What does a community stand for?
In most contexts, a community can be defined as a group of people who have something in common.
Building a start-up, on the other hand, is quite a formidable job on its own. It’s as grueling as raising a child - from caring for it and nurturing it, to watching it grow as you protect it from everything that seems ‘dangerous.’
But what’s the connection between a community and a start-up? A successful brand cannot be built or maintained by one person. Although walking that path alone is often praised in today's business world, working alongside a community of business leaders and supporters has several advantages. Let’s have a look at these, shall we?
Builds A Network
As a start-up, networking is key. Building a community will help you do that. People within your own network (think friends, family and acquaintances) can help you widen your reach. Further down the line, if you need to connect with specific people outside your immediate circle, a well-built network comes in handy.
Knowledge Sharing
People within a community come from various walks of life. They bring their own unique experiences, perspectives, and knowledge from various ethnic or cultural backgrounds. A diverse community enables learning new perspectives about ways of living and thinking.
Customer Loyalty
Your community is full of people who possibly share the same goals and vision that you have for your brand. Since they are already familiar with your brand, and their values align with yours, they won’t be looking to purchase the same products or services that you offer, from any other brand. The only thing needed to do is communicate with your consumers because word of mouth helps increase your visibility!
Helps Understand The Target Market
In order to be successful in the market, you need to understand your target audience. Having a community gives you an opportunity to directly connect with your customers. Conducting well-defined and regular surveys will help you understand the likes and dislikes of your customers. Through this, you can tailor your products or services that align with their current wants and needs.
Personifies The Brand
Community-building humanises the brand from being an entity to a group of motivated individuals working assiduously to address and solve problems. Personifying your brand can also help in displaying your ethics and values. This further leads to an improvement in brand equity, both internally and externally.
In the words of Idowu Koyenikan - “There is immense power when a group of people with similar interests get together to work towards the same goals.”
Community-building cannot be done overnight and requires a lot of patience but its advantages are immense and are highly cost-effective. To put it simply, building connections is just worth it.