Lithium Technologies customer communities drive almost 12 times more same-session revenue than other social channels including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and Google+ combined, according to new research released today. Customers who engage with a brand through its Lithium community also are significantly more loyal, engaged and satisfied.

Lithium communities generate a 67 percent lift in a brand’s Net Promoter Score (NPS) compared to those customers who are not engaged with the brand socially, the study revealed.

Lithium’s analysis of the study shows that the communities impacted more than $500 million in sales in a single year – a particularly significant finding since the study represented a sample of only about a third of total Lithium community users.

According to a Lithium-commissioned study by Millward Brown Digital that focused on a cross section of U.S. Lithium customers and about a third of Lithium community users over a 13-month period, Lithium communities drove¹:

• 65 percent of all social commerce sales
• 52 percent of all social traffic
• 7.8 times more shoppers than other social channels
• 11.8 times more sales than other social channels
• more than $500 million in direct and influenced sales for the brands studied²

The power to convert and keep on influencing

Lithium communities clearly have the power to convert shoppers into buyers and to continue influencing consumers long after a visit to the community. Sales conversion approximately doubled after a customer’s first visit to a Lithium community, the study showed, and continued to influence up to four times as many shoppers as other social channels within 30 days of a first visit.

Engaged Consumers Purchase More Frequently

What’s more, Lithium community users are also more likely to purchase again: 79 percent of visitors to a Lithium community said they intend to purchase again from the company in the future. That’s fully 7 percentage points higher than shoppers who didn’t engage at all with a company socially and also more than all other social media channels combined.

“This research proves what our customers have long known: Lithium communities help drive sales by connecting consumers with rich content and trusted peer recommendations when they need it most,” said Lithium President and Chief Executive Officer Rob Tarkoff.

Trust and loyalty

The study underscored the importance of building trusted relationships with customers, finding that Lithium communities have a strong positive impact on brand perceptions and customer loyalty.

Interviews with more than 4,000 customers conducted as part of the study further reinforced how important brand reputation and trust are to consumers. The data revealed that of surveyed consumers:

• 72 percent value when a brand has a community
• 79 percent consider brand reputation in making their purchasing decision
• 88 percent purchase from brands they trust

Lithium’s recent acquisition of Klout delivers an unprecedented ability to combine trusted content with advice from reputable peers at the point of sale, increasing consumers’ confidence in their purchases.

The study examined traffic, revenue, purchase influence and affinity attributable to Lithium communities and third-party social sites.

Methodology

Survey conducted by Millward Brown Digital. For the period October 2012 to October 2013, Millward Brown Digital conducted customer surveys and tracked user behavior across all social properties operated by Lithium customers and representing approximately one third of Lithium’s user base among major U.S. retail, technology, telecommunications and financial service brands. Conversion rates, sales revenue, purchase influence and brand affinity were studied after consumers visited a Lithium branded community, and after consumers visited other social media properties operated by the same brand.

About Lithium Technologies

Lithium's software helps companies reinvent how they connect with their customers. Lithium works with more than 300 of the world's best brands — including AT&T, Best Buy, Indosat, Sephora, Skype and Telstra — to respond on social networks and to build trusted content on a community they own. The 100% SaaS-based Lithium Social Customer Experience™ platform enables brands to build and engage vibrant customer communities to drive sales, reduce service costs, accelerate innovation and grow brand advocacy. For more information, visit lithium.com, or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and our own community. Lithium is privately held with corporate headquarters in San Francisco and offices across Europe, Asia and Australia.

The Lithium® logo is a registered Service Mark of Lithium Technologies. All trademarks and product names are the property of their respective owners.

¹ Based on study of branded Lithium community pages and branded social pages during the observed time period. Shopping activity had to have occurred within 20 minutes of visiting a Lithium community page or a branded social page.

² Sales value estimate by Lithium based on sales multiplier observed by Millward Brown Digital.