Get to know and understand your members

You put all the hard work in to developing your community; you would be forgiven for thinking that it’s your own. It isn’t though – your community belongs to its members. They are the people you need to keep happy. They are the lifeblood of your community.

Always keep your members happy

Keep your community happy Keeping your members happy is of paramount importance. If the people who make up your community aren’t happy, they will leave and you will have no community at all.

At times, your members may suggest new features or rules that you don’t entirely agree with. It is important that you always welcome feedback from your members and make any changes that are demanded particularly strongly.

As I mentioned in my article entitled ‘When members request new forum categories‘, you can always introduce new features on a trial basis and see how they work out. Even if they don’t, your members will at least see that you are listening to their opinions and valuing their participation.

Take the time to get to know your members

For your community to be successful, you need to ensure you take the time to get to know your members. This involves engaging and interacting with them and generally getting involved in discussions.

Don’t feel awkward about getting involved in light-hearted or passionate conversations – your members will be happy to see you getting involved. Indeed, many thread starters will often feel flattered if they see the developer of the site getting involved in a conversation they started.

By getting to know those that make up your community, you will be in a better position to understand their personalities, wants and needs.

The importance of understanding your members

By understanding your members’ wants and needs, you are able to cater to them to ensure they become long term community members.

You can only direct the future direction of your online community if you understand your members. If you decide to introduce new rules or guidelines without understanding your community for example, you may face a backlash.

It is only by fully understanding your community members that you can think like them. When you think like them, you have a huge advantage over your competitors who all too often will make decisions based on their own opinions rather than those of their members.

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14 Responses to “Get to know and understand your members”

Weekend Links 07/20:
July 20th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
[...] Community Building Blog reminds us that you need to get to know and understand your members. [...]
Smiley:
July 20th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
Interesting article. I’ve always had in mind that I need to learn to be more open to members and make them feel valued.

Never thought of it how you put it, though. Something for me to think about.

It seems as you develop a community, you also develop your own personality and learn new people skills (which I heavily lacked in the past).
Martin Reed - Blog Author:
July 20th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Smiley – Developing a community certainly teaches you people skills! It also teaches you how important it is to learn from your mistakes, and how important it is to value every single member.
Blog Drive-Bys for 2007-07-21 - Untwisted Vortex:
July 21st, 2007 at 2:01 pm
[...] at Community Spark wrote an interesting article about how, even though you may have developed a community, the [...]
Russ:
July 23rd, 2007 at 5:32 am
One of the main reasons that I join other forums is because of the friendly environment that they offer, and that is what I try to provide in my own communities. It is much easier said than done though, and requires a lot of effort and dedication.
Martin Reed - Blog Author:
July 23rd, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Russ – I think it is important to consider what factors encourage you to join a forum yourself, and then try to emulate those in your own community.

I couldn’t agree more that a large supply of effort and dedication is required!
Always cater to the tastes of your community » Online Community Building:
July 23rd, 2007 at 6:41 pm
[...] few days ago, I wrote about the importance of getting to know and understand your members. Only by understanding your community will you cater to the needs and wants of your [...]
Chris Guthrie:
July 26th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
I definetely agree with you here. I’ve been running forums for over two years and one of the best things you can do to keep your forum active is to give your members what they want. I’m always posting in our ‘members only’ area on every forum I run asking for ways to improve the community for all and often times I get great ideas I wouldn’t have had I not asked.
Martin Reed - Blog Author:
July 26th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
Chris – Thanks for your comment. Making your members feel valued and involving them in the future direction of your community really strengthens the bond between your members and your site. What’s more, as you have found, members can often offer fresh ideas and innovative suggestions that you may never have considered otherwise.
Powerful Posts - July 28, 2007 | Nate Whitehill dot Com:
July 28th, 2007 at 9:40 am
[...] Community Spark – Get to know and understand your members [...]
Powerful posts 29 July 2007 » Online Community Building:
July 29th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
[...] wrote a great article asking readers how well they know their online business. It is essential to understand your audience, but it is vital to understand your own [...]
Involve your members in decision making » Online Community Building:
July 30th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
[...] or a lack of ability on your part – it is a sign of strength that you are willing to listen to and understand your members. It also makes your members feel more valued and involved in the [...]
What everyone ought to know about forums » Online Community Building:
November 19th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
[...] be afraid to back down if your members demand you change plans you had for the community. Get to know and understand your members. Be aware of the fact that you are there to serve your members – not the other way [...]
See how easily you can make more money from your website » Online Community Building:
December 10th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
[...] have harped on before about the importance of understanding your audience. If you don’t know who your members are and what they like, you can’t be sure of [...]

