Over the years, we’ve highlight “Best-in-Class” communities in our State of Community Management Research.
The Best-in-Class defines a segment of respondents to the State of Community Management 2024 survey that represent a mature, effective online community program. Our reporting directly reflects feedback from readers suggesting this is a critical piece in understanding how communities evolve.
2024 Best-in-Class Elements
To create the 2024 best-in-class segment, we included the communities with ALL of the following elements:
- An approved community strategy
- An approved community roadmap
- A formal community leadership program exists
- Most community roles are defined
- Policies and guidelines both exist
The resulting Best-in-Class Communities segment in the 2024 report is 13% of the overall sample (up from 12% last year) and we continued to find evidence that they are leading the way throughout this year’s research.
Who are these Best-in-Class organizations?
While they represent a wide range of industries, “high tech/telecom/software” remains the largest segment at 54% of the total. Best-in-class community programs are likely to reside in larger organizations, with 57% of the total coming from organizations with 5,000+ employees.
Best-in-Class communities in 2024 also skew older – 70% of the best-in- class community programs have existed for 10+ years (up from 57% in 2023). The majority are a “network of communities” (62%) vs. a single community (38%). 81% are external/customer communities, 14% are internal/employee communities, and the balance cater to both audiences.
You can download the State of Community Management 2024 to learn more about how Best-in-Class communities are performing, and get ideas and advice for moving your community program closer to Best-in-Class status. You may already be there – you can use this free assessment to benchmark your community program and identify strengths and opportunities for grown.
