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Community Building: Definition & Principles
Definition
Community Building
Community has been a hot topic for years now. But are you sure you really know what community building is about? Let's explore throughout this article what it's all about. We'll then follow the following plan.
- What is community building?
- Why building a Community is vital for your business?
- Building a community: where to start?
- The community building principles you must know
- Benefits of Community Building
- Final Takeaways
According to a showcase by Global Web Index, 76% of internet users are active in an online community and more than own a branded online community (for customers, prospects or both). Having a community is important to acquire prospects, activate and retain customers, improve products and services, and boost overall revenue.
A business is nothing without its customers and this is where community building comes into play. A business strategy without having an active community is a waste of time, money, and other resources.
Read on to know everything about community building - what it means, its principles, benefits, and how to start building your very own online community.
Community Building - Definition
Community building is all about bringing people together and creating a sense of belonging. This can be done in various ways, but the most common methods include organizing events, initiating joint projects, networking, and supporting each other.
Building a strong community can have many benefits. For one, it helps create a sense of belonging and connection among members. This can lead to increased social interaction and engagement, as well as making members feel welcomed. Additionally, a close-knit community can be a great resource for information and help.
There are several reasons to build your community. One of them is lead generation within a community of prospects, also known as a brand community. Bring in leads by organizing events, for example, or by offering your premium content (commonly known as lead magnets). Then get to know these newcomers and offer your assistance whenever possible. Organize new events and be obsessed with delivering value to these members. These will be excellent opportunities to meet new people and make a difference when they are looking for a product like yours. Feel free to reach out to us if need more information about launching your own brand community or if you want a demo of our platform.
Another reason to build your community is customer activation and retention within a customer community. This is applicable to any business but especially crucial for SaaS or Professional Service companies. If you acquire new customers on a free plan but struggle to activate them towards a premium plan, what do you do? You need to provide them with value and offer the necessary education for the proper use of your product or service. This starts from their onboarding as freemium users and continues throughout their customer lifecycle to prevent churn. What is a good onboarding and customer education? I recommend reading all our cheat sheets on the subject:
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Have you already mapped out your entire customer onboarding & education process?
We'd love to chat about your customer community in a meeting. Feel free to pick a slot in our calendar that works for you. At MeltingSpot, we speak both English and French, so whichever you prefer!
Why Building a Community is vital for your business?
As the world becomes increasingly digital, it's more important than ever to build a strong online community for your business. Since 2021, we saw a shift in the way businesses operate and communicate with their customers and employees. This trend is only going to continue in 2024 and in the near future.
On one hand, building a community gives a brand a direct line of communication with its customers and employees. It allows you to build relationships, provide support, and get feedback in real-time. Why is this so important? Because with community, businesses maximize their retention and avoid churn.
On the other hand, building an online community can generate new leads and sales while also improving their product and overall services.
On the other hand, building an online community can generate new leads and sales while also improving their product and overall services.
Building a Community: Where to Start?
There's no one-size-fits-all answer to this question - it all depends on your goals and what you're looking to get out of your community. However, here are a few key things to remember as you start planning your community-building project.
- First, consider what kind of community you want to create. Certainly, your consideration will begin by determining whether you are building a community of prospects (brand community) or a customer community. But logically, you should already be clear on this matter. It's also worth noting that bringing both together is possible but should be handled with care.
- Then, the question is, do you want to build a tight-knit group of like-minded individuals or a more open and inclusive community that welcomes all comers? There's no right or wrong choice here and it depends on what you're hoping to achieve.
- Once you've decided on the type of community you want to build; the next step is to start planning how you'll do it. This includes everything from figuring out where your community will live (online or offline) to what kind of content or activities you'll use to engage members. At MeltingSpot, we have talented experts and incredible resources that will help you succeed in launching your community step by step.
- Building a community takes time, effort, and dedication - but it can be an incredibly rewarding experience. With proper planning and thought, you can create a space that brings people together and helps them achieve amazing things.
With MeltingSpot, you can build any type of community:
- A customer community to enhance your activation and retention.
- A prospect community to generate leads.
- A professional community to digitize your traditionally offline network.
Community Building Principles You Must Know
Community building is about creating a sense of connection and belonging among group members. In order to do this effectively, here are some community building strategies and principles you should keep in mind.
1. Define the purpose of the community
Before you start building your community, you need to know its purpose. What is it that you want your community to achieve? Once you have a clear idea of this, you can start working on creating an environment that will support this goal.
2. Make sure everyone feels welcome
One of the most important aspects of community building is making sure that everyone feels welcomed and included. This means creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels like they can be themselves and share their ideas without judgment.
3. Encourage participation from everyone
A community is only as strong as the sum of its parts, so it's important to encourage everyone to get involved. This doesn't mean that you should force people to participate, but rather create an environment where it is easy and enjoyable for members to take part.
4. Be open to feedback
If you want your community to thrive, you need to be open to both positive and negative feedback. This way, you can continuously improve the community and ensure that it caters to members' needs.
5. Celebrate successes together
Finally, it's important to celebrate the successes of your community together. This helps to create a sense of pride and belonging among members and can motivate everyone to continue working towards the community's goals.
By following these principles, you can create a strong and thriving community that supports the goals of its members.
Benefits of Community Building
It can be hard to bring a community together but businesses need to understand that it is necessary for the success of their brand. Apart from providing knowledge and support, there are many other benefits of community building.
It will help promote and raise awareness about your brand which leads to more loyal customers. Customer feedback helps a business to improve its service and products and provide better customer support. Moreover more loyal customers mean more sales and more overall revenue. Thus, community building should definitely be a part of every business strategy.
In addition to raising brand awareness and driving revenue, building a customer community offers a powerful advantage: fostering deeper customer loyalty and advocacy. By creating a dedicated space for customers to connect, exchange knowledge, and share experiences, businesses can enhance customer engagement and reduce churn. A well-maintained customer community provides ongoing support, encourages product usage, and helps users find solutions from both the brand and fellow customers. This leads to increased satisfaction, stronger customer relationships, and the potential for those customers to become brand ambassadors, driving organic growth through positive word-of-mouth.
In addition to raising brand awareness and driving revenue, building a customer community offers a powerful advantage: fostering deeper customer loyalty and advocacy. By creating a dedicated space for customers to connect, exchange knowledge, and share experiences, businesses can enhance customer engagement and reduce churn. A well-maintained customer community provides ongoing support, encourages product usage, and helps users find solutions from both the brand and fellow customers. This leads to increased satisfaction, stronger customer relationships, and the potential for those customers to become brand ambassadors, driving organic growth through positive word-of-mouth.
Final Takeaways
Community building has become an integral part of all types of businesses and more and more people are actively taking part in online communities. If you're unsure where to start, there are several dedicated community platforms that can help you get started.
So, what’s holding you back? Start with community building now and take your business to new heights.
MeltingSpot is a dedicated platform where you can segment your community audience, encourage engagement, gather feedback from members, co-create content, and measure community-led growth along with the success of your efforts.
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