9 rules for building community operations

For community operations , creating a membership upgrade system is a good way to maintain community activity.

Since the emergence of membership systems in hotels, banks and airlines, various "upgrade" and "loyalty programs" have grown in an organized manner, forming the prototype of today's community "growth" system.

Carrefour and Metro made it famous all over the world, Starbucks and Tsutaya Bookstore helped it to prosper, Amazon and Netflix reached its peak. With the comprehensive coverage and penetration of lifestyle brands such as Alibaba/JD.com/Meituan/Dianping/Bilibili, it is almost everywhere. It can even be said that brands/communities without user "upgrade" systems are almost extinct.

Although everyone knows the importance of the "upgrade" system in membership/community marketing, Brand Ape still has three points to clarify in advance:

First, we cannot take it for granted that user identity is immutable; similarly, treating all members equally is a good idea, but it would be unfair to the brand’s super members and core members of the community.

Second, user upgrade is a form of user stratification , which provides different services and privileges through stratification to promote efficiency; user upgrade is also a form of user grouping , with different levels representing different communities, thus achieving user segmentation and operation.

Finally, every community will lose its vitality and eventually die if its members do not have room to upgrade or move forward. This applies to any group: religion, country, institution, company, activity, game, etc.

Therefore, the membership/community system is deeply bound to an upgrade and upward mechanism, which is one of the core systems that the community needs to plan from the beginning.

1. Why do many community/membership marketing fail? ——Three major problems with the traditional "upgrade" system

Let me answer a question here first. Brands all know the value of loyal users, the benefits of community stratification, and the necessity of membership upgrades, but many plans/systems remain stagnant and dispensable. Why?

Reason 1: From a brand perspective, it is a marketing tool

Most membership upgrade/loyalty enhancement systems are designed from a business perspective: to thank super fans, to maintain important users, to activate wandering customers, or to attract new customers. In short, it is for sales.

From a business perspective, there is nothing wrong with this, but if you use it as a starting point, it is just a marketing strategy. If you cannot allow your users to grow with you, you will naturally not have the best, long-term relationship - a partnership.

With this understanding, the "ceiling" of your relationship with users is "iron", that is, users continue to contribute to you and will not easily change brands; but it is almost impossible to expect them to "champion for you and fight alongside you".

Reason 2: Single point equity, unable to form attribution

The motivation or inducing mechanism for most members to upgrade is various benefits and privileges. People like benefits, but they also know clearly that these are just small favors. You have it, he has it, and the new ones will have it. They will not make them identify with the brand and community in their hearts.

A good growth system not only provides discounts to induce members to consume, but also needs to show strong support for the members themselves or for a certain cause, without making members feel that the brand only cares about how much they buy and then gives them some small gifts to get rid of them.

Taking the membership of Luckin Coffee and MANNER Coffee as examples, they also offer discounts and private domains. One is a discount for sharing and attracting new customers, and the other is a discount for “environmentally friendly experience”. Member activities with attitude can be amplified and recognized, and ultimately form a sense of belonging to a “trendy life”.

Reason 3: Sameness, no scenario innovation, and no evolution into a new credit ecosystem

Most upgrade/loyalty programs simply copy other brands’ point benefits and upgrade systems.

Starbucks' "star accumulation" is good, and there are many learners; Tsutaya Bookstore's T card is very good, and various connection modes emerge one after another; Amazon and Costor's paid memberships create revenue, and everyone opens paid membership, but the result is a mess.

A membership upgrade/loyalty enhancement program similar to other brands, just a form for people to check at will, which is no different from having no system at all.

JD PLUS and Ali 88 copied Amazon Prime; Haidilao imitated Starbucks; FamilyMart learned from 7-11, but they were unable to build a loyal community, evolve a new credit ecosystem, and form a true sense of belonging.

Instead, it is Xiaomi’s “Mi Fan Festival”, Sandunban’s “Return Plan” and NIO’s “NIO Value” that make them unique, with loyal members and community-based feedback.

Put yourself in their shoes, if you were faced with these homogenized activities and upgrade systems, would you be loyal? Will there be a sense of belonging? Are you willing to grow with the people here?

What's more, the most active consumers today are a group of young people who are more concerned about individuality, spirit, belonging and companionship. In the digital age where experience integration, scene integration and points rights have evolved into a credit ecosystem, are they willing to grow in a points system that has been used for more than ten years? Do they want to be partners with a group of people who are taking advantage of the situation?

