A community can be described as “an inimitable group of people unified by mutual values and trust who are capable of propelling your business from the small-time to the major league.” Leanne Kent, Marketing Executive at Salad Creative. Developing a strong community around your startup isn’t just a social enterprise thing or another nice-to-have – it’s also a crucial business driver. Here is how you can start building a community around your startup from the early stages up.
Start where you are
It often starts with one person who decides to support a brand-new company with nothing more to show than a passion for solving a problem. Start building your community from the inside out, with your small team of employees, to your family and friends building on to customers and your wider business network. Startups with the advantage of co-working with other startups easily identify potential synergies and clients. One important step to take is to connect all these people and this can be done through conversation platforms.
Build conversation platforms
Conversations can be done both face to face in the form of a happy hour or virtually through groups or events. You want every member to feel like they have a privilege that others don’t have. A group of people is only a community if the people in the group are building relationships with each other. And we build relationships through conversation. New conversation platforms tend to start off with awkward silences and it’s necessary to stay strong and keep on engaging with a big shiny smile. Once you get the wheels turning, the community will start to take on your energy and build its own momentum.
Amplify customers feedback
Once your community is rolling, you need to keep engagement on the high and make sure that all the people feel heard. Share customer feedback on other platforms and allow them to troubleshoot problems for each other on your behalf in the community. This will build a series of ambassadors for your startup. Encourage sharing of feedback by all community members beyond the formal platforms. A community’s primary goal is to bring value to the members so that they are rewarded for their time and energy contribution.
Reward system for loyal customers
Since you have spoken with these people, you should have a good idea of who they are and their problems. Your community should work to solve those problems for them, even before your product does. “When it comes to sales, make sure your customers are empowered to distribute your product and get rewarded – not necessarily monetarily,” Claire Rampen from London-based agency collectively shared at the Founders’ Network Summit. The rewards can be in the form of discount codes and complementary exclusive event invitations.
Be flexible
Humans demand flexibility, and because communities are built on human connection, your approach to community must be agile and constantly evolve. As Socratic founder Chris Pedregal so eloquently put it, “You build community in human time” not in “internet time.” Understanding the space where your customers are hanging out is key when it comes to monetizing and so it’s critical to know your core and potential growth streams.
Leveraging influencers
Influencers can accelerate the rate at which your community grows and add on effectiveness. Getting buy-in from people who influence your target market or influential people with the needs your product or service is meeting will help you reach your market faster. This however has to be supported by a hands on approach to community building as you will want to be in control of your own community.
In conclusion, a strong community creates an organic ecosystem to be leveraged in multiple ways; it can lead to easier market research, greater organic word-of-mouth, and an increased sense of customer loyalty. It also stands to build a value proposition that differentiates one business from another. Products can be replicated but experience, not so much. Eight2Five Innovation Hub provides a platform for startups to identify players in their value chain which is a good starting point to build a community. Position your business in a growing community and set yourself up for success. Visit Eight2Five Innovation Hub and find out how you can join a community of startups today.
