PPB October 2017

evolved into superusers. As an example, the CrossFit community has more deeply embraced themembership economy, and its emphasis on long-term relationships both with and among customers, than nearly any other exercise organization. As a result, it has built a passionate league of superusers. First, CrossFit makes membership easy by offering one program to everyone, in the form of a challenging hour-long workout. Each WOD, or workout of the day, is published on the website, and every CrossFit “box” (what it calls its gyms) in the world does the same WOD each day. Even if you can’t make it to the box, you can find the WOD and do it on your own. Second, CrossFit makes it personal by assigning each new member to a small group that works out together three times a week. These groups really get to know each other, as no one can leave a workout until everyone has successfully completed all exercises. They cheer one another on in their efforts to achieve personal records—not “best in the gym” but “my own best performance” and build deep relationships characterized by trust and support. When managed well, your superusers can take a lot of pressure off your sales and marketing teams, while also building a rabid fan culture that gives you confidence in making future investments. But first, you must nurture your existing superusers while also developing new ones. The trouble is, many brands don’t know how their existing superusers were created in the first place. Nor are they sure how to create more of them. Try these tips to get started: 1 Evaluate what your superusers do for you now. Superusers selflessly invest their energy in helping your business grow. Commonways they contribute are by recruiting new customers, training themby acting as “experts,” posting or leading sections in online communities, volunteering to help with events, participating in focus groups and surveys, testing new products and services, and allowing journalists to contact them. Define what those best behaviors are for your organization. 2 Understand what your superusers have in common. Make a list of some of your customers who behave like superusers and look for patterns among them. Do they share demographic similarities? Do they onboard in the same way? What behaviors are shared? When you can identify their similarities, you can often anticipate where your next batch of superusers may be hiding. When you look closely, you may find unexpected trends among your superusers. One of my clients discovered that his most demanding customers were consistently the ones who ended up recruiting many new customers and helping with product development. It goes to show that you shouldn’t discount the value of any of your customers—even difficult customers might be superusers if you take the time to understand what drives them. 3 Figure out what’s in it for them. Superusers engage with your brand because it fills a need of theirs. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, after having their basic physiological needs met, people try to mitigate risk, achieve belonging and status for their contributions and achievements, and ultimately reach their full potential. Most likely, part of the reason that your superusers are so engaged with your brand is that they are getting some of these needs met, particularly belonging, recognition or self-actualization. What are your superusers getting in return for their generosity? Are they finding their own Cheers hangout where everybody knows their name? Or better yet, are they achieving a reputation within the community as an expert, or perhaps as a generous soul? If you don’t know why your superusers do what they do, ask them. You might be surprised by their answers. 4 Identify lookalikes. Start with your existing customers and look for those who share key attributes with your superusers but aren’t yet behaving like superusers. Are there any key differences between the two groups? The differences may be structural and give you more insight as to what inclines a customer to transform. Or, the differences could be minute and provide you the opportunity to develop these on-the-cusp customers into full-fledged superusers. You may even discover another key attribute that superusers share (that lookalikes don’t share) Whenmanaged well, your super- users can take a lot of pressure off your sales and marketing teams, while also building a rabid fan culture that gives you confidence in making future investments. | OCTOBER 2017 | 81 THINK