Latest / Community Marketing with Fexingo: Discord, Slack Groups, and Brand Communities / How a Brand Community Vetted a Product Name in 48 Hours
Transcript
- Lucas: So, there's this story I keep coming back to from a small SaaS startup that did something genuinely brave: they let their 200-member community pick the name for their new product. And the whole thing took 48 hours. Luna: Brave or terrifying? I mean, naming is so subjective. But I'm intrigued—what did they do? Lucas: Okay, so the CEO had a shortlist of four names. They'd already gone through an agency, trademark searches, the whole nine yards. But instead of just picking one, they posted the shortlist in their community Discord, gave each name a brief rationale, and said, 'We want your gut reaction.' Luna: And the community actually engaged? I'd worry people would just pick the funniest one. Lucas: That's the thing—they structured it. They used a simple poll, but they also asked people to explain their choice in a thread. And they made it clear this wasn't a popularity contest; they wanted the reasoning behind the votes. Luna: So what happened? How many people voted? Lucas: In the first 24 hours, 140 of the 200 members cast a vote. That's a 70 percent participation rate, which is insane for a community poll. But here's the kicker: the name that won with 73 percent of the vote wasn't the CEO's favorite. Luna: Oh, that must have stung. Did they go with it anyway? Lucas: They did. But not just because it won. Some of the comments flagged a potential trademark conflict that their legal team had missed. The community members had done their own research, found a similar product in a different niche, and raised it. Luna: Wait, so the community not only picked a name but also saved them from a legal headache? That's a double win. Lucas: Exactly. The CEO said in a follow-up that the process took 48 hours total, and it gave them a level of buy-in they couldn't have manufactured internally. The launch felt like a community event, not just another product drop. Luna: I love how they turned a decision into a moment. But I wonder—how do you avoid feedback fatigue? If you ask the community to weigh in on everything, they're going to tune out. Lucas: That's a real risk. This company was smart about it. They saved these big asks for moments that truly mattered. They didn't poll the community on button colors or tagline tweaks. They knew this was a high-stakes decision, and they treated it that way. Luna: So it's about picking your moments. But how do you ensure the feedback you get is actually useful? I mean, in a poll, some people just click the first option. Lucas: Right, and that's why they asked for the 'why' behind the vote. They didn't just count numbers; they analyzed the sentiment in the thread. They used a simple sentiment analysis tool to categorize the comments—positive, negative, or neutral—and looked for patterns. Luna: Did that change the outcome? I mean, if the comments were mostly negative about the winning name, would they have gone a different direction? Lucas: They said it wouldn't have overridden the vote, but it would have informed how they positioned the name. In this case, the comments were actually positive, but they picked up on the trademark issue. So the sentiment analysis added a layer of nuance beyond the raw numbers. Luna: That's a good example of listening to the why, not just the what. But what about the lurkers? You had 60 people who didn't vote. Did they matter? Lucas: That's a great point. The CEO said they actually expected more lurkers to stay silent, but they still read the thread. And in the following weeks, they saw an uptick in engagement from those quieter members—they were more likely to share the product with their networks because they felt part of the process, even if they didn't participate directly. Luna: So the act of asking, even if not everyone answers, builds buy-in. That's a nice takeaway. Lucas: Absolutely. And there's one more thing that made this work: transparency. They shared the results openly, showed the vote breakdown, and explained why they chose the winning name. They didn't just announce it out of nowhere. Luna: That transparency must have reinforced trust. You're not just taking from the community; you're giving back by showing how their input shaped the decision. Lucas: Exactly. And the launch itself became a celebration. The community felt ownership, and that translated into word of mouth marketing that money can't buy. Luna: It's a great case study for our listeners. If you're thinking about doing something similar, what's the one thing you'd take away? Lucas: Structure it. Give people a clear framework, ask for reasoning, and be transparent with the results. That turns a simple poll into a meaningful engagement. Luna: And if today's episode gave you a concrete idea you can use—even just the structure of that poll—then you know what keeps these conversations coming to you ad-free. It's listener support, plain and simple. Lucas: Yeah, if you found this useful, you can help keep the show going by buying us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a small gesture that means a lot. Luna: And it keeps the podcast free for everyone. We appreciate it. Lucas: Back to the story—after the launch, the company tracked how the community-driven name performed compared to their previous products. And they saw a 30 percent increase in social shares from community members in the first month. Luna: That's a solid metric. But I'd be curious to know if they ever regretted the choice or if the name itself caused any issues down the line. Lucas: They haven't publicly, and the name has stuck. The bigger lesson is that they built a template for future decisions. They've since used the same approach for a major feature name and a pricing tier—both with similar success. Luna: So it's not just a one-off gimmick. It's a repeatable process. Lucas: Right. And the key is to keep it rare. They only do it two or three times a year, so when they do ask, the community knows it's important. Luna: That makes sense. You don't want to dilute the power of the ask. Lucas: And that's the fine line—using community input where it adds real value, not just to check a box. Luna: I think we can all take that into our own work. Thanks for breaking it down, Lucas. Lucas: Anytime. If you have a story about your own community decision-making, we'd love to hear it.