Retention, Part 31: How Are You Driving People Away?

By Sanya Weathers

We’ve all seen it. Someone new and full of energy joins the community. Two weeks later, their account is inactive. What happened?

Ask them. In order to do that, though, you must have first prepared the foundation.

If you’re in the early stages of community building (pre-product launch), your community professionals should be welcoming new members personally. No, the form letter of welcome does not count. Everyone knows the computer is the one sending them. I’m talking about a real PM or email sent three or four days after your new member arrives – after he’s had time to settle in and look around, before he’s had a chance to get bored. It doesn’t need to be fancy, and obviously it still follows a template:

–    Causal, friendly language.
–    No sales pressure. This is not the time to talk about Exciting Features and How Awesome You Are. This is person to person contact.
–    Short.
–    A compliment to the user on something he said/posted/displayed.
–    Ask if there’s anything causing him trouble with the site or forum. Ask if he’s read the FAQ and if not, why not, because you want to improve it.

The benefits to this kind of personal welcome are twofold. One, you’re more likely to retain the customer. Two, if you still don’t retain the customer, by establishing communication you’re more likely to get an answer when you ask why he’s quit.

Typical reasons for leaving an early stage community after an initial burst of enthusiasm can include:

–    The “veteran” users, those who have been there for two whole months or more, were unwelcoming and obnoxious.
–    The other users were nice enough, but the new person didn’t fit in with the tone of the community.
–    The website was difficult to navigate, or confusing.
–    The user thought the product was further in development than it was.
–    The forum software is awful.
–    The information about the product made the user realize it wasn’t for him.

If the answer you get from someone who bailed isn’t something you control or won’t be changing, don’t worry about it. Better people leave early than to remain and become frustrated.

Chances are, the reason for departure is a piece of low hanging fruit. Pick it off.