What Is a Customer Community? (+Examples) |

The one-way customer relationship is what they were in. The greatest brands of our time don't just talk to their customers. They connect with them and build meaningful connections. This is how a network of customers is created.

In this article, we'll explore the notion of a community for customers using research from the field of academia to highlight the characteristics that make a community of customers unique. We'll talk about the benefits of having a community for customer support and provide the examples of community relationships.

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What exactly is a "community?

A Customer community is a specific space that allows for a closer connection between a brand or company and its clients. It can allow for questions and answers, knowledge exchange, educational or promotions, as well as help with service or product problems and customer feedback. It can be created using a range of strategies such as the use of emails websites, websites and social media or even a forum online.

The key word in this case is RELATED. Customer communities that are successful don't provide a platform for businesses to launch marketing pitches. It is said that consumers prefer doing business with people who they "know, like, and have confidence in" this is exactly what these customer communities are best at. It provides the opportunity for this trust to grow.

Customer communities can be theoretically understood in terms of digging deeper into what's referred to by the term " Social Identity Theory :" when people are a part of a social group-including great customer communities, they feel an identification, a sense of worth, belonging and a sense of belonging.

Below are a few incredible examples of the kind of communities-whether free, enterprise customer communities or paid brand communities-can accomplish...

• The non-profit has onboarded 9900 members from across the country.
  
• The faith-based community has expanded to 470 leaders in the 67 nations.
  
• An entrepreneurship org. has been launched to 5,000 people and recouped their capital investment in the form of a mobile app designed for community members within two and a half weeks.
  
• The health-focused launch of 100 top-tier members added $40,000 in ARR.
  
• The community launched the 13-week course and earned an additional $100k of earnings in the span of two months.
  
• One personal finance community generated $130K within five days by using their latest course.
  
• A social-impact SAAS firm incorporated a community-based customer application with regular meetings and experienced a 70% rise in participation and engagement.
  

What is a community for customers that does not

Knowing the theory behind the concept of customer-centric communities will help us realize why great customer communities are not the email lists you have or that Facebook community. To reap the benefits of a community, it must have at the very least people who feel that they are part of the community.

Here are a few things customers' communities aren't:

• An email list
  
• The amount of followers on your social media accounts.
  
• The members of your Facebook group
  
• The number of people who liked your post for your latest blog post
  
• The callers to the customer service number
  
• The chatbot users you have
  

In the same way that we have discovered that the most important thing in customer communities is being part of a community, it's simple to recognize that these interactions are not part of the community of customers. Each of them is an interaction with your brand, but they're in no way able to communicate an image.

It's the closest thing to the possibility of a Facebook group However, even here we find very loose affiliation and brand loyalty. It's quite difficult to make use of Facebook to build the kind of vibrant relationship and member-led participation that builds a true fan base for a brand.

This is why you should build the community of your customers

 The advantages of a user community

Growth led by Access members

An entirely new breed of high-performance enterprises based on community participation. In fact, community is a powerful way to do business that McKinsey has identified it as the ideal business model for the year 2020 that is a community flywheel.

We've witnessed the growth of businesses that are led by customers and members of communities. In the event that they're paid for, they could provide incredible opportunities to earn recurring income. The community, however, puts development on automatic mode.

The term "community" has been used to describe it as "a business that grows itself," due to the mix of community-generated content by members, the enthusiasm of members and AI tools for the management of community which makes it simpler than ever to establish these human connections that will propel your business.

This is for why corporations like Logo, Apple, and Nike use leverage, and it is resulting in massive profit. (See the following examples. )

Don't bother with funnels. There is nothing better than a community of users to grow a brand automatically.

Enhance the brand's loyalty

The study of 2022 concluded that thriving brand communities influence so much on loyalty to brands, because the brand community is an integral part of a person's identity. The strong link between social identity and loyalty to a brand can be created intentionally and plays into perceived value and the level of satisfaction customers have with brands.

