4 strategies for building a community of enthusiastic customers

Home 4 strategies for building a community of enthusiastic customers

Companies that manage to build a community of enthusiastic customers have the strongest possible customer loyalty. Supporters of football teams (who are in fact customers), for instance, have extremely high levels of loyalty to their team (the company/brand). Supporters even speak about their team in the ‘we’ form. ‘We’ are playing Champions League against Benfica this week. ‘We’ have recruited a new player.

When brands manage to build a community amongst their customers, there is always a positive effect on loyalty. According to McKinsey, there is also a direct effect on financial results. Brands with a strong community can charge higher prices, have less need for promotions and have lower advertising costs. So, in this post, I will describe the various strategies one can use to build a customer community, as I also describe in my brand new book about customer culture, “A Diamond in the Rough”.

Community Strategy 1: Memberships

One of the most obvious membership examples might be Amazon Prime. But that is mainly driven by the economic and rational benefits associated with membership. Customers get discounts, faster deliveries, a subscription to Prime Video and other benefits. However, the memberships are ‘independent’, meaning members are not in contact with one another. So, membership in Amazon Prime does not actively build an Amazon community.

On the other end of the community spectrum is Gary Vaynerchuck’s private dining club, the Flyfish Club. Members can enjoy seafood-centric cuisine crafted by award-winning chefs. And select members even have access to the private sushi omakase room, created in collaboration with renowned sushi masters. The exclusivity is part of the success formula, obviously, but another important ingredient is that members can meet one another, share interests, and bond.

This is the right way to build a community. It is crucial that members meet either physically or online if you want that method to be the foundation of a customer community. When the bond between members is facilitated by the company this can enhance loyalty to the company.

Community Strategy 2: Web3 Technology

Web3 is a decentralised type of internet that uses Blockchain technology to enable users to manage their own data and transactions without the intervention of a third party. I believe it could have a huge impact on customer relationships and customer loyalty.

A concrete example is the potential of NFTs (Non-Fungible Token) to boost customer loyalty. NFTs are a unique digital assets created on a blockchain. Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin or Ethereum, NFTs are not interchangeable as they each have unique characteristics and features that distinguish them from other NFTs. This makes them ideal for representing digital art, music or memes. Perhaps the best-known example of NFTs are the expensive Bored Ape cartoon images. If someone buys such an NFT, that person is the sole owner of that unique image, meaning that the buyer owns not only the artwork but also the smart contract and intellectual rights linked to that NFT.

So how does that apply to customer loyalty? Imagine you are a talented singer songwriter, but you cannot find a record company that will work with you. If you already have a large group of followers on social media (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube), then you might turn to NFTs to release your music. In the smart contract included in the NFT, you can for instance include  that 10% of your royalties will be divided among the NFT holders.

This is a brilliant deal for artists. Record companies normally take about 90% of the proceeds from their artists under contract. Artists do most of the promo themselves, these days. This makes the traditional model unsustainable. In contrast, the NFT model is a good deal for the artist, but also for the first fans. The more successful the artist becomes, the more money the first fans make thanks to their NFTs. Imagine if you had bought Ed Sheeran’s first music that way and you were entitled to a percentage of his royalties! Fans are almost like shareholders. Chances are these people will become more than fans and might well become your biggest ambassadors, considering they benefit financially themselves.

This NFT strategy does not work everywhere. Three conditions are needed for it to succeed:

  1. Scarcity: the number of NFT’s must be limited to protect their value.
  2. Smart contract: a smart contract must be linked to the purchase of an NFT. This contract provides additional value to the buyer beyond just ownership of the creative asset.
  3. Community: a pre-existing community of fans is needed to create enthusiasm around an NFT collection. People should be proud to buy one of your NFTs, so to speak.

The idea of co-ownership boosts connection with brands, increasing loyalty. NFT holders also often have the chance to meet at physical events or may speak to one another via Discord (a social network) which also builds a community among this group of ambassadors.

Community Strategy 3: Activate your ambassadors.

Recognising active customers can create a community of loyal fans. Many brands provide their fans with visual support to show their fan-ship. Apple has several wallpapers that fans can use on their phones or their Macs. The fact that Apple packages a sticker with iPhones supplies customers with an emblem to show that they belong to the Apple community. Starbucks has several templates for use on Instagram and Snapchat filters that fans can use to share their love for Starbucks online. Visible symbols of fan-ship helps fans to easily find one another. They are often conversation starters with other brand fans.

Some brands go a step further and activate their fans to become part of an active brand community. These communities can, for instance, undertake a part of customer service, or inspire other customers about which products would suit them. For example, cosmetics retailer Sephora has the ‘Sephora Squad’. These people help run campaigns and create content for the company. They are rewarded with exclusive access to new products, events and even certain training courses. The line between these customers and an engaged employee can become very narrow. Working together helps to build an active community of very loyal customers.

Community Strategy 4: Facilitate content sharing

You can invite people to share certain brand-related content by making it easy, fun or valuable for them. Shopee, a popular e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia, for instance regularly runs competitions and promotions where customers are encouraged to post photos of themselves with a Shopee purchase. At Shein, every customer is encouraged to write reviews about the products they buy so they can collect points that can be switched for discounts on clothing. Shopee and Shein customers share a lot of content, but neither leads to the creation of a real customer community. Communities of customers need to believe in your mission and your message. Once customers start sharing things from the heart and talking to each other, only then can a community develop; only then can a community of customers stimulate lasting customer loyalty.

In a recent blog, Ken Hughes, my fellow CX speaker and writer, described a brilliant example: Taylor Swift. When she launched her ‘Anti-Hero’ single in early 2023, she motivated her fans to share content with one another. When a new song comes out, an artist always posts the video on YouTube, fans watch it a few times and that’s it. Taylor Swift went beyond this classic approach. Through YouTube Shorts (videos of one minute maximum), she launched the #TSAntiHeroChallenge. Anti-Hero is a song about what you do not like about yourself. Swift invited fans to make short videos, describing what they do not like about themselves. Fans do this in a sincere or joking fashion. Taylor led by example by posting a video on the Anti-Hero Challenge herself. This motivated fans to share their own Anti-Hero feelings and stories, daring to show themselves as they are.

Companies that manage to build a community of enthusiastic customers have the strongest possible customer loyalty. So my advice to you is this: find ways to connect your customers in a powerful community. And let me know if you find different strategies to make them work.