Pay It Forward with Social Support Communities
In early 2000, Warner Brothers released a film based on Catherine Ryan Hyde’s novel, Pay it Forward. It tells the story of a young teenager who is challenged by a teacher to do something that makes a difference in the world. The boy ends up committing three acts of kindness, expecting nothing in return other than the recipients of his kindness to do the same for three other individuals. Without divulging too much, it’s a fantastic novel and a notion that most of us can inherently relate too.
I’m not a psychologist and at the risk of sounding overly altruistic, I do think that we all have an innate desire (some more than others) to give back to those who are less fortunate. Granted, a myriad of reasons explain why we fail to act on this innate desire but that does not negate the fact that the desire is present and people generally want to help others. It’s this “calling” of reciprocating kindness or helpfulness that fuels Social Support Communities. The understood hope is that by sharing my experiences and knowledge, others will benefit and be inclined to contribute as well. “I was a beginner once, and someone helped me.”
That is why I believe SSCs provide not only tangible benefits (lower support costs through call deflection) but intangible benefits as well. Through SSCs customers are given, if done correctly, an easy venue from which to pay it forward and exercise that desire to help others. I acknowledge there will always be varying degrees of participation (see 80/20 rule) but there has to be a conduit through which the community can interact and support one and other. So the question becomes, what is your company doing to help your customers Pay it forward? Are you providing a venue from which your customers can support each other or are you simply relying on FAQs and email? Don’t get me wrong, these things are helpful but they do not foster community or grow happy users. We have seen it time and time again. Users that have easily accessible, configurable, and knowledgeable answers are willing to become more involved. If I can quickly search and identify an answer to the same problem I’m having, I will be much more inclined to participate and help others along the way.
Researchers have studied online communities and motivation, finding that altruism, reciprocity, reputation, belonging, and obligation are all factors for different people’s reasons for contributing and helping others.
So what’s the takeaway from all of this? Knowledgeable customers will want to be involved and will help you support your product, but it’s up to you to provide them a venue from which they can pay it forward.
-->