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Communispace and Charles Schwab win social technologies award for Generation X online customer community

Communispace, the leader in building and managing online customer communities, and its client Charles Schwab today were named winners in the “Listening” category of the Forrester Groundswell Awards, announced yesterday at the annual Forrester Consumer Forum in Chicago.

The Forrester Groundswell Awards are the first awards to recognize excellence in business uses of social technologies, with entries judged primarily on business effectiveness and value.  The winning entry is an online customer community of Generation X-ers that Communispace designed and facilitated for Charles Schwab. Communispace was also a finalist in the “Listening” and “Embracing” categories in collaboration with two of its other clients, Kraft and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare.

“Companies are realizing that the power of social networks goes much deeper than advertising platforms,” said Diane Hessan, chief executive officer of Communispace.  “Done right, smaller, facilitated social networks like the online communities we’ve built for Schwab generate priceless insights for product and service innovation, brand differentiation, and ‘get-it-right-the-first-time’ marketing.  For meaningful business value, marketers need to create a customer experience that inspires gut-level sharing of ideas and emotions, and they need the tools and skills to listen to, engage and analyze what it all means so they can take action.”

The Schwab example illustrates the power of customer communities “done right”.  Through a mix of relationship-building and research activities in the “Money and More” community, Schwab learned from Gen X-ers not only about their perceptions of investing and financial services firms, but also their life priorities, their savings goals and important messaging cues.

“We have listened to and learned about Gen X customers much more deeply and productively than ever before,” said Jonathan Craig, Vice President - Younger Investor at Schwab.  “Most important, we’ve taken specific action that has strengthened our offerings and our relationship with a young group that’s just sorting out how to manage their finances.”

Schwab got big ‘a-has’ from listening to what’s important to Gen X-ers in the community: Gen-X-ers need financial guidance, but don’t fully trust the motives of investment services firms. Community members shared their concerns and issues which allowed Schwab to hear their unfiltered feedback and adapt their approach accordingly.  Gen X-ers also don’t want to hear about retirement.  They’re not even close to thinking about it.  They want help now with other things like managing their expenses, so they can then move on to saving for the future.  And based on customer insights about the entry points for investing and saving, Schwab Bank created its Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking ™ account tied to a companion Schwab brokerage account tailored to Gen X-ers.

In addition to creating more relevant and differentiated products and services based on new insights, marketers are also discovering that truly listening deepens customer loyalty.  Two stories from Schwab’s “Money and More” community members:

“It was a community in a real sense. It was the first time I was deeply involved with a community, frankly… Take my words. When I decide to invest, I would surely see Schwab first.”

“Being a part of this has certainly made me think a little more about my finances and my financial future. And knowing that Charles Schwab has gone to these lengths to hear the opinions of potential customers has made me think more favorably about the company.”

The Forrester Groundswell Awards are an outgrowth of the book, Groundswell, to be published in 2008 by Harvard Business School Press. Written by Forrester's Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li, Groundswell will focus on effective business strategies in a world transformed by social technologies, and will feature the types of case studies recognized by the Forrester Groundswell Awards.  More information about the Forrester Groundswell Awards is available at http://www.forrester.com/groundswell.

About Charles Schwab

The Charles Schwab Corporation (Nasdaq: SCHW) is a leading provider of financial services, with more than 300 offices and 6.9 million client brokerage accounts, 1.2 million corporate retirement plan participants, 200,000 banking accounts, and $1.4 trillion in client assets. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides a full range of securities brokerage, banking, money management and financial advisory services to individual investors and independent investment advisors. Its broker-dealer subsidiary, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC, http://www.sipc.org), and affiliates offer a complete range of investment services and products including an extensive selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment advice; retirement plan and equity compensation plan services; referrals to independent fee-based investment advisors; and custodial, operational and trading support for independent, fee-based investment advisors through its Schwab Institutional division. Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. and Charles Schwab Bank are separate but affiliated companies and subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation. Brokerage products offered by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., are not insured by the FDIC, are not deposits or obligations of Charles Schwab Bank, and are subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of principal invested. Deposit and lending products and services are offered by Charles Schwab Bank, Member FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender.
CyberTrader(R), Inc. (member SIPC, http://www.sipc.org) is an electronic trading technology and brokerage firm providing services to highly active, online traders. More information is available at http://www.schwab.com.

About Communispace

Communispace Corporation, is the leader in building, managing, and facilitating private branded communities that deliver the voice of the customer and enable businesses to generate continuous insights, drive faster innovation, and build loyalty.  Founded in 1999, the company has created over 275 communities for major corporations across a broad range of industry sectors. Headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts, the company has offices in New York, San Francisco, London, Chicago, Austin, and Atlanta.

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