Is the customer community right for you?
February 2nd, 2010 // 10:44 am @ admin
I was speaking with a client the other day and we were talking about the possibility of setting up a community for them. Of course we had not discussed the expectations and goals for this community but the question arose whether they should start their own community or join an existing one.
This is a very good question and it really depends on several factors:
- What you do and how niche your offering is. This leads to whether there is an existing community that your product is being discussed on.
- If the existing communities do fit and satisfy your needs and objectives from this undertaking.
- Whether your customers are open to participating in your community vs. an existing, related one.
- If you have the financial budget, human resources as well as the time to properly manage and engage with the community.
If you come to the conclusion that you need to start your own community I have the following recommendations:
- Initially, don’t expect a huge turn out. Start the community small and grow it gradually. Your community will need for you to listen to it, get involved in it and support its members.
- As you start small, keep in mind that you will also need to help it grow. You can not sit in the back seat and expect it to grow by itself. You need to promote it.
- Within your community find your active customers and energize them. These customers are going to be the leaders of your community and they are the ones that will lead conversations. You need to reach out to them and make sure they will participate.
- Listen to your community. They have opinions and they know what they want, so let them lead you. Their feedback is very valuable especially in relation to how you can continue and improve your community.
- Implement a reputation system as community members are driven by reputation and competitiveness but monitor the community and keep it healthy. Don’t let too much competition between members ruin your community.
See you at Social Media Week in SF.
Category : Blog & Customer communities & social media marketing
