Being able to facilitate a community – it's not easy – but it's kind of simple. It requires continual effort, much like being a parent.
Manchester, UK (PRWEB UK) 18 September 2013
James Schramko has discussed the benefits of growing a dedicated community, and explained how others can do the same, in the first ever Find the Edge podcast.
Speaking to the site's founder, Kenny Goodman, he discusses the steps that were involved in building his own community, and why doing so has been so rewarding.
Schramko said: "I think I started my membership programme with 65 or 70 people, and that was enough to build momentum. From there I just kept on adding.
"I started a core blog, and I put my best content and interviews on there, which helped to keep a connection to my customer base. Then I just grew with them."
"Being able to facilitate a community – it's not easy – but it's kind of simple. It requires continual effort, much like being a parent."
Also discussed over the course of the episode is the importance of regularly generating quality content, having good business tools to work with, and integrating customer interaction into a daily routine.
Schramko goes on to talk about the impact personal values and motivations can have on a community.
He said: "My values are that I've got a lifetime customer philosophy. I think that we're in this for a long time. People who are very short term focussed tend to be very greedy, selfish and manipulative – they don't last.
"The ones who have a long term focus, and never take advantage of their customers or do anything sneaky, they're the ones who are going to have a long and fulfilling time with their customer base.
"I actually don't know of anyone else who's logged into their community every day for five years in a row. I think that kind of commitment, that kind of sustained interest in your customers is noticed, and creates a lot of loyalty."
The podcast can be downloaded here: http://www.findtheedge.com/podcast/build-community-of-buyers-with-james-schramko.
James Schramko is a business growth expert who has built a global online empire. He owns several businesses and runs the free business information portal, superfastbusiness.com.
Find the Edge features content from a variety of business leaders. The website hosts articles, videos and audio content.