cr eated wikis -- Web sites that allow user s to add, delete and edit content -- to list answers to fr equently asked questions about each product, and consumer s have added significant contr ibutions. For instance, within days of the

instance, a toy company that cr eated a community of hundreds of mother s to solicit their opinions and ideas on toys also enables them to wr ite their own blogs on the site, a featur e that many use to discuss family issues.

only to members of the online community. Still others offer consumers peer recognition by awarding points each time they post comments, answer questions or contr ibute to a wiki entr y. Such r ecognition not only encour ages par ticipation, but also has the benefit of allowing both the company and the other members of the community to identify experts on various topics.

because consumers are likely to drift away if conversations peter out or if they feel that their voices are lost in a chaotic flood of comments. The moder ator can also see to it that consumer input is seen and responded to by the right people within the company.

The manager s we inter viewed accept that this type of content is her e to stay and ar e awar e of its potential
impact -- positive or negative -- on consumers' buying decisions. So they monitor relevant online
conver sations among consumer s and, when appr opr iate, look for oppor tunities to inject themselves into
a conver sation or initiate a potential collabor ation.

I n one case, a company found a popular blogger who had spoken highly of the company's br and. Just prior to launching a new product, the company sent the blogger a free sample, inviting him to review it with no str ings attached. The end result: The blogger wr ote a favor able r eview and generated a flood of comments. So the company got near ly fr ee publicity and feedback.

When consumers are invited to participate in online communities, they expect marketers to listen and to consider their ideas. They don't want to feel like they'r e simply a captive audience for advertising, and if they do they're likely to abandon the community.

In short order, community members not only identified what it was they were looking for in the company's pr oducts, but also suggested innovations to satisfy those needs. The company quickly developed pr ototypes based on those suggestions, and got an enthusiastic r esponse: Community

conver sation about its pr oducts and allowing the conversation to flow freely. I n gener al, though, the
manager s we inter viewed believe that companies ar e better off giving consumer s the opportunity to say
whatever is on their minds, positive or negative. Moder ator s can keep things r unning smoothly and
coher ently, but they shouldn't always keep the conversation on a pr edeter mined track. The mor e that
consumers talk fr eely, the mor e a company can learn about how it can impr ove its pr oducts and its

As another executive of a company that cr eates online communities for clients told us: "You have to let the members drive. When community members feel controlled, told how to respond and how to act, the community shuts down."