Customer Communities (CC)

The future is looking amazing. Connectivity everywhere. AR and VR are becoming bigger and bigger. Every major player in Silicon Valley is placing their bets on machine learning and deep learning. Artificial Intelligence is getting more intelligent then ever. But if we look at all these amazing developments, it's not hard to wonder: is there a role for online communities in the future? Yes, there is. As Rogier van der Werf, Head of Consulting at InSided, concluded at the beginning of his presentation: “The digital experiences that get it right are those that allow us to be real humans.” The human experience is still at the center of all de best digital developments, and which platform is more human then your communities?

So you've got your community. Why should people visit it, and what makes them come back? Off course, people visit for support, ask questions and your community helps them out. But your community is also a place where your fans can really bond with your brand, and each other. Brand publishing is the way to make this happen. You have to create content that is so relevant and appealing that people want to spend time with you and in that way you grow your community. How do you get started? Look at traditional media, for example. They are experts at creating successful formats, a strategy that you can use. Think about your favorite column in the newspaper, or the Carpool Karaoke of James Cordens Late Late Show. They are all formats. Recognizable, fun and informative. Formats can perfectly be used in communities, but at InSpired 2016 we heard that this is not yet happening. To get you started, we listed some possibilities in a poll. Which one will you start using?

Here's something to ponder. One of the things we're doing at Sonos this year is 'multi-skilling' our frontline support teams so that they're not only taking phone calls and emails, but also responding on social and community. Previously this work was all done within our (Digital Care) team, which created a functional silo that made it challenging to create a 'seamless' customer experience across multiple channels. As we explore this approach, we end up with more people from Sonos responding to questions on the community. It's not always the same names and faces every day - and of course we're still around, posting announcements and responding to superusers, but many of the 'support answers' are coming from a larger pool of people. What are your experiences with this kind of approach? The multi-skilling of our teams is something we believe in strongly, but we also feel that it can be confusing if there are too many people officially contributi

The key to getting your members to create content is to give them a sense of ownership. Meaning that members are most likely to create content if they feel that they are particpating in shaping the community. The more they feel they are influencing and the community and gaining recognition for it the better! Have you noticed some members that were really good at explaining things? A member that seems to always know the secret tips? Or a member with esquisite writing skills? Invite these members to take more responsibility in the community. Let them know that they can play an important role in the community! Ask them what they would be intrested in sharing with the community and make them the expert! Would love to hear about what you guys have already tried and whether or not it was succesful.

First 1000 members? Your first year? Beating your own highscore of answered questions within 24h? What makes for a memorable day in your community? We want to know!

Congratulations to VOO for building such a great community in just a year! Our first Belgian customer! The inSided team is proud to have you as a customer. Hope the team and your experts had a great time celebrating! We would love to see some pictures and hear about all the fun! Looking forward to an even greater 2nd year!

Hi all, We are delighted to welcome you on the inSpired Community. The community is yours, it's a place for you discuss topics, collaborate with peers, ask questions and stay updated about other community professionals' lastest news, as well as inSided's. We are very curious to hear what kind of topics you would like to discuss and what you would like to see from us. Please leave a comment and help us shape a community that you love!