8 Lessons Communities Can Learn From Businesses

In today’s world, the line between a business and a community is becoming blurred. No longer can you afford to sit on the sidelines and passively hope that your community will grow and improve. To get the most out of your community, use the following things that businesses do every day:

Scale

Businesses are either growing or dying. If they don’t scale quick enough, they risk losing major opportunities. Don’t let this happen to your brand. If you find yourself wanting to scale up your community to reach more people, ask yourself what tasks and roles can be automated. In today’s digital world, you need to scale up and out as fast as you can or you might be left behind.

Goals

Have solid and real goals for your community. How many people do you want to help? What is your mission? If you don’t answer these questions first and foremost, it will be very difficult to get the results you are after.

Setting goals also focuses your community. If they don’t feel led by the goals, they might be led by emotion. You want to have written down goals already before bringing more people to help your community.

Talent

The talent pool available today is great, if you know where to look. However, this is not something you can sit idly by and hope they will come to you. To get the right talent on board make sure you are offering a real chance at growth within your community.

Don’t rely on just word of mouth for people to join your team. Reach out on platforms for hiring and there will be people looking for non-profit or other opportunities to help grow your brand. If you play your cards right, you could find the best talent for your community in a matter of weeks.

Referrals

Even with all the technology out there today, there is still something to be said for the classic word of mouth model. If you know what you want and how to get it, people will be excited to hop on board and get involved with your community. However, keep in mind that your local community may be limited to a geographic location. Encourage your community members to share the success you are having. More and more people will want to join if this is the case.

Follow Up

Don’t leave people hanging. Just because someone doesn’t want to join your community from day one, does not mean that they don’t in the future. However, to see these opportunities for what they really are, you have to be primed to see them when they arise. The best thing to do is stay in front of prospects that would be a great fit. Send them emails, call them, and generally network with them when you have a chance.

Technology

Not all communities are built online today, even though it is becoming much more common than it used to be in the past. Use technology to your favor, whether it is government technology, startup technology, or foreign technology. Don’t leave any stone unturned in helping your community prosper.

Determination

You must be determined to have the best for your community. Don’t settle for anything less than the best. If you do the right actions over a long enough period of time, you will succeed in a matter of time.

Evaluate

Make a habit of constantly evaluating where you are at in your community. Sometimes, a small improvement can have really big dividends for the long run, not just the short term. Ask yourself if efficiencies can be improved to meet new goals.

If you want your community to prosper, ask yourself what you can do to improve on the lines above. Businesses must compete for dollars in the marketplace. If you take the same approach to improvement and scale that business does, you can enjoy a more robust community now and into the future.

 

by:  Lee Flynn

Tags: article, business, Communication, Communities

Share it.