To build a new community for the core consumer groups of the future, we must first upgrade our thinking - from "upgrade" to "growth", from "loyalty" to "companionship".

It is not only a word game and a change of "words", it also represents a different attitude towards members, as well as an improvement in methodology and way of thinking.

2. The “growth” mindset of the “new community” – from the perspective of “member growth”

If a community cannot progress or develop, it will die sooner or later; similarly, if members of a semi-closed group cannot "grow", leaving and the community disbanding is inevitable. "Growth" is an exclusive term for "new communities " and a basic parameter of digital life. It requires us to design experiences and systems from the perspective of "member growth" of the community.

Education and schools are the earliest "growth" that help the seeds of human civilization continue and grow.

Games and sports are a form of positive "growth" . The system allows members to experience the fun of upgrading, and as their levels rise, they also revel in the sense of accomplishment of growth.

The military's promotion mechanism not only represents "growth" and power, but also hard work, contribution and honor, and it also means the continuous improvement of survival ability.

The new community's stance on "growth" is to understand that the starting point is to help members "improve a specific skill or an aspect of life" ; then it evolves into "inner growth" to "increasingly and effectively controlling all aspects of life" ; but it must be admitted that no matter external skills or inner strength, the ultimate goal is to allow every grown-up person to take on greater responsibilities and continue to "grow" in "caring for others."

Level 1: Almost all "new communities" provide some external knowledge and methods to help members "improve a specific skill or an aspect of life" : Lululemon and KEEP make your body healthier; Xiaohongshu helps you explore new products; Dianping helps you choose a good restaurant... These are all improvements in certain life skills.

Level 2: You can learn some knowledge on Bilibili and get help to expand your cognition, upgrade your thinking on Chaos University, and Tik Tok and Kuaishou allow you to express and perform. They are all helping people grow internally. Community members all want guidance from senior members. A mature and powerful community can provide members with opportunities to learn how to succeed in a certain way. Especially in the uncertain post-2022, "inner growth" is manifested as "increasingly effective control over all aspects of life."

Ultimate: The ultimate destination of "growth" is to take on greater responsibilities, such as Spider-Man's responsibilities, such as Li Shanyou's "great love", such as the obligations of the inner circle.

Of course, these are ideal states of growth, but they are also realistic desires for growth and universal needs for growth. Whoever achieves them first, even if it is only a small part, can break out of the shackles of existing thinking and open up the ceiling of the relationship with users.

The Aranya community gradually awakens people's love of life and opens the ceiling of real estate; the Lego community helps members unleash their creative nature and build towering trees outside the system; members of the Weilai community stand up and become masters, achieving religious love...

In other words, the "new community" should help its members grow. When you achieve more "member growth" , you will find that you have more. It can be seen from this that a system that helps promote the growth of members and can measure, motivate, and support "growth" is important and necessary.

3. Three ways to play with points "growth"

For a long time, the point system has been the simplest assessment system and infrastructure for measuring, motivating and supporting "growth". No matter what it is called or how it is accumulated, the growth systems of almost all brands and communities are based on the point system.

Although in the Internet age, the value of points has become increasingly weak due to the impact of subsidies and burning money, with the advent of the digital age, as mobility, fragmentation and granularity have become new business characteristics, the points system has once again radiated vitality.

Because points have the attributes of virtual currency, they establish a unified value measurement scale for complex commodity exchanges. Its unified multi-scenario, multi-time and space, multi-category, multi-price, and multi-role feedback and reward mechanism is undoubtedly the optimal solution for membership/community marketing in the digital age, and even the "growth" of new communities.

There are three ways to play the "growth" system that builds a "new community" based on a points system.

1. Primary gameplay of "points" - feedback bias, connection value

Most community/membership points mechanisms are similar. The basic logic is that when user contributions (consumption/participation/activity) reach a certain level, they can receive feedback and benefits.

As amazing as Starbucks, as powerful as Amazon, as beautiful as Tsutaya Bookstore, and as innovative as Sandunban.

However, it is not easy to play the basic gameplay well. You need to know at least the following three aspects.

(1) Points have value only when they are “ used ”

The essence of points is virtual currency, so the basic rules should be the same as currency. It is not virtual, not digital, will not evaporate, will not depreciate, and is willing to be "used".

Being "used" is the driving force that attracts members to actively consume/participate/be active; promoting its circulation is the key to the vitality of the points system. However, due to cost considerations, many brands are unwilling to provide valuable redemptions to attract users to use and circulate points. They forget the original intention of building a points system - feedback and favoritism .

