how to build an enterprise online community

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L E A D E R NETWORKS How Can You Build Community For The Enterprise? Vanessa DiMauro CEO, Leader Networks & SNCR Fellow Podcamp Boston August, 2009

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How to build an Enterprise Community was the discussion I lead at PodCamp Boston 2009 conference. This presentation exposes the 12 stage model for enterprise community building strategy.

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Page 1: How to Build an Enterprise Online Community

L E A D E R NETWORKS

How Can You Build Community For The Enterprise?

Vanessa DiMauroCEO, Leader Networks & SNCR Fellow

Podcamp BostonAugust, 2009

Page 2: How to Build an Enterprise Online Community

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Framing Questions

• What is different about enterprise communities

(vs. consumer communities)?

• How do you build a community for the enterprise?

• What are the models?

• What does the building process look like?

• What are critical success factors?

• What can go wrong?

• What do you want to add?.....

Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks 2

Page 3: How to Build an Enterprise Online Community

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Three General Community Models

B2B B2C Hybrid

Select, narrow target audience

Acceptance criteria

Protected dialog

Facilitated discussion

Managed topical agenda

Sponsor supported and sometimes member fees

Open call, all interested

Member directed

Public forum

Big bang

Moderated discussion

Ad generated support

Tiered membership

Consensus/Trend driven

Public forum w/ private area

Thought leadership (responsive)

Hybrid Revenues

Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks3

Page 4: How to Build an Enterprise Online Community

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12 Step Process Overview

Create Vision

Target & Segment Audience

Query Potential Members

Build Value Proposition

Architect Business Value Justification & Measurements

Benchmark Competition & Best of Breed

Determine Brand Positioning

Design Features & Functionality

Engage a Beta Group

Launch with Finesse

Manage Risk

Evolve

Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks 4

Page 5: How to Build an Enterprise Online Community

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Good Enterprise Community Strategic Planning: Create Vision

Begin with the end in mind

Find the overlap & build for relevance to both audiences

What does the business need for the community to be successful?

What do community members need from the community to get value?

Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks 5

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Target and Segment Your Audience

Understanding who you serve and in what ways provides the driving business rationale for an enterprise community program.

This leads to members who engage with each other and the enterprise and sustains their interest.

The who dictates the where, when, why and how.

Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks

Who are the key constituencies for your community?

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Page 7: How to Build an Enterprise Online Community

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Query Potential Audiences

Survey or interview your target audience to find out what they are missing in their current experience with your company

– Create a structured interview guide with semi-formal interview program

– Follow up with quantitative study • Don’t ask about features – inquire about needs!

– Also, Talk to marketing, sales, product development to learn what they are doing for clients and prospects that could be leveraged online

Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks 7

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Build Value Proposition

If-then arguments and causal relationships are key to building value propositions that are rooted in need and reality

For example:– If we create a customer support forum then we can support more customers

online and reduce human support costs

– If we use a WIKI for a collaborative product manual then we will catch product errors quicker

Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks 8

Page 9: How to Build an Enterprise Online Community

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Architect Business Justification

• You become what you measure so select your measurements carefully– Interactivity ratios– Number or nature of deliverables to product marketing, management, clients– Cost/ ROI– Client retention statistics – tied to use of product features and services – New client data - impact analysis– Press and goodwill – Case studies, client testimonials etc.

• Once launched, use the tools available to you to impact change– Log analysis, market segmentation, individualized messaging & outreach,

knowledge gifts

Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks 9

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Benchmark Competition & Best of Breed

• Who is doing what with whom?– Look at direct and indirect competes

– Analyze their web 2.0 strategies and initiatives

• Help-wanted ads are a good way to predict competitors future efforts

• Who is talking about your company and in what way?– Monitor the Blogosphere

– Actively manage your reputation online

Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks 10

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Determine Brand Positioning

• Develop Market Plans– New users often means new markets – understand and target the members

that matter most

– Execute with the precision of any well-planned market strategy• Community is not a project it is a new line of business

Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks 11

Page 12: How to Build an Enterprise Online Community

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Design Features and Functions

• Use business goals and user needs as told through the user research to identify key feature sets– Don’t search for a vendor until you know the critical feature sets and how they

should behave

– Understand and map the business process that the community endeavors to support

12Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks

Page 13: How to Build an Enterprise Online Community

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Engage a Beta Group

• Involve users in the social design of the community

• Ask their opinion

• Gather UGC from them such a member feature articles and interviews

• Pre-populate the community before formal launch with their participation

13Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks

Page 14: How to Build an Enterprise Online Community

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Launch With Finesse

• Design and create appropriate member acquisition materials & marketing assets– Keep company core messaging and brand extension ever-present

The enterprise community is an extension of your brand

– Remember that different messages can motivate different constituents of the same community

– Project into the future and strike the right tone.. (Reasonable) Early success claims can motivate participation

– Plan for a steady member acquisition drum-beat: the hard work *start* once the community is live!

14Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks

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Integrate Plans And Outcomes Into The Organization

• Use your knowledge assets widely

• Leveraging what you learn

• Sales

• Marketing

• Customer Service

• Product Development

• Research & Development

• Competitive Intelligence

Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks 15

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Manage Risk

Risk Factors Risk Mitigation Strategies

Failure to launch The power of a Beta group

Failure to vet Rules of engagement (who’s in who’s out?)

