How Community Can work with Product Teams

Peers Over Beers - Community Experts Podcast

In today's competitive market, fostering strong customer relationships is crucial for a company's success. One approach to achieving this is by building a community that collaborates with product teams to drive growth and innovation. Lauren Clevenger, Global Head of Seller Community at Square, and Chris Detzel, Director of Customer Community and Engagement, shared their insights in a Peers Over Beers conversation on how to work effectively with product teams to create a thriving community.

The Importance of Strong Relationships Between Community and Product Teams:

In a B2B context, establishing robust relationships between the community and product/engineering teams is vital. These connections facilitate the creation of content around product success, releases, and future requests. The speakers also addressed the challenges of implementing an ideas platform within a community, sharing their positive experience with a community event called Dinner Five, which fosters strong bonds between community leaders.

Integrating Community Engagement into Market Strategy:

Drawing from her experience managing community programs at Bigcommerce, Lauren emphasized the need to incorporate community engagement as part of a company's overall market strategy. Online community platforms provide a space for technical individuals to discuss product-related questions and receive support from product managers and engineers. Inviting community members to participate in product release events and hosting educational community shows about new features can drive engagement and create value.

Overcoming Challenges in Building Strong Relationships:

The speakers highlighted the necessity of making it easy for product and cross-functional teams to collaborate, stressing the need for enthusiasm and promotion by the product managers themselves. Sharing their experience in producing webinars for product releases, they discussed the tactical work involved, such as crafting titles, descriptions, and promotional content. To foster strong relationships, it's essential to understand the workflows and tools of product managers, reducing friction and offering support in content creation.

Creating Engaging Content to Drive Community Success:

Developing captivating content is crucial in attracting new members and improving SEO. Considering the community's needs and interests when creating content is key, as referenced in a talk by Bridget from Atlassian on content strategy for communities. Aligning new programs with existing community goals and exercising patience while building a community are also essential components of success.

A thriving community can help companies engage with their customers on a deeper level, driving success and fostering innovation. Collaborating with product teams, understanding their workflows, and creating engaging content are all necessary steps in building a community that benefits both its members and the company. While challenges may arise when working with product and leadership teams, adopting a collaborative approach with patience and persistence can lead to a successful community that contributes to the company's overall success.

Check out:
Fostering Thought Leadership: Enhancing Communities

YouTube Channel episode: Episode 113 - How Community Can work with Product Teams

Get to know Lauren Clevenger, Global Head of Seller Community at Square