Unattractive rewards will not allow points to be used and circulated, so Weilai’s redemption items are creations of the world’s top designers rather than common goods bought in Yiwu.

Only if you are willing to be rewarded can you be remembered; only if you hope to be favored can you have a good reputation; only if you are remembered and have a good reputation can you create value.

What they don’t know is that among all marketing activities, the most significant difference between points and discount promotions, discounts for purchases over a certain amount, buy one get one free and other activities is that in addition to bringing about secondary consumption, points can significantly improve the relationship between users and brands/communities - each use is a process of strengthening intimacy.

(2) Points need to be “perceptible” to be more valuable as a connection

Many brands often make the following two mistakes in their points system:

First, it is unclear and difficult to perceive.

Points are signposts for members’ growth and promotion. They not only need to let members know their current position at a glance, but also attract them to participate faster. Therefore, a valuable "growth" design should be simple, memorable, and perceptual.

The various points calculated based on the amount are difficult to perceive. Spending 200 yuan will earn you 20 points, and 500 points will earn you one level. No user will remember or can remember these points, let alone how many points they need to work hard for.

Starbucks' "star accumulation" system is easy to perceive: members are guided to upgrade by accumulating "stars", 4 stars upgrade to Jade Star level membership, and accumulating 16 stars upgrade to Gold Star. Every time you open the APP, you will know at a glance where you are and how many stars you need to upgrade.

Second, when you call "points", you have already lost.

When a brand’s membership/community system uses the term “points,” it has already lost at the starting line.

Imagine that a user, especially the young people today, is looking forward to asking about the benefits of becoming a member. But you tell him that he can get 10 points for every 100 yuan he spends. Do you think you can still retain him?

Exclusive names, distinctive services, interesting activities, and special rights and interests are the correct way to play "points". Only in this way can we differentiate ourselves from other communities and allow members to gradually form a spiritual resonance of identity and a sense of belonging.

Just like San Dun Ban Coffee, points are not called points, but points; redeeming gifts is not called redeeming gifts, but return points; gifts are not called gifts, but supplies; the place for redeeming gifts is called the city return point, which has created a new meaning that is integrated into daily life.

(3) Points must be mobile and social in order to connect new values

The points in most membership/community points systems are just points, and are worthless except for redeeming gifts and services.

The “points red envelope” of the NIO community is an excellent social case.

In addition to the regular function of exchanging points for goods, NIO’s points have also built a points flow mechanism to stimulate user activity, making points a connector and lubricant for various relationships, a driving force for scene transformation, and even a connection tool.

In addition to buying cars, exchanging goods, and converting points into various services in the NIO app, the app also innovates a unique "points red envelope" - for rewards and resales among members.

We also apply point red envelopes in many scenarios. For example, if it is your birthday today as a car owner, an 888 point red envelope will be automatically sent to you in the name of Li Bin; if you have paid a large deposit, you will receive a special point red envelope for the large deposit every day before you pick up the car; if the car cannot be delivered on time, there will be a red envelope for waiting for the car.

—— Zhang Yidi, Senior Director of User Digital Products Department

Once points flow at high speed and interact frequently, they can connect to more new scene experiences bit by bit. This redistribution of points may be the fundamental proposition of the value of point connection.

Knowing the three principles of small points design: "usage", "perception", and "social flow", it is not difficult to understand the full meaning of Starbucks' 2020 membership upgrade. He provided the basic idea of ​​"primary gameplay - giving back favoritism and connecting value" for points: higher rights and interests, clearer "growth path", and deeper connection.

First, lower the threshold, which is undoubtedly to attract more people to participate. There are more ways to accumulate stars, and the range of redemption has also become wider. Accumulating stars has a higher value for members.

Secondly, higher loyalty benefits enhance the sense of value of the identity of "deep users". Whether it is for loyal "star fans" or high-frequency business users, there are specific "excess surprises" reflected, thus creating a deeper emotional connection.

Finally, redemption for membership generates more consumption scenarios. From products and peripherals to services and scenes, from gatherings to business, from a cup of coffee to a lifestyle: coffee + desserts/meals/coffee beans/cups/utensils, the derived scenes can be flexibly switched and even cross-mixed to achieve linkage with life.

This upgrade by Starbucks lowers the threshold to attract more members and stimulates high-frequency consumption, while providing more in-depth maintenance for loyal members. It also further illustrates that the evolution from member growth to connecting members with new value is the proper meaning of using points to promote "growth" in this era.

