Online Communities and Jobs Theory – A Community Manager’s Perspective on Why We’re on The Right Track

Online communities are essential to connecting the value of an organization to the members/customers that it serves. When the strategy of the community is aligned with that of the organization, this creates the perfect opportunity to deepen member engagement while simultaneously meeting the needs of the member. This is also viewed as shared value – not just asking “what’s in it for me?” and seeing that come to fruition through the consumption of your products and offerings, but also asking “what’s in it for our members?” and creating opportunities for all around wins – because it doesn’t have to be all or nothing, right?Enter Jobs to be Done or Jobs Theory. This framework was developed by Clayton Christensen and a team of his colleagues and asks the question “what job did/will the customer hire this product/service to do”, looking beyond the answers that focus only on tasks (to answer my question, to help me create a project charter, etc.). Using the answers to that question, you then understand what your customer really needs from their interaction with you, creating the opportunity to innovate on their behalf which also demonstrates the value of continuing to interact with the organization. But to find out the answer, you have to talk to your members.How do communities get Jobs Theory right? Communities create a space for dialog to take place. It’s a virtual gathering place that allows members to share and create meaningful connections. It provides an opportunity to, almost voyeuristically, look at how members are interacting with each other, with the organization, and observe the behaviors they exhibit as they participate. What causes some to actively take part and others to lurk? Why do some members make it a point to log in at least once a day and others to only visit when looking for information?I want to feel like my contributions are valuedAs a member of a community, I like to contribute to share my knowledge and experiences. There’s nothing worse than making a contribution that you poured your heart and soul into and you get no response. No upvotes. No likes. No comments. Just silence. You think to yourself, “Was my article stupid?” “Maybe I’m not smart enough to contribute here.” Chances are none of these self-doubting thoughts are true. Maybe people just didn’t see it. What I’ve seen the communities I belong to do (and what we do in the community that I help manage) is elevate that content. Community managers should make every effort to ensure that contributions are acknowledged and get a chance at greater visibility. This could be through a weekly newsletter or through a social media post. The purpose is to fulfill the Job of feeling like member contributions are valued; like members are more than just another registration number. This action provides the catalyst for fostering the desired behavior of continued contribution and interaction.I want to consume information and feel like I understand it without it taking up too much of my timeHave you ever joined a community and read an article or participated in a webcast and felt like all of the time you spent reading up on a topic or honing your craft has been for nothing? What are these people talking about? What does that word even mean?I belong to a couple of communities that help me expand my knowledge and get better at what I do. Part of that is the consumption of information specific to my industry. For example, I belong to The Community Roundtable member network – an online community for community managers. They often hold panel discussions and presentations called…well…Roundtable Calls to allow members to share information and ask questions. This inclusive “let’s have a conversation” style of content delivery helps me to digest the information that I just heard and ask questions if I’m unclear. For me, this addresses the Job of learning without taking a lot of time out of my day. It’s not overcomplicated, it makes me want to participate more and I can do it in about an hour a month. If I miss it, I can go back and read a comprehensive transcript of the call on my own time.Do you see the pattern here? Ok, one more.I want to make new friends who I can talk to about my interestsOne definition of a community that really resonated with me was that a community is a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals. When I become a part of a new community, I want to feel a sense of belonging. I want to feel like I’m among others who share the same passion for whatever it is the community represents. I want to connect with people who I can talk to about my interest and create a bond. The Job to be Done here is connecting with others and feeling like I’m among friends. This cannot be done by simply reading an article or downloading a piece of content. These meaningful interactions with others that join the community make me want to keep coming back.The common theme throughout all of these Jobs is how addressing them makes one feel and how that feeling affects certain behaviors. This is how online communities get Jobs Theory right. This is the embodiment of feeling a sense of community. Please understand, I’m not saying we have it 100% figured out and there are lots of other Jobs that need to be addressed. What I am saying is that we are on the right track to helping organizations determine the value of engagement outside of a purchase or consumption of a product. Member loyalty is not solely based on user demographics determined through traditional segmentation efforts. It’s much bigger than that. And if we miss the opportunity to identify and address those Jobs, no number of amazing products or site features will keep your members engaged.Jobs to be Done is the subject of the book 'Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice' by Clayton M. Christensen, Taddy Hall, Karen Dillon, and David S. Duncan*Originally posted on LinkedIn