COVID-19 is shifting the way consumers and communities are interacting with each other, which requires a fresh approach to community building. When consumers feel a sense of belonging and familiarity, it encourages them to stay connected with your business through the purchase of your product or service. Businesses that invest in community building create new value propositions that serve their consumers meaningfully.
Despite new innovations birthed as result of COVID-19 disruptions, a key factor to sustainable and successful business remains — community development. Community development is more than a marketing campaign; it is the intentional weaving of strategies and activities to address the needs of the community to enable it to thrive. We’ve written an analysis that can be found here. Here are 3 key insights that will enrich you as you begin designing your community building strategy:
- Increasing Relevance of Trust and Mutuality
Majority of people today still trust the advice of friends and families over business advice, which are forged through authentic relationships and mutual understanding.
According to HubSpot, the collection of personal data through AI and privacy leakages has led to a relentless amount of advertisements that have contributed to consumer skepticism. This has caused a fundamental business setback — the erosion of trust in a brand, which negatively dampens the typical sales strategies that may have worked before.
As a business owner, it is our duty to place equal emphasis on the relationships we build with our customers as we think about generating revenue and increasing profit.
2. Community Ownership and the Value of Co-creating
A study done by Kellogg School of Management showed that customisation could activate a consumer’s sense of ownership, which could yield positive effects for the various stakeholders.
As you invite your community to co-create with you, you are showing them that you value their opinions as well. This will deeply enrich a consumer’s experience, cultivating a sense of ownership in your company that would go beyond the product itself. Businesses that invest time in learning from their community through feedback, ideation, and even co-designing, tend to foster stronger ties and trust with their community.
3. The Demand for more Relatable & Immersive Experiences
Unboxing videos are one of the most popular genres on Youtube; Unbox Therapy, a YouTube channel that focuses on unboxing a wide range of gadgets currently has more than 4 billion views (Jun, 2021).
A study by Google found that, “The videos are practical, too, giving consumers a look into what EXACTLY they can expect when they get a product off the shelf and into their hands.” [Emphasis mine].
Being able to create authentic and immersive shared experiences allow consumers to feel more connected not only to the product but to your business as well. The possibilities extend beyond digital media, including experiential retail and unique brand collaborations.
Community building for your organisation begins with understanding the community you serve and its context. Whether you are looking for new ideas in market expansion or business development, it is important to consider your community in ensuring meaningful ideas to be developed for greater success.
In our years of serving vulnerable communities, we truly believe that it takes an entire orchestra of businesses to do good, better. Today, we believe in changing the world by serving Corporates, Governments, and NGOs through strategic multi-sector collaborations.
If our insights have inspired you and you wish to consult and co-create with us on designing community building strategies for your business, do reach out to us at hello@solvenplus.one.
