Many entrepreneurship or business gurus will either promote profit-focused businesses or customer-focused businesses. However, we believe that the two go hand in hand. That a profit-focused business should have a customer focus, and a customer-focused business will be profitable.
What Is a Community?
A community is a following who is engaged with the content that a business or a brand produces. These followers value the content that you produce and your expertise. These followers are also more likely to purchase your products or services and will often become repeat buyers.
People in your community will be in different stages of their journey with you. Here are some of the different stages:
- New community members – They have just discovered you and like what they see so far. They will spend time consuming your content to learn more about your topic and improve themselves or their business. While they consume your content, they are building trust in you.
- In the community – These followers have downloaded all of your free resources and are on your mailing list. They respect your opinion and see you as a valuable information source or inspiration. They trust you and will recommend you to friends and family.
- Lurker – These followers are very engaged with your content, will like, share, and perhaps comment on your content. They are just waiting for the right product/service or price to purchase something from you.
- Loyal Customer – They have purchased more than one of your products and services and value your opinion and advice. These customers are likely to be keen advocates if they like what they have purchased.
Why Should I Focus on Building a Community For My New Business?
Building a strong community is a key part of long-term success. It will provide income that is not reliant on advertising or marketing. Your community will also help you with marketing as they will share your content and recommend you to friends and family.
A strong community of loyal followers will also help to convince new followers of your expertise. They will see people interacting with you or sharing stories of how your advice or products help you, and that will help them trust you quicker. Your community of loyal followers is one of your best assets.
While well-executed ads will convince people to buy your product, building a community will create a pool of repeat customers. Because they value your expertise, they are more likely to buy most products or services you offer. This means that your launches will automatically sell with no extra effort than your current content marketing plan. Instead of having to go out and find customers, your customers are just waiting for you to drop another product or service.
Community-building is a long-term business strategy that should be used alongside other marketing methods. You should find ways to reward your loyal community through extras for your loyal email following or a membership site that allows you to provide additional value to these loyal followers.