My team and I are looking to build a customer community. We are exploring a few high-level examples but I’d love to hear from others who’ve done this before.
How do you convince your management team to invest in community?
Founder • 1d
The best way to make a business case for community to convince your management is to tie the community to company KPIs.
For example, in one of the video developers community; we worked on just one KPI - monthly MRR via community. For example, you can position the community not as a support cost, but as a growth engine. The new members your community attracts are actually MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads). Let me know if you'd prefer a more detailed example.
Member • 1d
I like the idea of aligning community with business KPIs. I'd appreciate it if you could provide a detailed example. What KPIs could we associate with the community?
Founder • 1d
In order to convince the management, you will have to show measurable impact and reduce the perceived risk.
Start by mapping the community's value across the customer journey - from acquisition to retention. An open community is great for boosting the overall SEO, generating organic traffic, lower the CAC and improve onboarding.
Most customer support communities deflect support tickets, help gather real-world product feedback and increase the customer lifetime value.
Structure your business case on three pillars:
Avoid vague terms like "Engagement". It helps to include clear outcomes: "25% of active members answered a peer's question" or "40% of webinar attendees came from the community"
Do not forget to attach a timeline. Leadership loves timelines! Set out a plan - what will happen in 30, 90 and 180 days. Link to early discussions and show the potential.
I recommend reading our article - SPACES Model for Community Value. If you have follow-up questions, feel free to ask them below.
Founder • 20h
Update: There another insightful discussion on Jatra on the same topic: How to convince management to invest in community