The existence of communities may be as old as humanity, but this idea and practice of viewing community as a driver of brand loyalty, customer referrals, and user acquisition in a commercial context are relatively new. Early case studies show that when done well, a thriving community can be a means to boost a company's growth efforts and its value in the public markets.

The reality is that at some point, all companies have a community around them -- whether they choose to engage with it or not. Robinhood, which went public in July, is a lesson in what can happen if you don't. When you make no home for users to meet and seek support from official channels, they'll find their own.

The first step in embracing the opportunity is to build a strategy that specifies how an organisation will provide value to its members, and then also derive value for itself. This kind of framework can help companies consider why it's creating a community, who is in the community, and its value to and between members.

Only then can you create a plan around conversing with, listening to, and engaging with current customers, potential customers, and those exploring something new.

To help make the concept more concrete, here are some questions to add more nuance and rigour to your company's community strategy:

• Who is in our community, and why are they here?
• Who is not in the community?
• What value will we create for the community, whether or not they are paying customers?
• What value will the members provide each other?
• How will we listen to, talk to, and be directed by our customers?
• How and where will we deliver insights from these conversations to the rest of the company?

Communities are complex systems, which means understanding the relationship between input and feedback can be difficult or not show up for a long time. The act of discussing and debating these questions will bring more clarity and alignment about the purpose and impact of the strategy and should engage teams about how to create value in many forms.

This depth of discussion also levels up the very notion of community as something that's not purely company-centric and transactional but transforms it into something that has the potential to impact every part of the business.