In today’s digital world, communities play a crucial role in the success of companies. But how do you build a strong, vibrant community that delivers real value to both members (participants) and companies (exhibitors)? This is where the SPACES model comes in – a proven framework that helps community managers strategically plan and measure the value of their community.
The SPACES model was developed by CMX, an American community for professional community managers, to provide community managers with a clear structure for evaluating and optimizing their community strategies. It can therefore be used to analyze and optimize current community management activities, but also to create and develop community concepts and strategies.
The model comprises the following six dimensions:
- S – Support: How well does the community offer practical help for its members? Examples include support forums, peer-to-peer help and quick problem solving.
- P – Product: How much does the community contribute to product development? Feedback, ideas and test groups are crucial here.
- A – Acquisition: How effectively does the community support the acquisition of new members or customers? Recommendations and organic reach are key factors here.
- C – Contribution: How active and productive are members in creating content? This includes blog posts, discussion posts or creative contributions.
- E – Engagement: How strong is the members’ emotional connection to the community? Activities such as events, discussions or challenges play a role here.
- S – Success: How can communities promote the long-term success of their members? By facilitating the exchange of best practices, promoting strategic approaches and improving the use of the product. Mentorships and targeted training programs support individual growth and strengthen member loyalty to the community.
We at adventics consider the model to be an excellent framework for successful community management. What we were missing was a numerical evaluation logic. So how can the six categories – Support, Product, Acquisition, Contribution, Engagement and Success – not only be described but also visualized? In order to enable a visual assessment of the various dimensions and to show them quickly, we rely on a radar diagram.
Why a radar chart?
The radar diagram makes it possible to depict the characteristics of the individual dimensions on a scale from 0 to 5. Each axis of the diagram represents a dimension of the SPACES model and the respective characteristic is marked as a point on the axis. By connecting the dots, a form is created that depicts the current status quo of the respective community and, where applicable, also illustrates its strengths and weaknesses.
As examples, we examined three communities or platforms with regard to the dimensions of the SPACES model: The Textpertise Network (Messe Frankfurt), the ISPO Collaborators Club (Messe München) and the Art Basel website. This analysis is for illustrative purposes only and represents an exemplary application of the model.
Radar diagram for evaluating community platforms based on the SPACES model (exemplary application)
ISPO
Shows a solid offering to support members and enables exchange between athletes and brands through events and product tests. At the same time, the opportunities for interaction within the community could be expanded in order to promote engagement. User-generated content, for example, does not yet appear to be an issue. The platform is particularly impressive due to its involvement of members in product developments and success stories, although it still has potential for optimization when it comes to measuring long-term success.
Text expertise
It scores with comprehensive information and a broad service portfolio that covers the entire textile value chain. The platform offers numerous opportunities for exchange and promotes member engagement through regular events and industry topics. However, direct communication between members is not possible. Overall, Textpertise benefits from its strong global presence and established position as a leading network in the industry.
Art Basel
Focuses on providing basic information about its trade fairs and attracting new visitors through engaging programs. While it is convincing in terms of editorial content and event presentation, interactive functions and opportunities for the community to participate are limited. The platform offers a good basis for networking and inspiration, but could gain added value in the long term through greater user interaction.
Professional community management with the SPACES model :
The SPACES model combined with a radar chart not only provides an in-depth analysis, but also an intuitive visualization of community performance. It helps community managers to make data-driven decisions and focus on the dimensions that offer the most potential for development. This makes building and maintaining a successful community not only more efficient, but also measurable and sustainable.
The model can also be used when designing a community, for example by defining, as part of a strategy process, the dimensions in which a community operator would like to focus and how individual activities and measures can be used to move from a low score to a higher score.
