How Acer’s Community Refresh Led to a 4x Boost in ROI
The Challenge
Acer launched its first support community in 2012 and after its launch, the Acer community seemed to be doing fine with a community provider who was thought to cover everything. In comparison to having no community at all, they were seeing results. But for the price they were paying, Brad was shocked to learn that some of the features he wanted to implement weren’t included in that price. As a result of being charged additional fees for what Acer considered basic features, Acer chose to build it themselves. The amount of work that the Acer team had to do on their own when paying such high costs was realized when it was discovered that the community was the most expensive line item in their marketing budget.
Choosing Higher Logic
Brad connected with the team at Higher Logic Vanilla and found that not only was their solution able to match all of his needs, but it was also incredibly affordable. Moreover, the features that he previously had to pay extra for were available with Higher Logic Vanilla out of the box—there were no extra fees. The decision to sign with Vanilla came as a no-brainer for Brad. When he told his boss the new price for their community, the first question she asked was “well, is it going to do the same thing that the other one did at that price?” The answer, of course, was yes.
The Results
4x
ROI
The ROI of their community went from 100% to 500% after implementing Higher Logic Vanilla.
40%
of Visitors
Find a meaningful answer during their visit, according to an Acer survey.
More
Replies and Topics Solved
As the result of a better community solution.
“The ROI for community went from 100% to 500%...I’m experiencing data that’s almost too good to be true!"
Brad Bliven
Senior Program Manager of Global Digital Services, Acer
Selecting Higher Logic Vanilla: A No Brainer
Brad connected with the team at Vanilla and found that not only was Vanilla able to match all of his needs, but Vanilla was also able to offer this at an incredibly affordable price. Moreover, the features that he previously had to pay extra for were available with Vanilla out of the box—there were no extra fees. The decision to sign with Vanilla came as a no-brainer for Brad. Price was the primary concern for Acer and they were skeptical of getting an equal or better community platform from another provider at a lower cost.
Suffice it to say, when Brad found Vanilla, he was astonished. As he puts it, when he told his boss the new price for their community, the first question she asked was “well, is it going to do the same thing that the other one did at that price?”
The answer, of course, was yes.
The Migration: A Risk They (Didn’t Really) Wanted to Take
For anyone who has considered making a switch, the migration is always a concern—especially when your community is as huge as Acer’s. Brad and his team however were willing to take this risk in hopes for a better outcome for both their members and their company.
As it turned out, the migration wasn’t a risk at all.
As Brad explains, “the migration went relatively well. There were some hiccups, but it was one of the smoother software migrations I have been a part of.” Brad attributes the ease of the community migration to the expert team at Vanilla. “It’s very much a testimony to the [team at Vanilla] that we had very minimal impact on the customer base, the user base and the superfans.”
The Results: When a Better Price Also Leads to Better Results
The results of the Vanilla switch provided Acer with increased numbers in all categories. As Brad puts it, “after we switched to Vanilla, we started to see more replies and more topics solved.” In addition, Brad continues, “the SEO that you guys deliver is [at the level] where the community results are all above the official Acer documents.”
“Acer switched providers, and we reduced our costs; we increased our return on investment and we impacted nobody in our community by the change.”
The improvement in numbers coupled with the massive cost savings led Acer to see results that were unprecedented. Brad explains, “my ROI went out through the roof when we made the switch…we are very pleased by the results.”
The community has had a huge impact for Acer, as their surveys indicate that nearly 40% of visitors find a meaningful answer during their visit.
With numbers that are better than ever, Acer looks to expand their community support programs through leveraging the existing out of the box Vanilla gamification feature.
"After we switched to Higher Logic Vanilla, we started to see more replies and more topics solved."
Brad Bliven
Senior Program Manager of Global Digital Services, Acer
Why they chose us
Cost-Effective
“Even after [the previous provider] drop their price by over 50% they still weren’t even in the ballpark of Higher Logic Vanilla.”
Ideation
“With Higher Logic Vanilla, we are getting a platform that comes with ideation right out of the box. There’s no extra fees and we don’t have to built it ourselves, which is a huge benefit.”
Gamification
“I was quite perturbed that I would spend X amount of dollars with our previous provider and not get premium gamification right out of the box. I found that Higher Logic Vanilla, at a much more reasonable price range, offers this as a standard feature.”
Inclusive
“We employ badges [for our members] which was an additional charge under [our previous platform]. With Higher Logic Vanilla, I don’t have to pay extra for this.”
