Why you should own (and not rent) your brand community

Branded online communities aren’t just marketing tools. They offer value for market researchers, product strategists, customer service teams, and sales teams.

Building a customer community isn’t a marketing tactic, it’s a business strategy.

When done right, communities exist to serve their members. Customers get faster answers to questions and connect with a like-minded group that shares similar goals and challenges. As a result of the the community, members are empowered to use your product more fully to solve their problems.

As SueFrech of Social Media Link points out, your brand community is the missing link between your social media presence and your customer database, creating a powerful brand touchpoint that builds customer loyalty.

“An owned community is valuable because it’s a database that you control, allowing for direct communication that builds loyalty — a group where the most passionate are easily identified and where the activity is measurable.” — Susan Frech

Research has shown that brand communities not only drive greater reach, but also add value at the other points of the user journey, like encouraging conversions and improving existing customer relationships.

Social media is not synonymous with community building

Social networks can be a great place to promote content, engage leads and build an audience, but these networks alone can’t accommodate authentic conversations with customers.

Some brands have tried to build customer communities on the backs of existing platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

But as advertisers become increasingly limited in their organic reach on social networks, brands need to find new ways to engage and support customers.

On social platforms, brands are forced to pay to acquire users for their community, and then pay again to reach them over time. At the end of the day you’re renting the platform, you don’t own it.

Twitter has the same problem. And it’s compounded by the speed of Twitter’s stream. The average user follows 350 people, and as a result their feed moves very fast. It can be like drinking from a fire hose.

If someone isn’t on Twitter at the moment you post, they won’t see it. Unless you pay.

Brands need a consistent pipeline for customer insights

While social networks are great for “energizing your base,” they’re not structured enough for ongoing insights.

Your customers aren’t likely to share their hopes, dreams or needs on your brand’s Facebook page. It’s not a place for rich conversation. They are more likely to do so with a group of like-minded people they trust. Especially if it means they’ll get instant replies to their comments and questions.

For many brands, there’s no better source of growth and innovation than a passionate brand community. New products, features and ways of marketing can be generated through a continuous flow of ideas from the community.

Communities improve customer retention

Community building is highly valuable for retaining an existing audience, who has already purchased your products or is likely to repeatedly engage with your brand.

In fact, according to Information Age, a recent study shows that users who engage in online communities spend 19% more than those that don’t. This increase was attributed to a willingness to pay a premium for goods and services as well as the increase in buying intention.

By owning your brand community, you can easily drive people back to your community through email and push notifications–something that simply doesn’t happen on social platforms.

Push notifications drive users back in and create habits. Email newsletters highlight top threads in community. Contests can be used to reward active users.

An ‘owned’ community is the ultimate brand touchpoint

Brands leverage unowned community platforms by creating accounts, answering questions, and addressing customer complaints. But they do so as participants rather than owners.

They don’t have a full view into the conversations that take place.

They don’t have access to the analytics to know what conversations are actually worth following. And they don’t have access to more powerful tools like surveys or notifications — the kinds of tools branded community platforms can provide.

Owning your community means you have consistent access to feedback on product features and other customer insights. Companies that have invested in branded communities regularly use insights from the community to inform product or marketing decisions.

This brand touchpoint chart from @hellofuture illustrates the different interactions that a customer can have with your brand. The upper right quadrant represents high-value, long-term interactions that offer the most value for your customers.

When done right, your customer community is the ultimate manifestation of your brand.

Social media can be a gateway to your organization’s owned community, but it’s not the only — or best — way to engage with customers.

Communities are excellent places to indulge in exploration tactics like:

• Asking fans to submit their stories and photos about a product
• Prompting customer to review your product
• Sharing new products within the community
• Using surveys to do market research

Choose the right medium for your community

Besides just having a private community, think about how you’re hosting your community. Is a web application enough?

If your organization’s community is to be an asset for improving customer relationships, the user experience should feel snappy and simple–not forcing users to wait for pages to load.

A native, mobile app ensures you’re always connected to your community members wherever they go.

Users have their mobile devices with them everywhere, which means you can engage participants throughout the day.

Being on a user’s home screen is incredibly valuable real estate that you just don’t have on a web app where users have to remember to visit and login.

Remember, not everyone does this

For brands investing in a community strategy, building a community takes time and patience. Most organizations simply don’t invest in community marketing because it’s time-consuming.

But when you do, communities give customers new ways to experience your brand. Plus, a dedicated community for your customers demonstrates that your company is dedicated to offering a great customer experience.

When you spend time nurturing your relationship with existing customers, you’re investing in the long-term success of your brand.