As the year comes to an end, Chris and Nicole discuss best practices for community professionals to reflect on their accomplishments, communicate value to stakeholders, and set goals for the new year. Key topics covered: The importance of end-of-year reporting to benchmark progress, justify budget/resources, and set goals. Nicole explains how quantifying community ROI helps secure leadership support. Conducting quarterly reviews to zoom out from day-to-day tasks and ensure you're focused on the right priorities. Tips for end-of-year people management like giving timely feedback and documentin ..read more

In this episode of Peers Over Beers, Christopher Detzel interviews Nicole Saunders, Senior Manager of Global Community Programs at Zendesk, about Zendesk's user group program. Nicole explains how the user group program got started based on feedback from Zendesk customers who wanted more opportunities to connect with each other. The goal of the program is to drive customer retention by building meaningful relationships between Zendesk, its users, and partners. She discusses how the user groups are structured, including interest-based and role-based virtual groups rather than geographic location ..read more

This podcast episode is a discussion between Christopher Detzel and Nicole Saunders, two community professionals, about trends, strategies, and best practices for community management in 2024. Some of the main topics covered include: How community teams are adapting to doing more with smaller teams by prioritizing programs, leveraging cross-functional partnerships, and using technology like AI. Strategies for consistently engaging community members through innovative formats like "thought leader" sessions and getting customer feedback on new features. Optimizing virtual and in-person events t ..read more

In this episode of Peers Over Beers, hosts Chris Detzel and Nicole Saunders are joined by special guest Jono Bacon, an expert in building online communities, to discuss how artificial intelligence and new technologies like large language models will impact the future of community building. They explore how AI chatbots may take over some routine community management tasks like answering common support questions, allowing community managers to focus more on building relationships and delivering personalized experiences. However, they acknowledge the need to pivot community roles to focus less on ..read more

Partnerships play a critical role in building successful online communities. But how can you effectively engage partners without them simply using your community as a marketing channel? In this episode, hosts Chris Detzel and Nicole Saunders dive into creative tactics for leveraging partners as community advocates. Drawing from their extensive expertise running online communities, Chris and Nicole discuss the value partners can bring by sharing expertise, creating content, leading community groups, and more. However, they also acknowledge the common concerns around partner self-promotion and e ..read more

In this episode, Christopher and Nicole discuss the idea that community exists everywhere, not just on a company's own branded community platform. They talk about how community management is evolving to be more cross-functional, with community professionals embedding in other teams like social media and customer success. Key points they cover: Community happens across social channels, forums like Reddit, and other informal spaces online. Companies need to think about how to participate in these spaces, not just drive people back to their own community platform. It's important for community ma ..read more

Welcome to this in-depth analysis of the podcast "Peers over Beers," hosted by two seasoned professionals, Nicole Saunders and Christopher Detzel. The engaging discourse revolves around the transformative role and significance of community in today's organizations, offering invaluable insights and perspectives for both veterans and newcomers in the field of community management. Understanding the Community Role Community Integration: The Embedded Approach The Shift to Decentralization Role of Community in Feedback Management Business Alignment and Trust in Community The Evolution of Community ..read more

In this insightful episode of "Peers Over Beers", Christopher Detzel converses with Nicole Saunders from Zendesk about community building and user group management in a business setting. The episode commences with a light-hearted discussion about personal exercise routines in the summer before shifting gears to Nicole's extensive experience in fostering communities at Zendesk. Nicole outlines her journey from managing Q&A topics to orchestrating an all-encompassing community strategy at Zendesk. The strategy entailed merging the five product communities into a singular one to facilitate u ..read more

This podcast originated and is a copy from Data Hurdles episode Leveraging Online Communities for Business Growth: Insights from Burke and Detzel.  In their conversation, Michael Burke and Chris Detzel explore the crucial role online communities play in the modern digital business environment. Detzel, an expert in building these communities, outlines how they offer spaces for users to connect, collaborate, and resolve product-related issues. From a business standpoint, these communities can reduce support costs, generate marketing leads, and encourage product adoption, boosting upsel ..read more

Welcome to the Peers Over Beers podcast, "Behind the Scenes of Community Management: Metrics Matter". Nicole Saunders and Chris Detzel give their thoughts about Community Metrics:   As the world grows more interconnected and businesses strive to build authentic relationships with their audiences, community management emerges as a critical element of organizational success. But how do we measure its impact and effectively communicate this to various stakeholders? This podcast unravels the mystery and shows you the art of telling your community's story using data-driven insights. Check out ..read more