#113 - Jillian Bejtlich - Community Lead at Calendly - Supercharging GTM with the Community

In this episode of Revenue Today, host Jared Robin interviews Jillian Bejtlich, Head of Community at Calendly, debunks the myth that community can only live at the top of the funnel. She emphasizes the importance of community in the adoption and advocacy phases of the customer lifecycle, where cost savings and organic growth can occur. Jillian explains that the community should be aligned with both the organizational and customer needs to be successful. She also highlights the importance of listening and understanding the customer perspective when starting a community. Jillian shares her approach to resetting expectations and aligning community goals with the overall business strategy.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Community is not just for awareness and acquisition; it can have a significant impact on adoption and advocacy.
• Advocates are crucial for building a community; they can bring in their networks and help grow the community organically.
• To set up a community, start by finding your advocates and building meaningful relationships with them.
• Swag and gamification are not always effective motivators for community members; understanding their intrinsic and extrinsic motivators is key.
• ROI measurement for a community depends on the type of community and the available data, but NPS and attribution can be useful metrics.

QUOTES

• "Community is so much more than just awareness and acquisition. It can save you money and provide free advertising." - Jillian Bejtlich
• "If you start a community and it's not perfectly aligned between the organizational needs and the customer needs, you're not going to get to those last two phases of the customer lifecycle." - Jillian Bejtlich
• "Advocates are the people who will help you grow your community and bring in their friends and networks." - Jillian Bejtlich
• "Community is for conversation, collaboration, and connection. It's about giving people something they can't get anywhere else." - Jillian Bejtlich
• "Understanding churn metrics can help you proactively influence customer behavior and improve retention." - Jillian Bejtlich

Connect with Jillian in the link below:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillianbejtlich/

Ways to tune in:

• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/40b665df-1a4f-455a-a514-ef599fd1a106
• Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revenue-today/id1626063261
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/38z3wZIAcpoAYF5LQ65xON
• Google Podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucmV2ZW51ZXRvZGF5LmxpdmUvZmVlZC54bWw
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/6KEho9RSaHs