Reshaping Marketing: The Power of Community
by Abbey Ellis, Account Coordinator
Everyone wants to belong – to have community. Brands are reshaping their marketing strategies by fostering community and customers “belonging to the brand.” When a customer opts into an engaging, supportive, and relevant brand community, there is no longer a need to lure them into your orbit with intrusive advertising and marketing messages. Therefore, what we used to consider marketing is essentially over. Instead, you will want to find meaningful ways to connect with customers to continue cultivating your brand’s community other than traditional advertising and marketing programs. Soon enough, you will have customers who enjoy and love your brand so much that they provide one of the most powerful marketing techniques: word-of-mouth marketing.
Mark Schaefer, bestselling author and marketing expert, shares ten reasons why businesses can’t ignore the power of creating a community in his most recent book, Belonging to the Brand. Three of those ten reasons to cultivate community within your brand are:
- Brand Differentiation
- Market Relevance
- Brand Loyalty
Read the entire article to learn more about the power of community and how brands like Harley Davidson, Lush, and Apple have created communities of customers willing to evangelize their brands.
