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Here are some approaches we have used in the past:
A good way to think about launching is to consider which products will benefit most from advice, discussion and mutual support. Are certain products or services more complex and therefore more open to support queries? Have you recently launched something new where there will likely be increased enquiries? This can often help to determine where to focus first. This question can often be answered by your most-active members too – Facilitate some focus groups and see where they think your community could bring the most benefit.
Prospective members can benefit from communities, as they can see how well you connect with your members (if you do it right). Your advocates can contribute to this too, but talking about their experiences. You may also have partners and affiliates who could benefit from the community – But can all lifecycle stages coexist well right at the start?
Think about the atmosphere you want to create in your community and carefully consider how different levels of members will interact with one another. You might want to bring in certain groups a little later when they will benefit from a more-active environment – Or vice versa if your initial objectives are related to focused feedback and/or development.
There are two main reasons for using this method:
a). A foundation of advocates for your mission will give you a fundamental head start with strong activity and quicker replies to newbies – Every time I have brought in members we are already close to, it helps get the thing off of the ground much more quickly. They can also help you iron out any bugs and kinks with much more patience than new members who do not know or care about the community mission yet.
b). A nice way to say thanks and to recognise contribution is to give these people exclusive early access to the space – They’ve earned it!
It can often be too expensive or too admin-heavy to onboard multiple geographies at a time to your community. They may use slightly different products or services which require time & dedication to manage. Your organisation can rely on translation tools and services of course, but I would always advocate for a CM team who know how to talk & connect with specific groups of people – you’ll get better results.
Very much like the product or service approach you need to look into certain metrics to better understand what will work for your community – Where will the community create the most impact? Does a certain group use a product or service set that aligns better? Do you simply have more resources for a certain language right now? Think pragmatically.
Purpose is a word you see a lot in community articles and support blogs, but there is a reason why :). Purpose determines everything about where & how you start, so please start here and then think about the rest of the list above. Thanks all!
