How to Monetize Shared Slack Channels to Create Additional Revenue Streams
Shared Slack channels are an excellent way for companies to improve customer success and create additional revenue streams. This blog post will explore why and how to monetize shared Slack channels.
What are shared Slack channels?
Every day, millions of people use Slack to collaborate more effectively, connect with colleagues, and integrate with the apps and programs they use.
However, where does all the work outside our organizations go -- vendors, partners, contractors? Why compromise there?
Thanks to Shared Slack channels, members from different companies to communicate. Typically, these channels are used for project collaboration or knowledge sharing.
There are many benefits to using shared Slack channels. They can help streamline communication, improve project management, and boost productivity. However, one of the most compelling reasons to use shared Slack channels is that they offer a unique opportunity to monetize your customer success efforts.
How to monetize shared Slack channels
One way to monetize a shared Slack channel is by charging customers for access to the Shared Slack channel. Your customers are willing to pay for such a service for a few reasons:
Fast-paced communication: With the rise of internet-based communication tools, businesses are increasingly turning to message platforms to communicate with their vendors to move things faster than the traditional way of doing this over email
Close Collaboration: messaging platforms like Slack offer more flexibility regarding how users can interact with each other. For example, you can send a quick video snippet of how to do something on the platform or hop on a quick call without going through calendars and deciding a time to set up a call.
Automation: Utilize tools like Thena to automate repetitive tasks, such as sending follow-up messages, gathering data, or scheduling meetings in Slack. Managing clients on Slack will be easier and more efficient if you save time and energy. The more efficient your workflow, the less likely you are to make errors and the more likely to provide accurate and timely information to your clients.
Pricing can be based on a percentage of the overall licensee. Consider 5%- 10% of your license fee.
Another way is to evaluate the existing shared channels and your time spent on existing Slack channels using tools like Thena, which provide you with an idea of how many hours your CSMs are spending per customer by using tools like Thena. To ensure your CS team is not just breaking even but also driving revenue from shared Slack channels, multiply that by your CSM's hourly rate and add a margin.
On top of the value proposition above, ensure to include the two items below in your MSAs:
SLA/Turnaround time: Establish clear expectations about your response time on Slack and what should be discussed on Slack versus other communication channels so you don't cause any misunderstandings and improve customer satisfaction.
Dedicated Office Hours: Including typical work hours on shared Slack channels is good to prevent pings during weekends or outside regular business hours.
Finding the right strategy for your business and customers is critical to monetizing shared Slack channels.