An overview of how small community groups and membership organisations can use community engine to collect payments, manage memberships, and find new members.

1. Changing the way we do business
Sunday, 1 April 2012

2. The internet as a level playing field
“The internet has become a major place for trade and we need to
ensure that it is a fair place and does not become a place where big
business can use their power to unfairly dominate sales.”
~ Peter Strong, Council for Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA)
community engine and the internet
We build software with a purpose.
We’re Australian made, have strong roots in the community, and we
have built a place where the local store has equal footing with the big
brands. A place where everyone can be heard.
Sunday, 1 April 2012

3. Community groups in Australia
There are 600,000 community groups, contributing $43 Billion to the economy.
Reliant on volunteers
Time-poor administrators
Hard to find new members
Online presence is expensive to
Constitutes 8% of national employment do well.
Pay taxes & employ staff
Sunday, 1 April 2012

4. Volunteers in Australia
6 million volunteers in Australia donate $14.6 billion in
unpaid work each year.
Source: Office for the Not-for-Profit Sector
Sunday, 1 April 2012

5. The online opportunity for
community organisations
‣16.4M internet users monthly
‣12M+ use social networking sites
‣60% are over 35.
‣They’ll spend $33B online in 2012.
Sunday, 1 April 2012

6. Problem: The internet is full of paid-for noise,
vying for ATTENTION
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7. I just want some tools ‘off the shelf’ to:
• communicate with my members
• collect membership fees and donations.
Make it affordable, with ways that I can find
new members too. So I have time to see my
family at the end of the day.
BUT the average manager of a
community organisation has too many
responsibilities to know how to break
through the noise and find new Treasurer
members.
Manager HR
Events coordinator Public Relations
Manager Event planner
Committee organiser Marketing
Secretary Membership manager
Community group manager and member of the local community
Sunday, 1 April 2012

8. Why is community engine different?
Social Commerce is about
connecting people only to the
things that we know they might Stuff I do Clubs I’m a part of
be interested in and nothing more.
That means no advertising, and
less noise.
We provide these
‘recommendations’ based on our
Recommending
knowledge of things they like,
your organisation
stuff they do, and what other to potential
people ‘just like them’ have in members
common.
Stuff that 'people like me' also do
Sunday, 1 April 2012

9. Online marketing - from advertising to social commerce
ADVERTISING eCOMMERCE SOCIAL GROUP SOCIAL
MEDIA BUYING COMMERCE
• Pay for ‘share of • You pay for cost of • You can build customer • Sell high volumes of • Pay only for transactions
attention’ (mass website design, build, relationships online prepaid inventory online
audience, or ‘pay per ongoing maintenance • Self-serve offers
click’ etc) • The data does not • Reliant on discounting
• You still need to belong to you • Own and manage your
• No customer relationship advertise and promote • Low sales margins customer/ member data.
your site • No transactions occur
• No guarantee of • No ongoing customer • Your business and offers
transaction • You receive direct • You need to promote and relationships (the data are ‘recommended’ to
transactions and advertise your social does not belong to you) potential customers
• High cost to acquire new customer relationships. presence
customers • Reliant on the group • No advertising costs
• social media is still buying site advertising
considered a ‘personal and promoting their
space’ where businesses brand
may not be welcome
• Capacity to handle sales
volume can be an issue
Sunday, 1 April 2012

10. The noticeboard
Connect Communicate Transact
Invite both new and existing Communicate in real-time with Sell memberships, create
customers to interact with your customer or member customised offers, accept
you online. database via their personalised payment online without complex
community noticeboard. merchant account paperwork.
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11. An organisation profile
Collect membership fees
Information about the business,
association, or community group.
Post updates, comments, photos
Notices relevant to your
organisation appear here
Recommend member events,
businesses, offers to your own
audience
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12. The noticeboard
Businesses and clubs you follow,
or ones that might be of interest.
Public notices you might be
interested in (events, lost/found,
FREE,For Sale etc)
Offers and memberships you
might be interested in purchasing
(one click to buy)
Sunday, 1 April 2012

13. How it works
Your personal noticeboard
COMMUNITY MEMBERS RECOMMENDATIONS
ORGANISATIONS
Members sign up and ‘follow’ Each individual receives recommended community
Organisations invite their groups and businesses they like. groups, offers, and notices based on their likes, interests,
members. location and what other people "just like them" are doing.
Communicate
Collaborate Businesses find new customers
Collect membership fees Associations find new members
The community as a whole becomes connected
Sunday, 1 April 2012

14. Our learnings in Byron Bay
As a not for profit small business association with a lot of
stakeholders, we were keenly interested in what Community
Engine could do for us. Using social media for business
advantage, member management tools and harnessing the
power of recommendation are important priorities for our
organisation, and Community Engine have helped us to gain
a much better understanding in these areas.
...All we have had to do is be willing to learn and adapt to
new ways of thinking about connecting our members with
their target audience.
Community Engine are highly recommended for any small
Russell Mills business or community-based organisation looking for tools
Chief Executive Officer and resources to make doing business more efficient and
Northern Rivers Tourism enjoyable.
Sunday, 1 April 2012

15. To get started, visit
www.communityengine.com.au
For more information, call
1300 COMMUNITY
or email
enquiries@communityengine.com
Sunday, 1 April 2012