Just how important are forums to the TPG business?

[Keigwin]

Would you say they are insignificant? Simply a benefit for a minority of customers? Gotta have one, though.

 

Or are they important to keeping business healthy and growing...generating new income?

 

Maybe somewhere in the middle. They matter but not a lot. Most business comes from different methods.

 

What do you figure?

Lance.

[coinman_23885]

I think they are very important to the TPG business, and wise companies will read their forums regularly to figure out, among other things, how to improve customer service and to be responsive to the customer base. I like that NGC has a forum here to ask questions, and the PM system can be much more convenient than calling customer service - there is no waiting. A simply post to the ask NGC thread or a PM to the moderators or known NGC employees, and my questions (most of which required a bit of research and were not things that could be answered on a phone immediately) were answered quickly. This does a service a lot of good. I also think the registry threads help promote the registries and competition, and also strengthen loyalty to the brand. With this said, I also think the forums can be detrimental to TPGs if TPGs ignore their customers, infuriate their bases, attempt to quell legitimate (and respectfully articulated) dissent that could have lead to demonstrable good to the parent company, and act irrationally in an authoritarian way.

 

I will say that I think NGC does a great job, and that the threads and the enormous latitude we are given here are characteristic of NGC's excellent customer service. I think the forums help NGC very much. PCGS, not as much, which is truly a shame. While many members who are banned across the street deserve it, there is a large pool where PCGS overreacted (think the RWBs, Mark Felds, Condors, etc.). I think their community is poorer for it, and I do not think that PCGS's actions have helped it in any way.

[KeyMan64]

Important for the paying advertisers

Important to learn things from their customers

Important so they can quickly address customer concerns

Important to promote registry competition and more submissions

Important database of knowledge that can be searched for info (when search works)

...

[messydesk]

I'm sure most businesses would love to have a perpetual focus group, albeit a self-directed one with a relatively low signal-to-noise ratio, that they don't have to pay.

[Coinbuf]

I suspect that forums have their place and do provide some benefit to the parent firm, perhaps less so to the firm than to the small minority who make up 90% of the traffic in many cases.

[FishyOne]

I think they important these days. They are a revenue stream through advertisements and should produce intangible goodwill for the owners. Vital or extremely important? Probably not.

[jpcienkus]

I think they're extremely valuable. Many of the reasons have been mentioned. For a new collector such as myself, it's a great place to learn about all aspects of the hobby. It's a great place to interact with other collectors outside local coin clubs.

[cpm9ball]

I don't think that the forums are as important for generating revenue as they are for sharing information with their customers and getting feedback from the vast array of topics. In my opinion, NGC is very good at this.

 

Chris

[RWB]

Massydesk got it on the noodle:

 

"I'm sure most businesses would love to have a perpetual focus group... that they don't have to pay."

 

[Conder101]

If they were that important why do only two of the TPG's have them? ANACS did have one but they closed it down.

[BillJones]

If they were that important why do only two of the TPG's have them? ANACS did have one but they closed it down.

 

I imagine that ANACS shut their site down because of low participation. Look at the volume of messages here. It is much lower than the number of messages that are posted on the PCGS site. Given that ANACS is the third or fourth leading grading company and kind of on the fringes of the coin grading and authentication industry, their participation would be even less.

 

I agree with the others that an active forum can be a huge asset for a grading company. In addition to the feedback function, the exchange of knowledge and information stimulates less advanced collectors to become further involved in the hobby which supported increased demand for TPG products.

[coinman_23885]

If they were that important why do only two of the TPG's have them? ANACS did have one but they closed it down.

 

I imagine that ANACS shut their site down because of low participation. Look at the volume of messages here. It is much lower than the number of messages that are posted on the PCGS site. Given that ANACS is the third or fourth leading grading company and kind on the fringes of the coin grading and authentication industry, their participation would be even less.

 

I agree with Mr. Jones here, but will add (in response to Conder's post) that just because ANACS's forum had low participation does not mean that the company did not receive benefits from having the forum. ANACS in and of itself has almost been relegated to a position of being irrelevant; thus, I wouldn't expect its forum to matter as much given what I perceive to be ANACS's irrelevant status. The question is clearly referring to well established forums. I didn't even know that ANACS had a forum. Visibility and function are just a few of the myriad of factors that you are overlooking. What is right for PCGS and NGC may not be ideal for companies with a small fan base and who may have other problems.

[Becky-migration]

I sure miss it when it's down....

[agentjim007]

I feel like I'm living the movie "Surrogates". Your PC, iPad is your surrogate and Bruce Willis didn't hit the button. Now we all have to go outside and live for ourselves.

[Mozin]

I know that the coin forums get me more interested in buying more coins, even in series that I do not usually collect. Conclusion, coin forums are costing me a lot of money.

[Conder101]

I imagine that ANACS shut their site down because of low participation. Look at the volume of messages here. It is much lower than the number of messages that are posted on the PCGS site. Given that ANACS is the third or fourth leading grading company and kind of on the fringes of the coin grading and authentication industry, their participation would be even less.

So apparently they are only "important" if you are already the #1 and maybe the #2 company. Considering they were already #1 and #2 before they started their forums, and their forums haven't altered their standing, and how having a forum didn't improve the #3 companies standing, (and dropping the forum didn't affect it either) I just can't see how having the forum is important to the TPG. Would either of the top two experience a large decline in submissions if they closed their forum? Would ANACS move up to the #2 company if one of the top two dropped their forum and ANACS brought theirs back? I think the answer to both questions is No.

 

I think the forums are a convenience to the hobby that both TPG's provide out of the "kindness of their hearts" but which are probably actually more of a financial drain to the company than a benefit to it..

[delta]

Kenny's comment, the 2nd in the queue, hits the spot: a forum can be extremely valuable to a grading firm when the forum is run in a positive fashion, as currently done best by NGC, which is thereby building brand loyalty.

 

Although Conder101 is one of my favorite posters, for the first time I remember I disagree with him when he wrote forums are probably a financial drain. I'm confident they enormously boost economic activity around the company leading to increased revenue. It amounts to constant advertising, with links to forms, instructions and other information.

 

 

[Kurtdog]

Would you say they are insignificant? Simply a benefit for a minority of customers? Gotta have one, though.

 

Or are they important to keeping business healthy and growing...generating new income?

 

Maybe somewhere in the middle. They matter but not a lot. Most business comes from different methods.

 

What do you figure?

Lance.

Duh?

[Barndog]

without these internet forums, I likely would have never submitted a coin to a TPG. I've submitted many hundreds to the clear plastic people and many dozens to the white plastic people.