The days when... The days when most people understood community management as a new business function only responsible for replying users should be way behind in any organisation. However, if you still come across this perception in your workplace sometimes, you better start changing it now.

5 steps to define and deliver Community for your business During the +12 years I worked in the entertainment industry for a well-known global company, I heard countless times many of my colleagues, ranging from junior roles to C-levels, saying the word ‘community’ or “our community” in many ways and under different circumstances, but always using ‘community’ to refer to our entire ‘user base’. That’s an inaccurate use of the term ‘community’ as in essence, ‘community’ and ‘user base’ (or customer base) have a different meaning, even if the scope of your ‘user base’ may include your community as well. Your ‘user base’ are ALL your customers with whom, one way or another, many teams in your company will have a direct relationship with. From marketers trying to upselling them, to consumer specialist looking after their after-purchase experience, and so on. Your ‘community’ neither includes all your customers nor have many teams looking after it. Hence, if you have the word ‘community’ in your job title such as Community Manager, Community Lead, Head of Community, Director of Community, and so on; make sure to define “what does ‘community’ mean for your business?” and “how ‘community’ differs from ‘customers’ in your organisation?

5 steps to define and deliver Community for your business During the +12 years I worked in the entertainment industry for a well-known global company, I heard countless times many of my colleagues, ranging from junior roles to C-levels, saying the word ‘community’ or “our community” in many ways and under different circumstances, but always using ‘community’ to refer to our entire ‘user base’. That’s an inaccurate use of the term ‘community’ as in essence, ‘community’ and ‘user base’ (or customer base) have a different meaning, even if the scope of your ‘user base’ may include your community as well. Your ‘user base’ are ALL your customers with whom, one way or another, many teams in your company will have a direct relationship with. From marketers trying to upselling them, to consumer specialist looking after their after-purchase experience, and so on. Your ‘community’ neither includes all your customers nor have many teams looking after it. Hence, if you have the word ‘community’ in your job title such as Community Manager, Community Lead, Head of Community, Director of Community, and so on; make sure to define “what does ‘community’ mean for your business?” and “how ‘community’ differs from ‘customers’ in your organisation? The days when most people understood community management as a new business function only responsible for replying users should be way behind in any organisation. However, if you still come across this perception in your workplace sometimes, you better start changing it now. What does ‘community’ mean for your business? Different companies across different industries may have a different definition of ‘community’ so unfortunately there is no one universal answer to that question. I’m using an example framed within the video-games industry; still, the following steps can serve as an excellent guide to develop your own definition of community and also to outline how to deliver your definition for your business, even if you’re working in a very different industry.