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Weekend Links 07/20:
July 20th, 2007 at 5:27 pm

[...] Community Building Blog reminds us that you need to get to know and understand your members. [...]

Smiley:

July 20th, 2007 at 8:06 pm

Interesting article. I’ve always had in mind that I need to learn to be more open to members and make them feel valued.

Never thought of it how you put it, though. Something for me to think about.

It seems as you develop a community, you also develop your own personality and learn new people skills (which I heavily lacked in the past).

Martin Reed - Blog Author:

July 20th, 2007 at 8:30 pm

Smiley – Developing a community certainly teaches you people skills! It also teaches you how important it is to learn from your mistakes, and how important it is to value every single member.

Blog Drive-Bys for 2007-07-21 - Untwisted Vortex:
July 21st, 2007 at 2:01 pm

[...] at Community Spark wrote an interesting article about how, even though you may have developed a community, the [...]

Russ:

July 23rd, 2007 at 5:32 am

One of the main reasons that I join other forums is because of the friendly environment that they offer, and that is what I try to provide in my own communities. It is much easier said than done though, and requires a lot of effort and dedication.

July 23rd, 2007 at 2:51 pm

Russ – I think it is important to consider what factors encourage you to join a forum yourself, and then try to emulate those in your own community.

I couldn’t agree more that a large supply of effort and dedication is required!

Always cater to the tastes of your community » Online Community Building:
July 23rd, 2007 at 6:41 pm

[...] few days ago, I wrote about the importance of getting to know and understand your members. Only by understanding your community will you cater to the needs and wants of your [...]

Chris Guthrie:

July 26th, 2007 at 8:03 pm

I definetely agree with you here. I’ve been running forums for over two years and one of the best things you can do to keep your forum active is to give your members what they want. I’m always posting in our ‘members only’ area on every forum I run asking for ways to improve the community for all and often times I get great ideas I wouldn’t have had I not asked.

July 26th, 2007 at 9:45 pm

Chris – Thanks for your comment. Making your members feel valued and involving them in the future direction of your community really strengthens the bond between your members and your site. What’s more, as you have found, members can often offer fresh ideas and innovative suggestions that you may never have considered otherwise.

Powerful Posts - July 28, 2007 | Nate Whitehill dot Com:
July 28th, 2007 at 9:40 am

[...] Community Spark – Get to know and understand your members [...]

Powerful posts 29 July 2007 » Online Community Building:
July 29th, 2007 at 7:14 pm

[...] wrote a great article asking readers how well they know their online business. It is essential to understand your audience, but it is vital to understand your own [...]

Involve your members in decision making » Online Community Building:
July 30th, 2007 at 6:44 pm

[...] or a lack of ability on your part – it is a sign of strength that you are willing to listen to and understand your members. It also makes your members feel more valued and involved in the [...]

What everyone ought to know about forums » Online Community Building:
November 19th, 2007 at 6:00 pm

[...] be afraid to back down if your members demand you change plans you had for the community. Get to know and understand your members. Be aware of the fact that you are there to serve your members – not the other way [...]

See how easily you can make more money from your website » Online Community Building:
December 10th, 2007 at 8:07 pm

[...] have harped on before about the importance of understanding your audience. If you don’t know who your members are and what they like, you can’t be sure of [...]

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