Arranging a meeting is something of a community litmus test. You see exactly who cares enough about the community to show up. So when should you arrange your first meeting?
Try today. You need a high turnout to be a success. Set a date, book a venue and send out the invites. If nobody turns up, you know you haven’t made much progress with your community efforts. You need to change and improve your approach.
If just 2 to 3 people turn up, they win the customers of the month award and you can have a good, honest, chat about the state of the community.
If 8 to 10 turn up, these are your key community building allies. They are the people that will spend their spare time helping build a community.
If 20 turn up, you can plan future community activities. You can arrange the meeting, have a solid debate and generate a real community spirit.
If 100 turn up you know your community is a great success. You might give the event a cunning name, arrange the sequel event, plan VIP speakers, get the CEO and other staff to meet and greet the members.
Two years of online interactions can’t match one offline meeting. A meeting can help you skip years of community building efforts. It’s a simple shortcut to gel your core group of members at a minimal cost.
