In Customer Communities: Engage and Retain Customers to Build the Future of Your Business, Nick Mehta and Robin Van Lieshout deliver an actionable playbook on how to cultivate meaningful communities that fuel quantifiable business growth. In the book, you’ll learn how to capitalize on this new growth strategy to scale your company and develop excitement around your products and your firm.
The authors outline the 10 foundational Laws of Community, explaining why community development does not need to be expensive and how to integrate community in the heart of your customer journey. You’ll also find: - Strategies for creating a cross functional customer engagement team - Techniques for building community in places that aren’t the web or on social media - Ways to bring your organization’s culture and values into your community with a human-first alignment
An essential roadmap to community development for customer success, marketing, support and product teams, and other entrepreneurs, founders, and executive business leaders. Customer Communities will earn a place on the bookshelves of anyone with a stake in organizational growth and resilience.
Table of Contents
Foreword ix
Preface: Two CEOs Growing Up Lonely xi
Acknowledgments xv
Part I Community Is the Future of Your Business 1
Chapter 1 An Introduction to the World of Communities 3
Creating a Sense of Belonging
Chapter 2 Communities as a Business Growth Strategy 9
The Only Sustainable Long-Term Differentiator Companies Have
Chapter 3 How the Next Generation of Communities Drives Success 29
The New Company-Wide Strategy to Drive Net Revenue Retention
Chapter 4 A Community for Customer Success, Support, Marketing, and Product Teams 41
How Every Department Can Benefit from a Next-Generation Community
Part II The 10 Laws of Community Building 55
Chapter 5 Law 1: You Can Start Anytime 57
It Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive and Everyone in Your Organization Can Help
Chapter 6 Law 2: You Have to Own the Platform 65
Engage Your Customers Beyond Borrowed Ground
Chapter 7 Law 3: Community Should Be the Heart of the Customer Journey 75
Activate and Engage Your Customers at Scale
Chapter 8 Law 4: Create Content That Educates and Inspires 95
Be the Best Thought Leader You Can Be
Chapter 9 Law 5: Build on Your Advocates 109
Your Most Loyal Customers Are the Gateway to Success
Chapter 10 Law 6: Everybody Owns the Customer 121
Community Is a Company-Wide Strategy, Not a Department
Chapter 11 Law 7: Offline Counts More Than You Think 139
An Online Community Is Strengthened with Offline Events
Chapter 12 Law 8: Tie It All Together in One Customer Hub 153
Prevent a Disjointed Customer Experience by Integrating Engagement and Content
Chapter 13 Law 9: Community Should Drive Real Business Outcomes 171
Don’t Get Fooled by Vanity Metrics - Demand Real Business Metrics
Chapter 14 Law 10: Bring Your Culture and Values to Your Community 183
Build with a Human-First Mindset
Part III How to Get Started 195
Chapter 15 Building Blocks to Successfully Starting a Community 197
Putting Together a Strong Strategy in Five Steps
Chapter 16 Common Objections and How to Overcome Them 209
Answers to Nine Common Objections
Epilogue 217
References 219
Index 225
