Customer Communities

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