Technology Is the Building. Not the Belonging.
June 9th, 2025
Over here at Steadfast Collective, we've been full steam ahead working with our clients to help them improve their member lifetime value - how to ensure members stick around, increase their spending and become advocates.
It's been an absolute joy to partner with membership organisations, small to large, to help them understand this.
Our conversation doesn't start with technology - rather, principles and processes.
It’s a trap I’ve seen even seasoned teams fall into, believing that the right tool will solve their engagement, growth, or retention problems. But as Todd Nilson said to me recently, and it really stuck: “The technology is not the community.”
Technology Is the Building. Not the Belonging.
To me, a community platform is simply infrastructure. Its walls, rooms, and digital corridors. But what makes it thrive are the people inside it, and the sense of purpose they share.
That aligns with what Jim Collins writes in Good to Great: “Technology is an accelerator, not a creator of momentum.” A solid platform can enhance what’s already working. However, if your core offer lacks clarity or value, no feature set can fix it.
I’ve seen organisations replatform in search of a magic bullet, dazzled by slick demos or niche features, hoping for transformation. But as Todd rightly pointed out: “You’re still gonna lose some of that momentum when you change.” Replatforming should be strategic, not a knee-jerk reaction to stagnation.
Community Starts with People - Not Product
In my experience, the most critical investment isn’t the platform, it’s the people who lead it. Time and again, I’ve seen communities falter not because the tools were wrong, but because no one was there to guide them.
Community managers are often underestimated. One person is asked to do it all: engagement, growth, metrics, internal advocacy, and sometimes even social media.
So the real priority should be clarity.
What does the business want from the community? Retention? Conversion? Brand lift?
When community outcomes align with business goals, it becomes far easier to secure budget, build a team, and make meaningful progress.
When Engagement Dips, Don’t Make Noise - Listen
When a community goes quiet, the instinct is often to ramp things up, more posts, more events, more noise. I’ve been there. But I’ve learned that throwing spaghetti at the wall rarely works.
Instead, I pause. I look at what’s changed. I reach out to dormant members. Often, it’s not that they’ve lost interest, it’s that the value exchange has shifted.
If your community becomes a “nice to have” instead of a “must have,” attention will go elsewhere. The fix isn’t always more content, it’s usually more relevance.
Technology Should Serve the Community - Not Define It
The platform isn’t the product. Engagement isn’t a volume game. And scale without trust is just noise.
Communities don’t thrive because of tools.
They grow because people feel seen, heard, and invited to contribute.
That’s not something you can configure in a settings menu, it takes real leadership, thoughtful design, and relentless focus on people.
If you're looking at how you can push your membership organisation forward - let's chat.
Speak soon,