Building a successful social group share many common traits with a successful business. Though a successful business can be very rewarding financially, a successful social group can also gratify the organizers.
Would-be entrepreneurs first try building a social group to explore or confirm their business talents. There is minimal financial risk in building a social group. Building a business from the ground up could be a significant financial risk.
We have a monthly dining group for women. It is a private group we created on the Meetup platform. Our first group dining event was on March 2020, right before the pandemic lockdown. Like many businesses, we had to close the group for about a year. We re-started the group in the summer of 2021. And just like other businesses that thrived during the pandemic, we have grown rapidly to over 170 members.
There are hundreds of thousands of various groups on the Meetup platform. Many, if not most, are short-lived. It takes hard work to run a Meetup group. Our group is not-for-profit, as are most of the other groups on the Meetup platform. The organizers believe they have a good idea to share with others. The idea could be hiking, dining, camping, singing, investing, painting, traveling, dating, sky diving, scuba diving, etc. There is an unlimited number of ideas. And like business, ideas do not create success; excellent execution does.
Why do group organizers give up on running their groups?
IMHO, it is because they recruit any and everyone to their groups and try to satisfy every member. It is the same as why many businesses failed when they attempted to satisfy every customer who bought something from them.
In other words, the social group organizers must focus on recruiting and retaining only those members that will bring the most joy to their groups. The same is true for business owners. Business owners must focus on recruiting and retaining the best customers who will grow their business most profitably.
Knowing who are their best members or customers is the crucial first step toward success. Members who actively seek out social events and publicly praise the events post attendance are usually the members who will bring the most joy to the group. These are the super fans. The same is true in identifying the best customers. They are usually those who are loyal and enthusiastic about the brands, the products, and the services. They will promote the business to their peers, friends, and loved ones without prodding or incentive from the business. These customers and super fans personas are maps for the business owners and social group organizers to use for targeting customers and members to recruit and retain.
Businesses that defocus their offerings to satisfy all customers will fail because the noises generated by the less optimal customers will crowd out or confuse the business owners about where they should continue to invest and what they should be building as better offerings. That will cause the best customers to be disappointed and move on to other businesses.
Below is a brief description of our social group on the Meetup platform. The descriptions served as examples of how we focus on our offerings: the Fine Dining experience, and only seek to recruit and retain our super fans who care and will pay for the experience.
Our social group is called Fine Dining for Women. The two key points are “Fine Dining” and “Women.”
It is not a co-ed group. Why? Because we want the group event not to be clouded by behaviors, sometimes ugly behaviors typical of dating apps and events. We want our dining events to be safe from all rat races in our professional, business careers, and private lives. The word “Women” is used as a filter; it is a way to say we are not about dating and please do not bring that attitude to our event.
We are about fine dining experiences. Our dining events are hosted in five-star or Michelin-starred restaurants. Our dining experience promises to offer wonderfully prepared food and delicious wines in elegant but relaxed settings. It is a night where our members can relate to a high-end resort spar vacation. A night our members can be pampered by great food, wines, and services while entertained by other members in an exquisite setting.
The per-head spending for the dinner has been from $200 to $450. It is an amount that is only for some and every day. We also do not offer a separate bill for each member. All dining members pay the same equal amount for the table. It does not matter what one orders or if one drinks alcohol or not. We share the total bill equally. Making everyone pays equally is our way to ensure that we share everything at the table. It is a night to collaborate, participate, relax, and enjoy each other.
We closely but quietly monitor the members’ behavior at the dining table. If a member’s behavior is unacceptable to our group, we will mitigate the situation immediately to ensure the experience for the other members is protected. And that member with unwelcome behavior will be banned from our group permanently.
Our dining event is once a month and only allows eight dining members. We keep the table small because we want to maintain an intimate dining experience so members can get to know each other and relax with each other quickly. That means our monthly dining event is always fully booked, usually fully booked within five minutes after the event has been published. The waitlist is long.
Before starting a business, you can test your skills by forming a social group. It will help you think and focus on your offer, your target customers, and how to recruit and retain them.
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