The 6sense and Heinz Marketing teams that supports the CMO Coffee Talk do a great job keeping their members engaged. Every Friday morning at 8am and 11am Eastern time, our cohort of CMOs gathers to discuss another critical topic centered around career development, strategy development, or daily operations.
I’ve consistently made it to about 75% of the meetings, as travel or internal priorities sometimes get in the way. But even when I miss a few weeks, I know when the community will gather next and always feel welcome. The regular meeting schedule for CMO Coffee Talk is another great example of where schedule consistency pays off. The more consistent your schedule is, the more likely people are to join (even when they miss a meeting or two).
When engaged, community members stick around and invite others to join them. They don’t need to participate in the community daily to make an impact.
For the CMO Coffee Talk community, the relationships exist beyond Friday morning Zoom calls. They also have a Slack workspace that everyone can participate in.
If you hear someone on the Friday call say something profound and want to follow up with them, they can easily be found on Slack.
When you are heading to a big industry marketing conference, CMO Coffee Talkers like to arrange a time to meet up in person.
The important thing about community is that the interactions and connections need to rely on persistence. That is, if the community needs to or wants to gather, nothing impeeds those efforts.
People want to know they have a forum to gather, build relationships, and find inspiration. Sometimes that happens online, and at other times it happens in person. The important thing is to schedule regular opportunities for interaction. Schedule those opportunities consistently so that people know exactly where to find you when they have time to engage. Consistency is key to community success.