2. Intermediate gameplay of "points" - full cycle, guiding, accompanying, and helping members grow

The intermediate gameplay no longer revolves around points themselves, but the origin of "member growth" is launched from this, truly opening up the gameplay of the "new community". A points system based on "member growth" must be combined with at least three functions: helping users integrate into the community; bringing glory to members; expressing strong support for members to do something and guiding members to do what the brand expects.

(1) To promote user growth, we must first guide users to integrate into the community

Generally speaking, the users of brand communities can be roughly divided into six levels: outsiders, interested parties, community members, inactive members, active members, and super members.

Guiding users to integrate means allowing them to gradually integrate to a deeper level. The community growth system measured by points plays an important catalytic role in this level of integration: establishing values, drawing boundaries, encouraging joining, rewarding behavior, continuous participation, and helping growth.

Taking the integration of NIO users as an example, members of the NIO community are divided into two categories: car-less people (observers, active car-less people, and potential car owners) and car owners (inactive car owners, active car owners, and super users). For these six types of users, NIO continuously stimulates and motivates them with "points", allowing observers to become potential car owners, allowing potential car owners to make purchases, and allowing active and passive car owners to become super users.

This points system runs through the user's life cycle and quantifies each behavior such as check-in, interaction, asking questions, content, participation, purchase, service, organizing activities, etc., in order to activate the user's stickiness and continuity in the community and upgrade the user's integration into the community.

Different from the APP points system of other new energy vehicle companies, NIO’s points are open to everyone. Zhang Yidi, head of the NIO App, once told the media: "The daily active users of the NIO App are stable at around 200,000, and nearly half of the active users are not car owners, but fans who have never bought a car."

PS: It should be noted that many brands have the same links, such as Meituan, Alipay, and Ping An’s sign-in and clock-in, but they cannot achieve the same effect as NIO? First, the values ​​they conveyed were not recognized; second, their check-in system was based on crudely promoting sales.

"Gamification" of points is another effective way to guide members to integrate into the community.

The so-called "gamification" refers to applying the point mechanism in the game to the business field, thereby changing people's behavior patterns. For example, various mechanisms such as leaderboards, experience points, badges, and task lists make members' actions interesting and valuable, and encourage them to participate in group activities, allowing members to integrate into the community more quickly.

Weight Watchers , a community for a weight loss brand, gives points to various foods that help with weight loss. Members can eat any of the food, but the total points of the food eaten cannot exceed the daily points stipulated; at the same time, members can earn extra points by participating in various online and offline activities, such as sports and sharing, or helping others.

If members lose weight successfully, these actively participating members will naturally become guides for other members. The gamified growth mechanism makes members happy to help others.

When a name on a form becomes a real person, a "partnership" relationship gradually emerges.

(2) The “growth” of members needs to go from exclusivity to honor, from companionship to glory

After general members/communities are graded, stratified and grouped using a points system, they are simply given more discounts or certain privileges are unlocked. This is the case with the VIP systems of banks, airlines and hotels, the Gold Star and Jade Star mechanism of Starbucks, and the evaluation systems of Dianping and Meituan.

There was nothing wrong with these ways of playing in the first 10 years, but in front of Generation Z, they are boring and non-exclusive. They are certainly not desirable, and they are dispensable and naturally have no appeal.

The "growth" of new community members requires exclusive and different experiences customized for different communities .

① Exclusive services and experiences that cannot be purchased

Carlton Hotel attracts users to grow by providing "unattainable services". "For each loyal member, the hotel will form a dream team and constantly think about how to please customers." They give employees autonomy to immediately solve needs, such as sending flowers, drinks, and various dream services and honor services.

These have been reconstructed and upgraded in the "Yado-level" service of Atour Hotel: for example, the hotel will send you a cup of goodnight milk in the evening; when you come back from business events, there will be two temperatures of sobering tea waiting for you; when you leave, the hotel will send you a bottle of warm water, the water temperature is exactly 40℃; you can choose the personalized space of fitness king-size room, tea room king-size room, audio-visual king-size room, meditation king-size room.

As its founder Wang Haijun said, "We start from the experience, which means we want to go beyond the products and services themselves, have values ​​and ideas, put ourselves in other people's shoes, and provide different "services" for users according to different scenarios."

②Honor and Glory

Although Haidilao has been criticized and complained about for privately labeling users recently, it has put up a conspicuous small sign on the Jinhai member table, with extra fruit plates and small gifts, which makes many families work hard to maintain such privileges.

