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Front Lines is a guest viewpoint section offering perspectives on current issues and events from people working on the front lines of Canada's technology industry

Next time you visit your local bookstore, check out the business section. There you will find shelves groaning under the weight of books that promise to help companies overcome the latest hurdles on the path to profitability. Some are fads destined to fade, but take a closer look and you'll notice that the books with real staying power — many dating back decades — deal with issues that transcend economic, political and social conditions. Standing front and centre among them are books on how to make customers happy and loyal.

Those in the technology industry know how challenging it can be to maintain a happy customer base. The rapid pace of innovation means companies must release new products or upgrades at lightning speed, while also ensuring value and ROI. This is a daunting task.

Unlike other industries, however, the technology sector has an incredible resource to help them in their quest to achieve the highest levels of customer satisfaction — namely, "user groups".

With roots dating back to the earliest days of mainframe computing, user groups are now so common that we tend to take them for granted. We simply assume that passionate users of our products will take the time and energy to meet with their peers, share tips and tricks, or simply to network — all on their own accord.

But consider for a moment just how unusual user groups really are. How many industries can boast of customers who are not only loyal to a particular product, but who actually go out of their way create volunteer organizations? Some of these groups are actually quite sophisticated and global in scope while their goal is simple - to learn more about the product. Take the case of a Saskatchewan software developer and user group member who, even though her company wouldn't fund her attendance at a Montreal developer conference last summer, decided to use personal vacation time to drive from Saskatoon to Montreal so she could attend and connect with her user group peers. Or consider the Vancouver user group member who, on his own time, built a Web site to help connect his peers with charities that need IT assistance.

This kind of enthusiasm can't be bottled or sold, nor can it be invented in a marketing department — but it is infectious. And businesses that are able to tap into this passion will rise above the competition.

Companies considering a community-building project, however, should remember to exercise restraint and take to heart the old saying that less is more.

Let someone else drive. Engaging with user groups in a way that seems overbearing or self-serving to users will do more harm than good. A better way to bridge that gap is to recruit grassroots ambassadors. These people can act as personal rallying points for users who would otherwise remain disengaged. More importantly, they help remove the vendor from the process so that they aren't seen as meddling. Ideally, ambassadors will know the product well, are already respected in the industry, and would be willing to engage with the community on your behalf to build even more goodwill. They can help lead seminars, or speak at industry events on a vendor's behalf. Taking advantage of their knowledge and connections can help businesses learn more about the customers they serve and, at the same time, provide the ambassadors with a great networking opportunity.

Make it fun. On one side are communities of talented, engaged users; on the other are software makers with cool new products, looking for ways to raise awareness about what these tools can do. If you're looking for users to give up their free time on your behalf, you've got to engage them in entertaining or educational ways — and success is usually found by erring on the latter side. Users don't want to be bored to death with seminars, product briefings or lengthy newsletters. Instead, why not hold a contest, awarding prizes to the most innovative or creative use of software?

Help them help themselves. User group members are often more drawn to events organized by their colleagues, as opposed to those held by a vendor. Nonetheless, user groups are usually tight on resources and may welcome outside financial or logistical support. Providing expert speakers to draw upon or offering to offset costs can mean the difference between success and failure, and establishes a level of trust and goodwill between both parties. Remember, great user events can quickly grow in to true industry events, the kind that will attract a larger number of attendees to learn more about your technology.

Give them a voice. Even in an age of instant and online communication, nothing beats face-to-face meetings. Dropping by and taking part in a scheduled group meeting is time well spent. Be prepared to listen primarily, but also to share some information of your own, particularly those related to product plans. You might be surprised to hear a wide range of recommendations and concerns from some of your most committed users, which in turn, can help you make profitable product adjustments and improvements.

Alternatively, supporting user group member blogs, or inviting them to guest blog on a vendor site, can also help give them a more powerful voice. Blogs are an easy but effective way to help build a sense of community when in-person meetings are not feasible.

Remember, community building is a long-term commitment, and the benefits can be quite substantial. Engaged users can provide software makers with a new level of brand credibility in the marketplace, and gives those who are new to your technologies a valuable and respected resource to draw upon as they get up to speed.

More importantly, in an era when audiences are becoming increasingly fragmented, user group members have the power to trigger that tipping point by spreading the word on your behalf.

The best part is that the resources needed to do this — your customers - are already out there. All you need to do is engage them.

Wendy Rogers is the Developer Marketing Manager at Microsoft Canada.