In my previous article, I spoke about the most common value levers that we can measure within an Online Community in order to evaluate what the Community is doing for the business. More often...
Updated 6 months ago
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TeroRe - there is indeed, no perfect way to measure ROI for Community. On that we agree. I am not ready to agree yet that 'Engaged Sessions' is a better metric (KPI?) to use than Visits though. The present definition of 'Engaged Sessions' has a substantial Achilles Heel at this point due to the '2 or more pageviews' rule, IMO.
However, I think we are at in strong disagreement when it comes to another point you made above. You said:
...because it is better to share forward smaller numbers than bigger (compared to the "actual" ones)
No way, my friend! Let us instead offer perspective to our engaged audience and share multiple numbers. It sounds so cliche at this point, but there is a 'teaching moment' for those that are willing to listen to what we are trying to calculate. So long as we are transparent with the numbers we use and how we arrive at our formulas, then there is no 'better' or 'actual' for people to get hung up on.
If senior leadership disagrees with our numbers, then at the very least, it becomes a lively discussion. And during that discussion they must (perhaps grudgingly so) admit that there is *some value*.
But better yet, maybe you can convince them to 'put their money where their skeptical mouths are' and turn off the darned Community for a month! Then, in 30 days, they can subsequently walk the smoldering remains of what was once your brand's functioning Support Center. I can almost practically guarantee that they will both hang their heads in shame for having doubted you, and then cry tears of joy for your triumphant return.
....Alternatively, maybe they can just read my latest blog article and discover what happened when another brand did just that.