From Purchase to Promotion: Using

Online Communities To Inspire Brand

Loyalty

FROM PURCHASE TO PROMOTION: USING ONLINE COMMUNITIES TO INSPIRE BRAND LOYALTY 1

 INTRODUCTION

CX IS THE ONLY GAME LEFT IN TOWN

In 2014, a poll from marketing research firm Gartner found that over 90 percent of brands planned
to compete primarily on the basis of customer experience (“CX”) within the next two years (Gartner).
Since then, both leading and emerging brands have indeed pivoted towards customer-centric
business models, a trend that can be seen in the proliferation of subscription-based offerings like
Netflix, ClassPass and Amazon Prime, as well as the growth of direct-to-consumer brands like Dollar
Shave Club, Casper, and Warby Parker.

Today’s fastest growing companies are thinking strategically about every single customer touch point
-- from pre-purchase to post-purchase to longer-term loyalty -- and this enhanced focus is bearing
positive results in the marketplace: 81 percent of companies with strong CX capabilities continually
outperform their competition (Peppers & Rogers). Providing a seamless customer journey is no
longer a guaranteed differentiator, but rather the new “playing chips” for competing in almost any
industry sector, both B2C and B2B.

CX has also become crucial to a brand’s overall customer acquisition efforts, as consumers are
becoming increasingly immune to traditional online advertising, often opting out of the exchange
altogether by installing an ad-blocker. Online content and word-of-mouth (WOM) recommendations
are now the major reference points for how consumers make decisions, and communities -- across
social media, microsites, mobile apps, and more -- form the vital battlegrounds where those
interactions take place.

By tapping into the authentic dialogue afforded by online communities, brands can accomplish
an array of strategic goals -- fostering valuable conversations amongst advocates, gathering
unanticipated insights about where the market or consumer needs may be headed, and ultimately
inspiring longer-term loyalty through a deeper and more multi-faceted relationship with customers.

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PRE-PURCHASE

RECAPTURE LOST TRANSACTIONS AND BOOST NEW CUSTOMER

ACQUISITION

ADDRESS CUSTOMER PAIN POINTS:

An immediate source of lost revenue for companies
springs from customer interactions that are abandoned
at some point in the path-to-purchase. These are people
who have expressed an intent to buy, and a particular
interest in your product -- but something caused them to
look away and spend their money elsewhere. Learning
more about how customers navigate this journey enables
brands to diagnose issues with predetermined touch 90% OF BRANDS PLAN
points, and uncover new pain points they didn’t even TO COMPETE ON
know existed. These learnings reveal clear paths towards JUST CUSTOMER
recapturing lost revenue streams, while also generating EXPERIENCE WITHIN THE
unsolicited ideas about potential product innovations or NEXT 2 YEARS
ways to differentiate your brand messaging.

PROVIDE VALUE BEFORE SOMEONE BECOMES A CUSTOMER:

Another great way to get ahead of the competition is to provide value to customers before they
ever open their walls. Best Buy’s Geek Squad service helps people diagnose and repair their
electronics, regardless of whether they bought the item at Best Buy or a competing retailer. Well-
executed content initiatives -- like mattress company Casper’s “Van Winkles” online publication
that reports on all-things-sleep -- further help customers sift through a complicated marketplace
overloaded with information and choices. Such projects require an upfront investment, but they
create a more meaningful impact on your target audience than traditional advertising campaigns.
Even if those consumers decide not to buy, your brand will be top-of-mind when they are finally
ready to make a purchase.
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POST-PURCHASE

ENCOURAGE REPEAT PURCHASES AND REAP EXPONENTIAL

REVENUE GROWTH

90% OF BRANDS PLAN TO COMPETE ON JUST

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE WITHIN THE NEXT 2 YEARS

SERVE AS AN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS:

Many brands have seen success using their product or service as a springboard to foster relevant
peer-to-peer conversations within their broader industry sector. For example, The UPS Store’s
Small Biz Buzz online community has established itself as a go-to resource for over 350 small
business owners across the country, creating a new source of online traffic that eventually
translated into in-store visits. Well-intentioned attempts to inform your customers and help them
make decisions can transform a transactional experience into an on-going relationship. And by
forging stronger connections between a brand and its target audience, these initiatives make it
harder for a competitor to insert themselves into the conversation.

