Community Marketing is one of the marketing techniques that is being used by many brands or companies. This starts with the awareness that the community can play an important role in increasing brand awareness as well as brand loyalty. Why is that?
If you look at the definition, community marketing can be defined as a marketing strategy that involves a brand or company with a community (a group of people with the same interests). This is a strategy that has the main focus of listening to and fulfilling the wants and needs of your customer base. This condition is considered an effective way to build a two-way relationship between brands and customers. Because, apart from being able to provide information about customers' preferences and buying habits, this also gives customers the impression that they are considered important and valued by a brand. Satisfied customers can also become loyal supporters of a brand and help market products through reviews, testimonials and word of mouth promotions.
So what about practice? To carry out a community marketing strategy, there are two ways you can choose. The first is by getting involved with communities that are formed organically. This community was formed independently without company interference. For example, recently, the young community who were members of Citayam Fashion Week made a number of brands look to them for collaboration. One of them is a local clothing brand, Extu Heritage . This brand collaborates with professional models to introduce their products more widely. Apart from that, to attract the enthusiasm of visitors to Citayam Fashion Week, Extu Heritage also made over teenagers there to appear on the "catwalk." This is also intended to hone the modeling talents of teenagers there.
Apart from the examples above, there are many other types of community marketing that involve organic communities. Generally, these communities develop through online forums , such as Facebook Page, Kaskus, Clubhouse, Space on Twitter, and many more. Through this forum, they are free to interact with each other, such as discussing or providing suggestions without requiring company approval. Even so, companies should continue to monitor discussion forums to find out if there are customers who are dissatisfied with their products and what efforts should be taken.
The second way, brands or companies can also form their own community or sponsored community marketing. This method allows companies to create communities of fans of certain products or services who can join and interact, not only with fellow customers but also with the brand itself. For example, the Jakarta Toys Fair is regularly held by Sacca Production to introduce the public to the hobby of toys and comics. This event also becomes a forum for the community of collectors and fans of toys, comics and related collectibles to gather, exchange information and make transactions regarding these hobbies.
The Key to Successfully Running Community Marketing
So that the community marketing strategy runs according to target, the first key is to start with good listening techniques. Listen to what people are saying about the company's products and services, starting with what they like, don't like, and their hopes. Next, involve them in interactions, such as providing feedback or through various dialogues.
Once communication is established, you can reward customer loyalty through free trials or samples, rewards programs, and special coupons. With this gift, customers will feel more appreciated so they can be even more loyal.
Lastly, don't forget to build customer trust. Show appreciation and accept their suggestions well. And most importantly, answer their suggestions by providing quality products or services.
That's everything about community marketing that can be your reference when running a business. Connecting with the community will allow you to discover more than just running a one-way program.