Drivers of Your Community: How They Work and What You Should Know (Part 2)

We continue our article about Drivers in community building. Previously we have listed 4 main Drivers that motivate people to join your community.

The main Drivers can be combined into 4 secondary Drivers (or sub-Drivers). Sub-Drivers are additional motivation power that turns people from the crowd into your community members and stakeholders. They are not less important but the impulses they send come at the second place.

Let’s see these secondary Drivers.

What are the secondary Drivers and why are they important?

As we said, secondary Drivers are a mix of main Drivers. Why is it important to know them? The answer is simple: they help you understand better community members and design appropriate strategies for them.

Knowing the Drivers that motivate people to join your community helps you create a community that aligns with the needs and interests of its members, fosters engagement and participation, and increases the chances of the community’s success.

You should remember that people in your community aren’t just people who come and go. They have their specific roles as stakeholders and contribute to the growth of your business. That’s why it’s important to define their Drivers correctly and see where members can apply them better.

4 Secondary Drivers

The Secondary Drivers dive deeper into the basics of community and business. They give a broader overview of your community stakeholders, their motivations, and their characters.

As Secondary Drivers are a mix of the Main ones, you can’t skip them while designing Personas and Purposes for your community.

Innovate Driver (Purpose + Profit): involves discovering fresh and inventive ways to fulfill the community’s purpose while generating stable profits. Innovation can aid in the development of new products, services, or business models that cater to the needs of the community and its members, resulting in increased customer loyalty, revenue, and a competitive edge in the market.

However, innovation should be motivated by the community’s purpose and principles rather than solely by the pursuit of profit. Hence, any new initiatives or innovations should be consistent with the community’s mission and contribute to its broader objectives and impact, just like Social Innovation.

Furthermore, innovation must be undertaken in a manner that is ethical, responsible, and sustainable, taking into consideration the environmental and social implications of any new initiatives, as well as the long-term financial viability of the community.

Coordinate Driver (Purpose + People): community building encompasses both the Purpose and People drivers as it involves creating appropriate governance, structure, and roles to direct members toward the community’s purpose and to facilitate effective collaboration and decision-making.

To achieve effective coordination, it is essential to have clear and transparent governance structures that outline how decisions are made and resources are allocated. This may involve the development of rules and policies, as well as the designation of roles and responsibilities that align with the community’s purpose and values. For example, a community that values sustainability may establish a sustainability committee responsible for overseeing the community’s environmental impact.

Moreover, it’s crucial to foster a culture of trust and respect that encourages active participation and contribution from all members, thereby turning some of them into multipliers such as ambassadors, community advocates, or influencers.

Engage (People + Product): it concentrates on developing engagement strategies that foster strong relationships with members and promote the community’s product or service (if created by the community) or promote the product to the community (if developed by an organization).

Successful engagement entails comprehending the requirements and interests of community members and devising marketing and community strategies that align with those needs. This may include creating product advertisements, editorial plans, and content that aligns with the community’s values and objectives.

Additionally, the Engage Driver may employ gamification mechanisms when suitable. This involves incorporating game-like components into non-game activities to make them more appealing and rewarding.

Measure (Product + Profit): the process of measuring significant metrics in community building can be linked to the combination of Product and Profit Drivers, as it entails monitoring both the engagement and satisfaction of community members, as well as the financial sustainability and well-being of the community.

Product metrics may involve determining user engagement, retention rates, and satisfaction surveys to assess the community’s effectiveness in achieving its purpose and fulfilling the requirements of its members.

On the Profit side, it is critical to track metrics such as revenue growth, profitability, and return on investment. This may require keeping tabs on sales data, membership fees, and other financial indicators that signify the community’s financial stability and sustainability.

Additionally, monitoring marketing metrics, including customer acquisition cost and conversion rates, is crucial to ensure that the community’s marketing and engagement strategies are effective.

Takeaways of Part 2

1. Drivers are the motivating forces that influence behavior, and they play a significant role in community building.
2. Drivers are connected to Purpose and Personas in your community, so you can’t skip the phase of their definition.
3. There are eight Drivers in community building, divided into four main Drivers (Purpose, People, Product, Profit) and four secondary Drivers (Innovate, Coordinate, Engage, and Measure).
4. Innovation can help communities meet their goals, but it must be driven by the community’s purpose and values and approached in an ethical, responsible, and sustainable manner.
5. Coordinating the governance, structure, and roles within the community is important to aligning members toward the community’s purpose and facilitating effective decision-making.
6. Engagement is essential to community building, and engagement strategies should focus on creating relationships and building trust among members.
7. Measuring metrics related to engagement and satisfaction of community members, as well as financial sustainability, is crucial to ensure the community is meeting its objectives and is financially healthy.
8. Knowing the Drivers in community building is important because it helps community builders understand the key factors that motivate community members to engage with the community and helps them identify effective strategies for building and growing the community.
9. By understanding the Drivers, community builders can tailor their community-building efforts to meet the needs and expectations of their members and create an environment that is engaging, rewarding, and fulfilling.

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