Ashley Gallman Williams - CMX Summit East 2016 - Proving the Value of Community
Transcript of Ashley Gallman Williams - CMX Summit East 2016 - Proving the Value of Community
Proving the Value of Community
Ashley Gallman Williams
US Head of Community, wix.com
@ashleygallman
#cmxsummit
@ashleygallman
• There is no magic bullet
• No fancy tool you can download
• One size does not fit all
• Experiment: be brave and question everything
Disclaimers
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• Companies Grow and Marketing Budgets Get Bigger
• Community Will Never Be a Super Bowl Commercial
• Traffic and conversion become a less realistic measurement
• ROI likely not the best way to show value of Community
Let’s Get Real About ROI
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• CTA becomes Engage rather than Click
• 1,000 people who meaningfully engage with the product > 10,000 people who just visit the homepage
• Still technically traffic, but MUCH higher quality
Traffic vs Engagement
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“We want customers who need our clothing, not just desire it.”-Yvon Chouinard, Founder of Patagonia
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• Bottom line: Engaged users spend more
• Amazing Use Cases and User Stories for PR
• Super Users = Brand Ambassadors and Trainers
• Brand Affinity and Thought Leadership
But let’s start from the very beginning of the funnel...
What Is Engagement Good For?
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• Cold calling users = 25% response and attendance
• Users Who Attended a Meetup = 50%
• Users in the Wix Lounge Program = 90%
• Engaged Users = More (and Better) Product Feedback
What I Learned from Usability
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• User Interviews and Usability in Person and via Video
• Beta Tester Recruitment
• Product Teams visiting almost weekly
• User Meetups focused on specific products and features
So We Went A Little Nuts
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“It really helps us to understand our users and how THEY see Wix and the Web. It's awesome to have first-hand, real-voice, video user interviews.
“Just wanted to thank you again. Your help was very valuable and as a result we were already able to craft some important changes to the product.”
“Such an invaluable resource! Can you add this to the library - so our product/product marketing will be able to find it and reference in the future?”
Rave Reviews from Product
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• Not just Product - every department in the company
• Advise the company on how to understand and approach the users
• Knowledge base that is invaluable and irreplaceable
Ultimate Authority on Wix Users