Using Digital Customer Communities as a Marketing Tool to Connect and Educate Customers in the Manufacturing Industry

Abstract

The application of digital customer communities has been observed over the past years but primarily in the business-to-consumer sector. The COVID-19 crisis has affected positively the usage of digital tools in business-to-business, including customer communities. A digital customer community aims to connect individuals and share information between them. It has therewith a positive effect on the trust, loyalty and behavior of customers. The present study reviewed scholarly databases in an attempt to ascertain the current knowledge on the use and relevance of digital customer communities. Several studies have discussed the advantages of using digital customer communities in e-commerce, brand management or business cooperation, but a framework supporting the application of digital customer communities is lacking. The present study used content analysis to examine the existing academic knowledge. It recommends answering the three questions “What does the digital transformation change?”, “Why use customer communities?” and “What drives the customer experience?” when starting to consider using digital customer communities in business-to-consumer.