Lack of transparencyWacko factor and disaster scenario

planning

Public criticism Governance policy

Failure to thrive “Plan B”

Successful community that doesn’t support business goals

Go / no-go decision point based on active measures on quarterly basis

16Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks

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Sample Metrics for an Enterprise Community

Financial Metrics: Revenue generated (direct and indirect i.e. client retention or pass through revenue gained through bundled services) – Minus operational costs

Operational Metrics: Fully burdened costs of community operations including technology, development, content acquisition, staffing.

Business Metrics: Click-throughs/logins, industries serviced, # of members who are clients, title portfolio of membership,

Marketing Metrics: New member acquisition costs, Cost per Member (CPM) against Revenue per Member (RPM), Event or campaign outcomes

Editorial Metrics: Cost of content creation, % of UGC, content ratings/rank

Member Metrics: # of members login/time, % of profiles complete, return rate, premium conversion rate, revenue generated per member, number of posts per member, average page views per member or group, member engagement ratios

17Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks 17

Page 18: How to Build an Enterprise Online Community

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The Role of Governance in Achieving Results

The role of Governance is how to manage the community day to day behavior to achieve the goals….

Key tactics• Define roles and responsibilities, including cross functional involvement within the

organization

• Establish continuous improvement programs, success metrics and budgeting and planning cycles

Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks 18

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Governance Structure

Role/Function Ownership

Time < 6 months (now to launch)

Time > 6 months (post launch if different)

Organizational Impact (+ or - )

Technology

Content

Member services(Community Manager)

Strategy & measurement

Sales/Partnerships

Executive sponsor

Marketing & audience acquisition

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Best Practice Methodology for Effective Community

Community Framework

Company, Engagement & Governance

Branding & Marketing Execution

Technology Content & Communication

Community Evolution

Continuous Improvement

Strategy & Plan

Goals, models, revenue, investment, milestones, ownership

Identity, competitive positioning, target audience research & validation, marketing plan

Strategic feature mapping, Identify challenges & acquisition needs

Editorial plan, sourcing, calendar

Profile, target audience definition, staffing plan

Leading metrics, program management

Launch Execution

Revise milestones, set performance metrics, establish reporting & advisory structure

Campaign management, press/PR, design elements

Select, acquire, implement

Develop “initial” content, acquire and/or assign editorial, load

Member & sponsor acquisition, moderation process, hiring

Revise metrics, establish reporting process & tools

Evolve & Improve

Review/revise revenue model, investment & staffing

Refresh design, monitor digital impact, competitive assessment, refine message

Maintain, revise, upgrade, secure, business continuity

Monitor trends, react to activity, hot topics, repurpose, provide analytical value

Member retention, new segment acquisition, customer satisfaction

Revise leading & lagging metrics, respond to issues/problems, process improvements

Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks

Page 21: How to Build an Enterprise Online Community

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SAMPLE Work Plan

ACTIVITY GOAL TIMEFRAMEStrategic planning Build consensus and create draft straw model Workshop

User Experience profiles Interview audience segments to develop profiles of users

4-6 weeks

Benchmark Competition & Best of Breed

SWOT analysis of competitors and best of breed out of industry models

5-6 weeks

Design Features & Functionality Create BRD (business requirements document) 4-8 weeks

Select technology architecture and software vendor & deploy

Define technology platform; RFI and/or RFP for vendor platform; contract, design, test, deploy

6 to 24 weeks

Content planning Content strategyInventory assets and content gap analysisEditorial planning, content generation and loading

4-5 weeks

Marketing/member acquisition planning

Segment audience, audience acquisition tactics, short and mid-term

4-6 weeks

Beta group Formulate beta group and launch involvement plan 6-8 weeks

Engagement plan Keeping users involved 3-4 weeks

Launch Strategic and tactical planning for launch event 2-4 weeks

Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks 21

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@Stuart616What characteristics does a business have to have to benefit from developing an online community?

1) Community must accelerate a business process or solve a problem

2) Must directly reflect the needs and goals of the members

3) Must offer thought leadership or a POV,

4) Have an active customer base of a sizable nature – its, to some degree a numbers game,

5) Openness 2 dialogue and commitment to action

maurocardarelli@vdimauro what are best practices to get commitment (visits and contributions) from the community?

1) Communities can not be bought –they are earned through trust and commitment

2) Engage a beta group in the community design and early guidance

3) Foster co-ownership of ideas and outcome

4) Outreach is key

5) Reciprocity

Twitter Questions

Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks

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Critical Success Factors

• Demonstrate high integrity and transparency at all times

• Fix the rules of engagement and do not change them

• Create rich member care programs

• Trust and support UGC

• Solve their professional needs and even the busiest exec will use the network

Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks 23

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The Sum Of The Parts

The combination of strong feature sets and a comprehensive membership support program can create a trusted, vibrant community engaging in deep professional collaboration world-wide.

– The members will solve problems together, share information with each other and make plans to connect in person using the network.

– The members will trust the network and view it as a true membership organization of great strategic value.

Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks 24

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Get Involved In The Question

Participate in the Research: Http://www.NewSymbiosis.com25Copyright © 2009 Leader Networks

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Thank you!

Vanessa DiMauro

CEO

Leader Networks

617 484 078

www.leadernetworks.com

[email protected]

@vdimauro

About Leader Networks

Leader Networks is a strategic research and consulting firm that specializes in helping clients harness the power of new digital rules and tools to drive measurable business benefits from social media and social leadership.

http://www.leadernetworks.com

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