PPB October 2017

and can then further refine your business model accordingly. 5 Build a path to superuser status. Once you know what your superusers have in common, what makes them different from your other customers, what they do for your business and what motivates them, you have all you need to recruit more of them. Here are a few tactics to try: • Analyze the value of your superusers. This allows you to prove to yourself and your colleagues that superusers are worth the investment. Incorporate the value of referrals, the lifetime customer spend, the market insights, and the marketing support that you receive from them. • Target your marketing funds. Invest more of your marketing dollars in the channels and messages that were the source of your superusers. • Refine your onboarding sequence. Develop an onboarding sequence that demonstrates how customers can get more out of being part of your community by inviting them to engage in the activities that define your superusers. • Set up a mentorship program. Invite your superusers to mentor your highest priority (read: future superusers)— new customers. • Reward them. Identify new ways to reward superusers and recognize their contributions. This strategy helps you engage your existing superusers while inspiring new ones. You don’t need to “pay” them; in fact, you should be careful not tomake them feel like their engagement with your brand is a job. Instead, find ways to recognize them for their contributions—maybe with a unique t-shirt, an inexpensive but one-of-a-kind gift, lunch with your product team, or a chance to speak at your annual meeting. The reward should deepen the benefits of belonging, status and fulfillment that they’re already getting from their engagement. • Educate your organization. Teach your organization about the value of superusers and incorporate your learnings from them across all departments. Over time you can adjust the way you build products, provide better support and measure success in your organization. Superusers are the ideal customer and then some. If you want your brand to excel, explore the ways you can incorporate your superusers as the flywheel for your business growth. You might just unlock some substantial hidden value, resulting in more customers, better insights and greater loyalty. Robbie Kellman Baxter is the author of The Membership Economy: Find Your Superusers, Master the Forever Transaction, and Build Recurring Revenue. She is the founder of Peninsula Strategies LLC, a consulting firm based in Menlo Park, California, that helps companies excel in the membership economy. Her clients have included large organizations such as Netflix, SurveyMonkey and Yahoo!, as well as smaller venture-backed start-ups. Over the course of her career, Baxter has worked or consulted with clients in more than 20 industries. Identify new ways to reward superusers and recognize their contributions. This strategy helps you engage your existing superusers while inspiring newones. 82 | OCTOBER 2017 | THINK