The process of converting customers, subscribers or even fans into members is a decision that shouldn't be done lightly. In contrast to all the other deals, members are part of.

Participating in the community rather than buying is an essential part of establishing a flywheel for community.

Increase CLV

We all know that customer life value (CLV) is driven by retention. However, very few brands achieve the goal. A study conducted by SurveySparrow discovered that the most successful companies had around a 94 percentage retention ratio despite the fact that retention rates were at or below 4% for some sectors.

While brand loyalty is a valuable thing as an entire, it leads directly into increasing your customer lifetime value. This is a no-brainer as retention as well as connections by turning buyers into members can boost your CLV in a way that is unlike anything other thing.

It makes it simple to market your.

One of the aspects that the research on flywheels within the community revealed was that selling becomes radically easier when you are in a crowd of people.

The standard sales funnel concentrates on directing every lead you can get through sales funnels, and you'll lose more until you reach the small percentage most likely to purchase.

When you have a user community, there's no need to take this step. The majority of your "leads" will always be happy, and unless they leave the community, they'll stay in your ecosystem whether they're interested in purchasing in the near future or not.

This results in an extremely high-volume sales environment where it is not necessary to rely on false deadlines or pressures. simply keep cultivating by providing value, and then watch your outcomes be astonishing every time you attempt to sell some thing. A lot of our communities inform the members they've got people who are looking for items to purchase.

Then we come back to...

Get the most positive feedback

The feedback of customers is vital. But HubSpot's team of researchers found an average of 42% companies aren't able to survey their clients or gather feedback!

If there were a better way to collect feedback, rather than sending out surveys and hoping to get a response?

The customer community. In our conversation with Oiselle Volee which is a woman's clothing brand, about their customer community we heard something amazing. The Oiselle customer base provided customers a place to be a part of to. It also provided an important feedback loop for developing products. Customers could get immediate reviews on your product ideas as well as new products. some customers even requested items they had not even ever thought of.

Autopilotize customer service for customers.

We've highlighted Apple as an awesome model for customer communities below. Apple uses their customer community to provide customer support and makes it a game so that the most avid Apple users are able to join the community for free and get answers for free!

It is a smart way to build trust to the brand and helps users feel a sense of belonging which customers are feeling for the brand to the point of the customer experience to life.

Instead of dialing a 1-800 number or waiting for an email from chatbots, individuals are able to get answers by contacting the forum. That's powerful.

Transforms can occur

Most people buy products or services because they need some thing. It is usually a change that is of some kind, whether cleaning the kitchen (i.e. oven cleaner), to lose 10lbs (ie. running equipment) as well as to design the perfect garden (i.e. those gardening publications) and to enjoy weekends in the backyard with family and friends (i.e. barbecues ).

It's important to note that just because a person purchase an outdoor tent does not mean they're capable of setting up camp. It's the place where a solid customer-centric community will be. If you're able to go further than the transaction, and help the customers to succeed with the service or product you provide, you'll find yourself with excited customers who'll recommend about your business to all their friends. The purpose of having a group of clients is not just to make more sales. It's to help your customers achieve.

There's more! A vibrant customer-based community can also give you invaluable comments on your products and services. It is feedback that you would not have to be paid to receive.

In light of this as well as other reasons, creating a user-generated community is a great idea. How much time are you using on?

     Learn how to use it to create a vibrant community of customers here!

Harness real engagement

If your idea of customer engagement is that your social media posts are liked by 15 people it's a bad game. Community-based customer engagement can lead to an actual engagement with your customers and can help build relationships with your customers. Keep in mind that it was said earlier that the goal is to have a person become a member.

It's amazing to be capable of stopping the content-driven whirlwind of social media, while generating genuine engagement people enjoy.

8 fantastic examples of community-based services for customers

1. Topstitch Makers

There are some brilliant examples of customer communities from this site . Look up Leigh Metcalf, who built the Mighty Network (AKA a "sewcial network") as a result of a part of her fabric and sewing company: Topstitch Studio and Lounge. Leigh Metcalf's Mighty Network, Topstitch Makers has classes as well as regular sewalongs, which help participants in their quest to create the best possible results.