SOLVE TANGENTIALLY-RELATED CUSTOMER PROBLEMS:

Brands can further inspire customer loyalty by helping people solve problems that are related to
their product or service. Ahead of the 2012 tax season, H&R Block launched its “Get Answers”
portal, filling a gaping need for more accessible advice around the complicated filing process,
and the community generated a 15 percent lift in new business for the company (Momentology).
Online communities can also help brands uncover and promote innovative product applications,
such as KraftRecipes.com, which solicits recipe ideas from members and makes it easier for other
people to find and recreate those dishes.

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LONG-TERM

INSPIRE NEW BRAND ADVOCATES IN A ‘POST-ADVERTISING’

FUTURE

DESCRIBE A CLEAR CALL-TO-ACTION FOR YOUR ADVOCATES:

Even your most loyal fans lead busy and unpredictable lives, meaning that your team needs to
make it as easy as possible for them to advocate on your behalf. Rather than vague directives
encouraging fans to share their love on social media, marketers can more effectively galvanize
their advocates through targeted calls-to-action (CTAs). For example, ELLE regularly engages
its local community members to help drive attendance around upcoming pop-up events in
their area. On the flip side, it is equally important for brands to validate those positive actions
and ensure that community members are being heard. This can be accomplished through
gamification features -- benefits like reward points and %-off coupons for future purchases -- or
the sharing of exclusive “sneak peeks” and insider information such as survey results, clips from
internal meetings, and more.

FOSTER INTEREST-BASED COMMUNITIES:

Brands can further solidify their competitive advantage by positioning themselves as the leading
champion for a passionate group of people or hobbyists that use their product or service. Harley
Davidson’s HOG community is one of the leading examples of this idea, a network that spans
both the online and offline worlds, and whose adventurous mission resonates deeply with
how its members identify themselves. These efforts can also work in a B2B environment, with
professional-oriented communities like Oracle Community and SAP Community Network serving
as a central hub of information and collaboration for developers who also use those companies’
products. Brands that succeed in building these unique communities effectively create a moat
around their business, cementing their reputation as the default industry leader, making it harder
for new entrants to offer a compelling counter-narrative.
FROM PURCHASE TO PROMOTION: USING ONLINE COMMUNITIES TO INSPIRE BRAND LOYALTY 5
CONCLUSION

ONLINE COMMUNITIES - YOUR BEST CX STRATEGY

As almost every industry shift towards customer-centric business models, CX has become the major competitive
differentiator that will determine future winners and losers. Companies with superior CX capabilities continually
outperform their competition, with industry research showing that CX leaders saw a 43 percent gain in stock
performance over a six year period, while CX laggards suffered a 33 percent decrease in value (Forrester Customer
Experience Index). A heightened focus on the customer is leading many established and emerging companies to
rethink traditional customer relationships altogether.

While social media platforms offer a sampling of fertile environments to listen and interact with audiences, they also
come with built-in limitations. No two businesses or customer bases are exactly the same, and community platforms
like FUEL empower brands with a wider number of capabilities to build custom environments that are tailored towards
the nuances of a particular customer base and the diverse needs of teams
across the organization.

By creating additional touch points, and fostering authentic dialogues

amongst consumers, online communities may be one of the last sources of
sustainable differentiation for brands. Studies from AT&T and McKinsey have
found that community members remain customers 50 percent longer, and
visit branded online properties nine times more often, than non-community
users (AT&T / McKinsey). Communities support every part of the customer
journey -- before and after the purchase -- providing value to a wider group
of prospective consumers and building deeper relationships with current
customers and advocates.
COMMUNITY MEMBERS
REMAIN CUSTOMERS FOR
If CX is the next big frontier for marketers, online communities are the vital 50% LONGER THAN THE
battlegrounds where customer decisions are increasingly informed, made, AVERAGE CUSTOMER
and continually reinforced.

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SOURCES

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