Why Community Building Should Be the Foundation of Your E-commerce Marketing Strategy
In the wilds of e-commerce, where competition is fierce and consumer attention spans are short, there’s one thing that will guarantee you stand out from the competition, and is therefore, essential for success. And that’s to build a strong community.
You’ve likely heard that before, but what does it really mean?
It helps to think first about what community means in the traditional sense. What’s the first thing that springs to mind when we talk about community? Often we’re talking or thinking about a local community. Your neighbours, the street whatsapp group, the parents at the school gate. It’s the people you come into contact with regularly, and nearby. And in that instance, it’s your geography and coincidental physical location that connect you. But when we then try to apply this to our e-commerce business strategy, we encounter a problem, right? Local isn’t helpful when you’re trying to scale an e-commerce business digitally. It’s literally the point of e-commerce that you’re trying to reach people who aren’t local and who you’re not seeing in real life. So we need to dig a bit deeper…
And when we do that, we realise something else. There are other communities that aren’t just local. There’s your yoga community, perhaps a church community, or an artist community. Yes, the people in those communities might live nearby but it’s not just that, is it? Now we can see that it doesn’t just have to be about location. The important factor is this: the people in these communities all have something else in common beyond where they live. They share a mindset. It might be a belief in the benefits of yoga, a shared faith, or a passion for a creative practice. And the words we’re starting to see here tell us something too — we’re talking about feelings, interests and beliefs. And therein lies the e-commerce, community building gold dust.
To build a strong community around your e-commerce brand, you first need to identify what it is that unites your customers — what mindset do they have in common? What do they stand for? What do they believe? What inspires them? I’m not talking about customer profiles (though yes, these are helpful in other ways), this is about finding a connection that is emotional. You might think that sounds like nonsense. But frankly, when it comes to luxury and premium brand building, you’d be wrong.
Here are some examples from brands I’ve worked for:
E-commerce brand Eve Sleep built a community of ‘morning people’, for those who love (or aspire to love — hi yes, that’s me) the energy and positivity of mornings. Disruptive for a sleep brand, right? And when they really leaned into this, they soared. So much so, that they became the fastest UK retail brand ever to IPO.
Mr & Mrs Smith built ‘the travel club for hotel lovers’ — for those who love a soulful hotel stay, and the exclusive feeling of being in the know. Plus of course, the play on words, where the likelihood is that they’re in a couple. But that’s not the main event.
Neither of these examples is about gender, location or affluence.
So, first up, you need to find what unites and excites people about your brand. Think about what they might have in common in real life, and paint a picture of their likes, dislikes, and how your brand makes them feel. From there, we can move to the next stage — fostering positive relationships with this audience, where you tap into and nurture the mindset and characteristics that you’ve identified. It’s about treating your customers, your social media followers and your wider network as if you lived next door, and engaging with them as if you expect to see them regularly. Yes, there’s also a need for marketing tactics that focus on immediate sales, but if you want sustainable, organic business growth, putting a strong focus on community building is a sure-fire way to deliver long term revenue.
Get this right, and there are six things that effective community building will deliver for your e-commerce business. Here’s what they are:
Loyalty
Building a community around your brand, united by a shared mindset, creates a sense of belonging amongst your customers — they will start to feel an emotional connection to who you are and what you stand for. When individuals feel connected to a community, they are more likely to display positive behaviours that will stand your business in good stead. They will become loyal to your brand and even advocate for it among their peers; friends and family who are likely to share a similar outlook. This loyalty translates into repeat purchases and higher customer lifetime value. And when mistakes happen, as they inevitably will, like that email you accidentally blast out that was only half finished, or a shortage of staff crisis in the warehouse just before Christmas… they’ll be forgiving, because like your close circle of friends, you’ve earned their trust.
Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Like we touched on above, a strong community serves as a powerful word-of-mouth marketing tool. Satisfied customers who feel a sense of camaraderie with your brand, will naturally recommend it to friends and family, helping to expand your customer base organically. Positive word-of-mouth can significantly influence purchasing decisions and build trust with potential customers. Yes, it’s hard to measure the impact of word-of-mouth marketing in isolation, but setting strong foundations for organic recommendation is powerful stuff.
Feedback and Insights
Engaging with your community means you’ll more easily be able to gather valuable feedback and insights about your product and direction directly from your audience. By asking for, and listening to their opinions, preferences, and pain points, you can tailor your products, services, and marketing strategies to better meet their needs. People also love sharing their opinions. It makes us feel valued. We like to be heard. This customer-centric approach is clearly going to deliver on many levels, leaving you with higher customer satisfaction rates and improved business performance.
Brand Differentiation
In a crowded marketplace (and let’s face it, every marketplace is crowded), building a strong community really will help your brand stand out from the competition. By offering more than just products or services, but a platform that comes with a sense of belonging and shared values, you create a unique selling proposition that resonates with consumers on a deeper level. This differentiation can be a powerful driver of customer acquisition and retention. And trust me, not enough brands are doing this well. Even the big ones. And it’s essential when your brand is premium — you’re in the realm of “want to have” not “need to have”. And wanting to buy something is an emotional rather than practical decision making process.
User-Generated Content
A vibrant community starts to generate a wealth of user-generated content (UGC) such as reviews, testimonials, and social media and Instagram posts. People become proud to be associated with you, and they want to share the association as social currency. This content is authentic, and earned not bought, so it serves as social proof and can significantly influence purchasing decisions. By encouraging and showcasing UGC across your platforms, you not only engage your community but also attract new customers who will of course be influenced by the experiences of others.
Brand Identity
Community building reinforces your brand identity by defining what your brand stands for and the values it represents — it becomes a recognisable asset and it will turbo charge your brand awareness. By actively engaging with your community and consistently marketing to a mindset, you cultivate trust and credibility, which are essential components of a strong brand positioning.
So, there you have it – prioritising community building in your e-commerce marketing strategy is about identifying a unique mindset, and investing in long-term relationships with your customers, and potential customers. By fostering a loyal community of brand advocates, gathering valuable insights, and differentiating your brand in a competitive landscape, you set the foundation for truly sustainable growth. And if you’re not sure what the unifying mindset of your customers is, take some time to figure it out. It will be time very well spent.
Are you looking for help with your brand communications or community building? I’m Elizabeth Rhodes, and I design positioning and communications strategies for small but ambitious lifestyle e-commerce businesses. Have a look at my experience here and email me at hello@elizabethrhodes.uk if you’d like to find out more on my services.