5 ways your community manager is the glue of your organisation
Community Managers are the glue of your organisation. They sit in a privileged position, slap bang in the middle of the organisational matrix. They might report directly into a specific department, but their input is invaluable in all facets of running a company.
Setting up feedback loops between your community manager or team and departments such as Marketing, Sales, PR, Editorial and Technical will help tap into the wealth of knowledge and insight your community of customers or readers can provide you to better serve them and grow the company.
Even better, as a company owner, establish a personal and close relationship with the community team to be able to take a ‘temperature check’ of your customers and their perceptions of your company.
Here are 5 ways your Community Manager is the glue of your organisation.
1. They are your customers’ trusted confidante
Because they are listening and talking with the public all day, they will soak up customer opinions and act as a trusted public face of your company. They can also help staff engage with your customers to identify and harness your brand champions. Thanks to this intimate relationship with your customers, the net result can be a wealth of marketing research, word-of-mouth promotion and positive brand perception.
2. They will future-proof your processes
The nature of their work relies on them staying on top of emerging trends and use and develop advanced monitoring and management tools, they are well placed to train your staff and report back on new methods you could implement in your staff’s workflow to increase productivity and impact, and give you the cutting edge you need to succeed in your marketplace.
3. They streamline your R&D
In order to be effective in their day-today operations, they develop an in-depth understanding of the weaknesses of both your web platform and promotional systems, as well as collate immense amounts of data about customer feelings about your product, whatever that might be. Not involving them in the development of your website or in the research process and testing phases of the next iteration of your product may well be your costliest mistake.
4. They are your company’s archivist and your customers’ patron
Since they act as both customer and company advocate, they need to know and be passionate about both the product and the customer on an intimate level. This makes them your greatest ally, and possibly your greatest enemy. Keep them close, because the combination of their enthusiasm for the brand and the powerhouse energy required to operate the engine room that is Community Management is something you want to infect the rest of your staff with.
5. They oil your machine’s cogs and pipes
Finally, because they interact with the majority of departments, don’t under-estimate their ability to piece together flows of information, essentially acting as an aggregator of your internal company operations. They are used to observing situations from above, watching for the small details most people don’t notice. They can offer you a holistic view of your company by patching all department activity together, thanks to the water-carrying of chunks of information to and from the community.
Your Community Manager holds your company on their shoulders, tending your audience and brand perception, and absorbing masses of information about your product and operations. Isn’t it time you tapped into that?
Can you think of any others ways in which the Community Manager holds a Company together, and can make it more efficient and successful?
[photo by alicepopkorn]
