Launch new features and create an effective implementation plan

Online communities are versatile and have different purposes and functions. To succeed, you should consider what value your community will provide its members and develop a plan outlining key features and uses. This article dives into how to define your community's value proposition and create an implementation plan for its features.

Low member engagement hinders community growth

Online communities constantly face the challenge that only a fraction of visitors actively contribute, which hinders growth. A strategic approach is necessary to boost engagement considering the unique lifecycle stages and varying needs of members. This article delves into how to create a compelling value proposition, align features with community goals, and develop an implementation plan to address potential challenges related to building a thriving community.

Community lifecycle

As described in our first article in the series on online communities, communities develop through five stages, where offerings and feature requirements are adapted. The main challenge is to consistently engage a larger number of visitors, encourage active participation, and increase community engagement.

In line with customer lifecycle methods where you seek to grow existing customers, the primary goal is to consistently increase the number of contributing members. An effective strategy includes a value proposition tailored to the members' needs. In the upcoming sections, we will explore how to create a strong value proposition and connect it to the critical characteristics and features of your community. Additionally, we will discuss the importance of creating an implementation plan to ensure the sustainable growth and development of your community.

How to create a compelling value proposition for your community

Launching a growing community requires careful consideration of your target audience and a thorough analysis of their needs. This process involves a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods, such as in-depth interviews, group discussions, and surveys. These methods are invaluable for gaining a nuanced understanding of your audience's preferences, expectations, and challenges.

By delving into the insights gathered from these research approaches, you can effectively formulate a compelling value proposition (Figure 1). This serves as the foundation of your community, outlining the unique benefits and offerings that will be most beneficial for your target audience. A well-defined target audience and a thoughtful value proposition lay the groundwork for a community that not only meets but exceeds its members' expectations.

By defining what the target audience can expect to gain from the community in terms of tasks to accomplish, positive experiences they can expect, and negative experiences they can avoid, you create a groundwork for designing the online community.

Within the community landscape, customer jobs represent the specific tasks members strive to achieve by participating in the community, ranging from seeking support and help to finding inspiration.

Benefits are the positive experiences members hope to gain, such as user-friendliness and a friendly tone in discussions.

On the other hand, challenges are the negative experiences members try to avoid, which may involve concerns about how the community handles their data and potential security issues.

To address customers' needs, a similar process is undertaken to ensure the community delivers value by creating positive experiences and reducing challenges. This often involves a mix of resources, expertise, features, communication, and personalization.

As the community matures, the target audience also changes, meaning the value proposition must be updated. Initially, the target audience usually consists of people knowledgeable and interested in the subject. To build a core of active members who contribute content early on, they often need to feel exclusive and appreciated (e.g., VIP treatment). When the community matures, the broader audience is usually more functionally oriented, seeking relevant information or social connections.

For each phase of the maturity model, you need to define the key audiences and understand their needs. This forms the basis for developing the necessary features at each stage.

Prioritizing strategic features to develop your community

There are many capabilities and uses that can be developed for the community. Different features provide increased value to members at different times in the lifecycle. Based on the value proposition defined in each phase, new features are prioritized (Figure 2). No matter how much you analyze in advance, it is impossible to predict with 100% certainty which uses will become popular and valuable to members. Therefore, it is wise to start with simpler variations, build, test, and evaluate. Based on the insights from each phase, the development plan is reviewed and updated. A good approach is often to involve the most active members in the forum to gather their views on the prioritization.

We have described and grouped the key competencies required within the main focus areas for online communities (Figure 3)

Community implementation plan

To get an idea of the budget, timeline, and system support required for the community, it is good to create an implementation plan. This implementation plan will be updated and adjusted over time but still provides a common plan to work from.

The initial prioritization, based on what is considered valuable to members in each lifecycle phase, also creates transparency for all involved and serves as the foundation for ongoing work planning. The implementation plan is updated as work progresses.

In summary, creating a compelling value proposition is crucial to building a successful community. It means understanding your target audience's needs, the positive experiences they seek, and the negative experiences they want to avoid. As your community evolves, the value proposition must adapt to the changing dynamics of the target audience.

The strategic prioritization of features and capabilities is critical to the development of your community. They are prioritized based on the value proposition in each phase of the lifecycle. By involving active members in the prioritization process, alignment with user needs is ensured. The iterative development method, starting with simpler variations and adjusting based on insights, is an effective approach.

For long-term success, a solid implementation plan is essential. It provides clarity on budget, timeline, and necessary system support. The implementation plan, based on prioritization of valuable features for each lifecycle phase, promotes transparency and serves as a foundation for ongoing planning and development. This means continuous adaptation and development to meet the dynamic needs of your community and its members.

At Remotion, we can assist you in conducting a preliminary study and a business case for your company, as well as help you expand your knowledge of online communities. This is our third article in the series on online communities. In previous articles, we covered the following topics:

Article 1: Why can't associations attract active members?

Article 2: Key strategies and insights for designing a business case