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It has long been known that every entrepreneur would like to have a group of loyal and committed customers around their brand. Why is such a group important from the entrepreneur’s point of view? There are many reasons, and I will talk about them in the article below.
Of course… There are also companies that put aside building a strong brand and only care about sales here and now. These companies focus their energy on persuasive promotion strategies that promise miracles, and it is difficult to build a community around this. We care about building trust in the brand and its positive image, not a quick and one-off sale.
In the beginning there was a product… It fulfilled its function better or worse and customers made decisions on this basis. With the development of sales networks, especially self-service ones, a new key value has emerged – the method of sales and availability. Another point of emphasis in the development of marketing is the customer, who has been placed in the center and has become a “star”, served at the highest level. Companies began to build their value on excellent customer service.
Today, to build a strong brand, it is no longer enough, as before, to provide a great product with great service and after-sales service. Today’s customers want more.
The technology surrounding us is developing faster and faster and is becoming more and more integrated into our everyday lives. The almost unlimited availability of products in online sales is replacing traditional ones. Social networks are replacing real connections. People are becoming more and more bold in sharing their observations online.
Today’s consumer is already accustomed to the fact that a product must be of the highest quality, easily available, and professional and reliable customer service is something obvious to him. People are also starting to notice that the constant pursuit of money, which is an end in itself, no longer makes sense. It affects their health, relationships with loved ones and many other aspects of life.
We are becoming more and more aware. We start to care about values, we approach life, health and the world more and more holistically, and we start looking for these values in the products and services offered. We engage in those that build their position based on the values we profess.
Let’s take organic food for example. For conscious consumers, the mere fact of having an eco certificate on the packaging is becoming less and less important. It is becoming more and more important to discover how a product is made, by what methods, what is so “ecological” about it and how it helps the planet. They want to get to know the people who created this product, their motivations, and finally add something from themselves to also have an impact on the product.
When purchasing the above-mentioned organic food, the customer not only feels that he or she has purchased a great product. The thought arises in his consciousness that he has joined a unique group of people saving our planet from a great catastrophe. He becomes proud of it, joins the ecological community and from now on he will buy food only here, because it is sold and created by people with whom he shares values, worldview, etc. Similar examples can be found for every industry.
Building a community around a brand is therefore not just a trend, fashion or concept created by individual brands. It becomes a necessity. People want to know, they look for opinions and willingly exchange them, they want to meet the creators of their favorite products and the values that guide them, and at the end of the day, they also want to have an influence on what the product ultimately looks like.
From a human point of view, community is something obvious. People have always formed groups. We feel safer in a group, we look for support and advice there, and we are more willing to share our views knowing that the group shares similar values. It’s completely natural that we try to hang out with people who share our passions and values. If the brand also shares these values, it can become part of our group.
The entrepreneur also gains a lot. By building a community around the brand, it gains a group of loyal and engaged customers, and even ambassadors. Research shows that recommendations from satisfied and engaged customers can increase sales much more than advertising. Nearly half (49%) of U.S. consumers subscribe to paid streaming services, according to Deloitte’s Digital Democracy Survey. Every third representative of Generation Z and Y (millennials) admits that social networking sites are their main source of information, and 70 percent Millennials use them to communicate with brands. Is there nothing more pleasant from the entrepreneur’s point of view than an organic increase in reach without having to spend huge budgets?
From a cost perspective, returning and regular customers also mean a much lower cost of reaching the company. We do not have to once again launch expensive mailing campaigns to the so-called “cold base”, because we have an engaged community that is curious about what we are doing.
Moreover, an engaged community that willingly shares its opinions and thoughts also provides another invaluable value. Listening with understanding and learning customers’ opinions allows us to adapt products and services to best meet the expectations of this group. Thanks to this, we deliver an even better product, and customers, appreciating the fact that their opinion is taken into account, become even closer to the brand.
An engaged community will also become a defender in crisis situations and in the fight against unfair competition. We can try hard, be honest, do everything in accordance with our values, but everyone can make a mistake.
In the era of social media, “failures” quickly circulate on the Internet and these are no longer the times when a spokesperson goes to the media, issues a statement and the matter goes quiet. Today, such situations immediately begin to take on a life of their own. What’s worse, most people do not even verify the content published online, but mindlessly pass it on. A strong community will defend you.
I hope you liked the article and provided some information on why building a strong brand is inextricably linked to building a community around it. Of course, this does not mean that other issues are no longer important. A good product, packaging and consistent communication reaching the target group are still the basis. However, the basics, which customers are already used to, have become a standard for them and they want something more. It’s a bit like music in a movie… If it’s good and fits the image, no one will pay attention to it, but if something sounds wrong, the ear will immediately notice it.
In the next article, I will tell you how to start building a community and what rules to follow. Finally, rule number one – be real and think long term. When building a community, stick to the values you actually share and the facts. You will not build anything other than quick and risky profit by misleading customers, lying and values “stuck” to the public.
Do you want more? Learn how to build a community around your brand in 6 steps.
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