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2. Duolingo

Duolingo is the application that is making learning languages pleasant and simple and affordable (freemium)! Behind the scenes, Duolingo has a dedicated group of volunteers who dedicate themselves to responding to questions from users and enhancing the user experience.

In line with the belief that EVERYONE ought to have access the opportunity to learn a language, these enthusiastic polyglots volunteer their time to incorporate different languages and programs onto the site!

3. Oiselle

Oiselle is a women's clothing brand for runners that wanted to go above and beyond selling items and to assist customers in learning and connecting with other people around the world. The brand has built an Mighty Network, Oiselle Volee that is based on the pleasure of exercise. In the beginning, it was just a place to find runners, however the pandemic expanded what it was was offered by the Oiselle community does; now all of the members are able to interact via real-time conversations as well as thriving social events on the internet.

4. Lego

Lego is a multibillion-dollar brand that is beloved by children due to its impressive building capabilities and being referred to as mini mines that could cause harm if you walk over them.

Just kidding!

In fact, Lego is loved around the world by kids and adults alike. the builders who are passionate about it discuss their ideas in the Lego community of users. They can also choose which of their fan-built models should get the stamp of approval and be made into authentic Lego kits!

5. Peloton

Peloton became famous in the midst of the epidemic when people tried to get fit in our home. They built a strong group of clients who are interested in health and fitness. They can share scores, video chat throughout their workouts, and support one another within Peloton's Facebook group. Peloton Facebook group.

6. Adobe

Adobe products are dedicated to creating videos, images, music, and more. They're industry standards. But, if you ask anyone who's used an Adobe product, and they'll inform them that they're hard to understand.

Adobe Customer Community Adobe Customer Community provides a space for people to ask questions, get answers, and offer suggestions to make the most out of their software. Their slogan "Come to ask for assistance, be encouraged," is a good summary of the ethos of their company, which starts by helping users understand the programs they use, then takes customers on a quest to mastering their art.

7. Apple

Apple has developed a flourishing client base, which doubles as a platform for customer service. The company has even made the game of ensuring that customers earn points, and also have the ability to have more options in community management at the highest levels that they rise to. Users who make it to the top levels also get access to a special group of users.

You're thinking about this, but gaming your customer experience so that customers would like to help one another with assistance is an excellent way to benefit from customers' communities.

8. Shopify

If you want to experience an amazing customer-centric community to experience it in action, look for Shopify. Since Shopify aids their clients with creating stores that sell their stuff and products and services, the Shopify community is committed to learning and training in addition to answering any questions and hosting live meetings.

Are you interested in establishing your own community of customers?

It doesn't matter if your community for customers will be a non-profit community or an enterprise-level one, or an e-mail subscriber to generate additional money, build your community using Mighty!

Mighty connects content, courses communities, commerce, and courses. Our space is adaptable and let you build a community of users that is unlike any other. Our community is a mix of chat and discussions, as well as messaging streaming, livestreaming, online classes and events (if you wish). You can choose what features you'd like (and switch off the rest ).

Mighty gives you a suite of member-management tools to make it easy to run the community, and our AI community-engine-Mighty Co-Host(tm)-automates things like member profiles, landing pages, course outlines, and even discussion questions. It's significantly easier to establish a vibrant customer-based community in just a couple of hours working per week.

Furthermore, with Mighty Pro it comes with G2's best-rated community software built in conjunction with your personal brand name app. It's your app that is available on both the App Store and Google Play Store. Additionally, when you create with Mighty Pro, you'll work in conjunction with the Mighty Pro team, which includes Account Executives and Community Strategists who have increased the scale of seven-figure Creator brands and 8+-figure subscription companies.

Call us today to make an appointment to discuss what we could build in partnership.

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