In a Japanese izakaya called "First Step", if a member is promoted to a higher level, the beer cup he drinks from will become larger. Although the beer is not free, the extra capacity makes users very happy, and the word "King" is printed in large letters on the cup. When you enjoy such a cup alone among your friends, you will be excited and happy.

Moreover, "Da Wang" goes a step further and has "Da Da Wang" and "Da Da Da Da Wang", and provides special menus that only super members can order.

This little bit of glory alone can make community members happy to grow in it. Only in this way can we understand why communities that set desirable and achievable goals (honor and glory) can grow faster.

(3) Members’ “growth” also requires using points to guide certain behaviors – helping users grow

As mentioned earlier, the "growth" thinking of the "new community" is to help users grow in some aspect, or help them become the person they want to be. Therefore, a meaningful points system needs to guide users to do what the brand expects or generate behaviors that lead to user growth.

For example, the “Ant Forest” project launched by Alipay in 2016.

The carbon emissions saved by each person's low-carbon behavior (walking/taking the bus instead of driving, paying for water, electricity and gas online, etc.) can be counted as "green energy" in Ant Forest. When the "green energy" accumulates to a certain level, you can use your mobile phone to apply to plant a real tree in an area where the ecology is in urgent need of restoration, or to "claim" protection rights in an area where biodiversity is in urgent need of protection.

As of August 2021, Ant Forest has promoted low-carbon lifestyles for more than 600 million people (613 million), and has generated more than 20 million tons of "green energy" in the past five years.

In other words, 600 million people have already grown up in Ant Forest. If we take into account the global trend of carbon emissions in the next 10 years and the expectation of Generation Z to be "environmental guardians", its space will be infinitely large.

From this perspective, the practices of Sandunban and Starbucks are equally meaningful and valuable.

In fact, new retail bookstores, learning communities, and knowledge apps have the potential to help users grow by earning points.

As your users gradually integrate into the new community, you occupy an indispensable position in their lives; when your "points" accompany and promote the happy growth of members; when you use common actions to make members become partners, these like-minded members will of course be willing to move forward with you.

The brand with the best partners will ultimately win.

3. Advanced gameplay of "points" - two-way empowerment and common growth

The points systems of many brands/communities use member "contribution" as a key dimension. Dianping members, Ali 88 members, JD PLUS, Ctrip, Qunar, etc., classify and stratify users according to their contribution to the platform or community.

This is not wrong, but the gameplay and system that have nothing new have become a hindrance on their road to progress.

Take Dianping, the first website to establish a “user review” contribution system, as an example.

It has the unparalleled scene of "eating", coupled with the new feature of "digital living", it should be able to establish more levels of circles, more diverse gameplay, and more valuable growing "new communities". Unfortunately, from membership to VIP club to note-taking experts, Dianping has no guidance in values, no desire for individuality, no companionship in moving forward, let alone empowering users and helping members grow.

There are no exclusive incentives, they are all various benefits provided by the company; the evaluation dimensions are single, simply breaking down comments and interactions; the gameplay is rarely iterated, and there is no insight into and experience of the "field". If it weren't for the first-mover advantage and the opponent being too weak, it would have been subverted long ago.

Imagine how many communities can be broken down in each city, how many scenes can be created and immersed, how many loyal members can be attracted, and how many new communities that can grow and achieve on their own can be developed?

Xiaomi in the past and Lego and NIO today are classic examples of mutual growth through contribution and empowerment.

(1) LEGO - Play around the world with the "certified player community"

LEGO grants different freedoms and powers to users based on their level/type/passion, allowing the community to become an organization that can grow and operate on its own.

For example, a "Certified LEGO User Group" can only be established based on contribution.

• It consists of at least 20 adult LEGO players and one LEGO ambassador.
• At least three regular LEGO-centric gatherings should be held each year (such as exhibitions, displays of LUG MOC works in public areas), etc.
• In 2017, LEGO assessed and graded LUGs around the world (Tier 1 ~ 3) based on the number of active LUG members, the number of events held, the activity and contribution to the community, the participation and leadership of LUG ambassadors in the global LEGO ambassador network, etc.

Currently, there are 360 ​​certification groups worldwide that have joined LAN. AFOLs (Adult LEGO Players) from different certified groups can share and communicate on the platform and interact with LEGO officials. China's five certified societies have held four consecutive AFOL Festivals, becoming an important part of LEGO's promotion.

(2) NIO - From "points" to "NIO value", continuously activating advanced gameplay

As a "user enterprise", NIO has endowed points with a value that transcends the times, and ultimately formed a points system based on "contribution" that is more pioneering and social - efficiently integrating brand contribution, community contribution, personal growth and community growth - "NIO Value".

