Community and cold coffeeđ„€đEp- 4 | Why community?
The moment when Google failed the humankind!
Being in the Community business, no day goes by without explaining âWHY COMMUNITY.â But, we have always talked to the brands or read why a brand should be opting for a community. In the context of understanding, exploring and explaining why brands will need to have an online community, we often forget how important it is to also understand why a user wants to join or come to a community.
Then, we searched for this in Google, the baap of search. To our surprise, all the articles took me back to the advantage of brands having a community.
But, the question remains, âWhy would a user feel inclined to join a community?
So, we opted for a âNo-algorithmâ search
We took this to community and cold coffee. Like every other week, this weekâs community and cold coffee was packed with insights, knowledge, experiences and coffee.
We were looking for some insights on why a user is inclined to join a community and of course why a brand needs community. And the search did land us on the right page!
Introducing to folks who made the search successful
Chitra HL (A community professional since 2015, now Community Marketing Specialist at JFrog)
Bhavika (Customer Success Manager at Algonamy and a Community host)
Prakash (Co-Founder of Ingenio technologies private limited, a platform designed for school and colleges, to make their operations hassle free).
And, here is what we discovered from this search.
WHY COMMUNITY - THIS IS FOR BRANDS TO KNOW
#1 Community is a crucial Customer Support channel - Chitra
Brand customer relationship does not end with purchase. Crucial period of a relationship is post purchase. So, the brand needs to be highly supportive. Good customer support is rated based on: SELF-SERVE ANSWER GENERATION MECHANISMS i.e FAQs, knowledge base articles, and peers who can help us. Imagine all of it can be done in one place and that is community for you.
For a user, trust factor is the most important aspect. And, the community provides that trust via reliable content either from brands or from peers that are approved by peers and brands.
When a solution is from a community article or from a peer on community, a user trusts that more. This in turn, helps users in resolving problems sooner.
CUSTOMER EXPECTATION AND BRAND SUPPORT
CUSTOMER EXPECTATION | BRAND CHALLENGES | |
Peer support | G | Brands don't count as peer to a customer |
Positive customer experience | A | The brands strives to give a good experience but a customer care number canât do the work |
Instant solution | P | Itâs time consuming to reach the brand |
#2 Community becomes a great knowledge sharing space - Prakash
We undermine the importance of passing and sharing knowledge to peers or to the customers. And we forget how community is valuable.
If you have to explain something, there is a lot of process. Starting from understanding, experiencing to documentation to sharing clearly. Imagine if this is not reaching the right users at the right time and right place?
And this disconnect can only be bridged by a community, because community is a safe place to exchange ideas and pass those ideas to others.
#3 Community helps customers / users grow - Bhavika
âAs a Customer Success professional, customerâs success and growth is proportional to my organisationâs success. Community helps facilitate that process. Starting from depending on multiple POCs to resolve a problem but going to community to look for a situation similar, to longer wait period for resolution and number of communication to-and-fros along with multiple approvals involved and conversation being lost. Community becomes one place that seems to address all.â
In a nutshell, Community for brands mean
Instant solution
Readily available answers
Customer Insights and feedbacks
Finding and building advocates organically
Constant content and knowledge repository
Saving time and churn
That also means, â A community helps people come back to the funnel if they tend to leave the funnel, in all stages of a funnel.â - Deepak
Brand owners, here are some additional tips from our Community tip jar
Be reachable: Being available for customers builds trust. In community, brands can be available for their customers via content or by identifying leaders who are customersâ peers
Be transparent: Being transparent to your customers will always help you get closer to your customers, will lead to trust and this trust will lead to customers and this continuing trust will create advocates.
Okay, now why a user is inclined to be in a community
Bring your basket to take some awesome tips home.
Instant solution | A very gratifying and defining moment for a user is when he or she gets an instant solution. He or she should not feel that they had to take so much time to get to that solution. |
Being heard | A very strong feeling for an introvert, extrovert or an ambivert is being heard. Everyone has an opinion and they look for a safe space to share as it tries to invoke the sense of belonging |
Feeling relevant | We humans love to be accepted and wanted, having people for us is what makes a person strong. In community, people come together for something in common and that allows them to fit into a tribe or people who could possibly relate to them. |
Creates an environment to have conversations | Having conversations involves multiple stakeholders and statements. It is not one to many, one to one or many to one, but many too many. |
Validation | All of us look for validation from someone. Be it a peer or an authority figure. Community helps that to happen This means, usersâ ideas are considered, they feel belonged and feel important. |
People want to share experiences | People love to listen and to tell stories and share their experiences. A community is a place where all these amazing stories are told and heard. |
Oneness | Doing something together is a huge incentive for a few users. |
Some tips that may help while building your community
@Deepak910k â The best product is the one which makes its customer gets the bestâ
@Prakash âItâs okay to have something buggy, at the same time having a dedicated safe space for users / customers to reach to is importantâ
âIâve been chasing wrong people for monthsâ This case can be neglected with a community in the picture.
@VaruDwarak âA customer wants to associate with the brand for a long time and thatâs why they join a community and at the same time the brand also wants to understand its customers and thatâs why they build a community. So, community = Higher LTV.â
@Bhavika: âCustomers are not always right. And when brands (whom they trust) help them with proper guidance, they will be happier and will know what is right and what is not. So, the community helps in achieving that - Setting those expectations right."
@Chitra - âNo one wants a customer care support number but all they need is a solutionâ
Takeaways
Why do brands need community? - Community bridges the gap between the brand and the customers
Why do customers need a community? - Customers want to feel supported emotionally and rationally, not alone but be together.
Bill Gates once said â your success is not from your happy customers but it's from your unhappy customersâ, just right said and community is where you can get a chance to meet your unhappy customers too and make things right for them.
With this amazing conversation, we come to an end to Community and Cold Coffee episode 4!
Have you been checking out Community & Cold Coffee? CÂł is an initiative to bring community professionals or enthusiasts together to discuss the Community ecosystem, methods and techniques, etc. candidly. No agenda is our agenda. Community & Cold Coffee happens on all Saturdays at 2.30 PM, which means you can hop in at 2.30 PM on saturday and chat your heart out about communities.
NOTE: Donât forget to bring your Cold coffee :p
To be a part and to have a look or contribute ideas, do join our community here and to chat with us on community building, book our slot with us.
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