Community Management Requires Risk

By Sanya Weathers

When someone considering a career in community management asks me for advice, I’ve got a very simple response: Treat people the way you want to be treated. Love your job. Don’t lie, even if other people try to make you. And don’t waste time worrying about your own hind end.

If you spend all your time worrying about what other people think, protecting yourself, and other trappings of the self-absorbed, you can’t possibly do a good job managing a community. That isn’t to say you should be thoughtless when you speak. It does mean that too much thought leads to paralysis, and customer care that stops well short of exceptional.

Here are some situations where risk is required:

–    “That’s not my job.” We’re often called upon to do things that are not technically in our job description. We’re not customer service agents. We’re not tech support personnel. We’re not even webmasters. But when our customers need help, we should help them. We’re the public face of the company, and if we do good customer service things, the entire CS team looks good. If we truly can’t help, the least we can do is show the customer where to go, take the customer to that place personally (CC them on email, transfer the call but stay on the line, etc) and follow up afterward.

–    “That’s not my fault.” Hey, hate to break it to people who think community is all quaffing mead at fan faires, but most of the stuff we apologize for isn’t our fault. We don’t code, we don’t draw, and we don’t make decisions. Too bad. We’re the ones standing in front of a hurt and frustrated human being. If that human being is upset because of a stupid thing our company did, we apologize. If you hold back from a sincere apology, and instead utter an abomination like “Mistakes were made,” you’re a jerk. Many people stumble at this point because they’re afraid that blame will stick to their fur and follow them for life (or open the company to liability issues). Nonsense. Check with a real lawyer about liability before you panic, and remember that a sincere apology lances the boil. It’s the first step in putting a bad situation behind you.

–    “That will not be popular.” No one likes to be the messenger in a scenario where you know the messenger will probably get shot. But the longer you put off delivering bad news, the bigger the reaction will be down the road. Yes, you’ll be shot full of the slings and arrows of message board angst. The wounds will heal by morning. Give the silent majority of your customers the courtesy of assuming they’re just like you, and deliver the news with the kind of empathy and consideration that you would like the hear.