The unit of NIO value is N, commonly known as "Niu value". Its amount depends on the user's interaction in the NIO community and contribution to the NIO brand. Buying a car, recommending friends, and consulting and answering questions are the best channels to obtain NIO value.

• According to the "NIO Value Rules 2.0", you can get 10N NIO Value by signing in in the APP for 100 consecutive days; you can get 50N in the first year by independently investing in a NIO Supercharging Station; you can get 500N NIO Value by repurchasing a NIO car; you can get 100N/unit by recommending a friend to purchase a new car; and you can get 1000N by becoming a new car user or co-owner.
• Another example is to promote NIO Radio: by listening to NIO Radio in the car, you can get 0N – 5N based on your weekly activity; by joining the NIO Radio Club, you can get 5N at one time; by participating in the recording of NIO Radio programs, you can get 1N-10N; by serving as a station manager of a city channel of NIO Radio, you can get 50N NIO value, etc.

The benefits of "NIO Value" are also gradually enriched, including: qualifications for joining the inner circle, such as EP CLUB club membership selection; community status and voting bonuses for major events, such as the election of user trust fund directors; qualifications for participating in popular events, such as NIO Day tickets and seat draws.

It can be said that the higher the NIO value, the more voice users have in the NIO App community, and can even influence the growth direction of the brand.

As a growth value, NIO Value accelerates the integration; NIO Value records the contribution value, creating a sense of honor and trust; NIO Value determines the right to speak, and the sense of participation of members as "being the master of their own house" is established.

The triple overlap, a metaphysics of "something that can only be hoped for but not realized", a brand new relationship between users and brands, and a real user brand are being explored by NIO.

(3) Finally, the “extreme” of the future: distributed collaboration

Through decentralized governance, Web3.0 provides a new cooperation model for organizations and communities, such as the DAO community.

A DAO — an organization whose charter, goals, and mission are determined by community members — who align binding values ​​and rights around a mission, a group of people who decide to align around a purpose and resources — is written in smart contracts and executed on the blockchain, meaning every transaction can be seen by everyone.

• A DAO is a community-led digital organization that is not governed by a CEO or a board of directors, but instead is run by code that defines its operations, called smart contracts.
• DAOs have almost no hierarchy, so they are neither employees nor bosses. Most importantly, it provides a community of like-minded, passionate, and highly engaged people.
• Crucially, the DAO also had a built-in treasury tied to cryptocurrency, which meant members could earn income in tokens.

If cryptocurrency is viewed as points, this could be a truly intelligent algorithmically evaluated points system, as well as an incentive for the most valuable points.

The advanced way to play with "points" - two-way empowerment and common growth - is not something that every community can participate in, but it should be the direction that every brand community and platform community strives for.

Are your membership upgrades, brand loyalty programs, and community integration systems learned from others, or are they based on the laws of growth? Is your upgrade plan designed to increase sales or to help members grow? Is your points gameplay based on feedback favoritism, growth companionship, or two-way empowerment?

These are very important because tomorrow, the height of brand and community growth will be determined by the speed at which members grow. Members who are integrated, accompanied, and empowered will do their best to ensure your success, and they will continue to attract others to join. This is natural.

PS: In addition to the points system, there is another type of member growth - the "inner circle" system. He may appear in front of the stage or hide behind.

Everyone wants to be valued, everyone wants to be special in the eyes of someone, and everyone wants to be valuable. Just like the Oscar’s 20 million club, the Nobel Prize’s circle of great gods, the Corporate Club, the Bazaar Charity Gala and so on.

People want to be part of a prestigious inner circle, perhaps not just to show power, status and respect, but also to find new ways to participate in the collective and make contributions. This is similar to the community aunties, student unions, homeowners committees, etc.

There is another more shocking realization: the "growth" of members is not only a process of self-growth, but also a process in which every success takes on greater responsibilities. It reflects the continuous "growth" of care for others. We continue to reduce our own attention, but our care for others is gradually growing like an expanding circle. This is the inner circle of the mandala. For example, mentors, journalists associations and non-profit organizations.

The progressive inner circle system will help members learn more, have more wisdom, access greater power, and better understand how to achieve goals.

However, the inner circle system focuses more on the principle of "co-construction and co-creation", which will be highlighted in Rule 9 later.

Author: Brand Ape

Source: Brand Yuanchuang (ID: brand-yuan)