Recap notes from CMX 2023 Summit session. Grammatical errors and typos are my own 🙂

Abstract

This session will define how community builders can take the concept of Community Everywhere and apply it to their own Community. Concepts explored: internally selling the concept, shifting team talent to accommodate Community Everywhere, validating the business case for moving toward this North Star, and discussing the focus on online platforms vs in-person or hybrid engagement. – Jessica Mara, Global Community Lead, Lenovo

Notes

Community Everywhere – what this session will cover:

• Internally selling the concept
• shifting team talent to accomodate community everywhere
• validating the business case for moving toward this North Star
• discuss the focus on online platforms vs. in-person or hybrid engagement

Community at Lenovo

• Vision – continue and expand rapid growth glbally > Build lenovo.com as a brand differentiator and destination
• Where to play – consumer (gamers, students), small to medium businesses, global…and new opportunities
• Optimize (D2C) – brand and demand gen, conversion/UX, loyalty, offer
• Innovate – Test and learn, Community, subscription, partnerships, OMO, 3PO & Marketplace
  • Where Community Everywhere happens
• Enable – supply chain, Operating model, Talent, Tech, Data

Global Community Stats

• New registered members
• Global interactions
• Average monthly active users
• Average return visitor rate
• Events & activities in FY23
• Total pieces of user-generated content
• New Platform Features

Community Everywhere – Community is people

• Tech platform
• UGC (user-generated content)
• Loyalty programs
• Social accounts
• events (hybrid, online & offline)
• Influencers
• .com (how to bring it into .com environment)
• SEO/SEM
• Free parallel platforms (YouTube, Twitch, Discord)
  • Take key topics and move them into other marketing platforms to start more conversation
    • Lenovo has had lots of success doing this
• Others
  • Building community in courses or around them. (Speaker says it’s tough)
  • Help articles and knowledge base (libraries of articles. How to break them into “snackable content” and put it in the customer journey and also keep longer-form content in the Community.
  • In-person meetups (smaller groups vs. larger events)
    • There’s value no matter how many people show up
  • Supporting UGC in native languages

Community Everywhere Strategy
Maximizing the value of connection with community members and moving to a Community Everywhere Flywheel approach

• Tech Platform features and function
  • Will always stay as it’s where people come back to, but want to meet customers in other spaces
• Internal Stakeholder mindshift
  • They have an idea of community and may not want to invest. Demonstrate the value (call their bluff).
• Investment
• On/Offline and hybrid customer exchange
  • Lean into those other places

Consider other buckets to your community for your Community Everywhere vision.