In a nutshell, to develop your online community you have to provide them with value. They want to be assured that the information you provide to them is accurate, honest, and most importantly that it works for them.

But what does your online community really want and need from you and how can you be sure you have it right? The best thing to do is ask them, but in the meantime, here are some things that your online community probably wants from you right now.

Value

They want you to provide value to them. That means the time they spend engaging with your content should mean something to them. For example, if they read your 10 tips blog post, they’re going to get actionable tips that solve a problem, and that is providing value to them.

Information

Depending on where your customer is in their buying journey, they will need information. From the start of their research to the actual purchase of the product they want data from you that they can use and understand that explains who, what, when, why and finally how.

Transparency

Your customers don’t want to be treated as if they’re ignorant. Keep them informed if there are issues, problems, or concerns. Also, keep them informed of positive news too. Don’t hide when something happens such as pricing changes, technology glitches, and other humanness that happens. If you’re honest and are striving for excellence that’s all they can ask.

Responsiveness

Anytime a customer engages with your business they want to feel as if they’re heard and understood. You must be able to put yourself in your customer’s shoes to serve them well and give them what they want. If they contact you, and you don’t respond in a way that serves them they may not even feel heard.

Control

Today’s customers prefer to oversee how they get in touch with you. Offer many ways to contact you from email, to telephone, to chat and more. Whatever you can offer to ease their minds and to give them back control over the process will help them trust you more.

Solutions

Whatever you’re selling, they want solutions to their problems. If you have a solution to their problem, then that’s what they want. Of course, you also need to know how to present that solution in a way that they understand and that they feel gives them the options and choices they want. For example, several product formats as well as payment options.