I want every reader who works for a brand planning to launch an online community to join Generation Benz. It’s the best example yet of how to do just about everything wrong.
Generation Benz an online community for future buyers of Mercedez Benz.
You will have to join it to see how bad it is (you have to register to see any content). Amongst it’s highlights are:
- It’s built entirely in Flash 10. Many users wont have this, iPads users can’t visit it, it’s slow and buggy. It’s also unfamiliar, big hurdle to those unused to flash.
- The registration process takes ages. Plenty of irrelevant questions are asked. It feels more like a market-research survey than a simple registration process.
- The registration process is also about five pages long.
- There is virtually nothing to do once you join. Only 3 discussions to participate in, most gaining less than 3/4 views per day.
- They have tabs such as live polls which feature no content. Most of the website is quiet and/or dead.
Feel free to enjoy their completely unreadable rules of participation too.
A lot of money has been wasted on a terrible community that breaks all the rules of what makes communities successful. If you’re going to create an online community, copy successful online communities – don’t try to break the mould.
If you’re going to hire someone else to build your online community, make sure they have experience developing successful online communities. Look at the number of people participating, now the aesthetics of the website.
