Today is Community Manager Appreciation Day—recognizing the unsung heroes working behind the scenes to architect thriving, healthy communities that drive customer engagement and value.
Gainsight took some time last week to give some kudos to our own community team, and sat down with Kenneth Refsgaard, Manager, Community Strategy & Programs at Gainsight, and Anirban Dutta, Gainsight’s Team Lead for Community to hear their secrets behind how community managers can do it all – and still take some time to recharge.
Our conversation ranged from how to decompress after hours to their proudest moments managing a community. We’ve gathered a couple key takeaways for managing successful communities below:
Stay Connected to the Member Experience
One key insight from Anirban and Kenneth was spending time from the users point of view—understanding their perspectives, going through your community member flows, and staying focused on their needs to reach overall value.
Keep an Eye on Different Altitudes of Metrics and ROI
Measuring and conveying the impact of your community is critical to capturing why and how you invest your team’s resources. One key recommendation is to measure different levels of metrics:
- Operational performance (Are people active? Are they engaging and using the community?)
- Health metrics (Is that activity and engagement healthy? Is it promoting growth and continued involvement?)
- Business value (Is activity and engagement translating to healthier customer accounts, greater value, and expansion?)
Overcome Roadblocks Through Realignment
When those metrics reveal underlying engagement or activity challenges in your community, and you’re stuck, consider realigning your community strategies—often, these are a result of misaligned business goals and priorities or trying to deliver too much change at once. Consider micro-updates and continuous communication on community achievements to head off roadblocks early on.
Decompress and Recharge by Disconnecting
It’s a challenging and tireless job managing a community—and it’s important to take a step away from time to time to remain energized. The Gainsight team recommends spending some time in nature—on a bike, at the park, or otherwise getting some vitamin D to keep fresh.
There’s so much that goes into online community management on a daily basis, and we’re so grateful for Gainsight’s own superstar community team! If you’re a community manager looking to make 2024 your best year yet, check out a free chapter from our new Customer Communities book.
