Tips for Building Loyal Customer Communities

As we navigate the dynamic landscape of 2024, one thing remains clear: customer retention is key to sustainable growth and enhancing the enterprise value of your brand. I've seen firsthand with the thousands of businesses we have analyzed over the past 7 years and worked with, how focusing on retaining customers can drive not only significant repeat purchases but also enhance the overall value of a business. Remembering that you are selling to humans not machines will also help your retention lens! Here are some strategies we have witnessed from clients that have proven effective: 1. Personalized Customer Experience: Tailoring the brands interactions and offerings to meet the unique needs and preferences of each customer can significantly boost satisfaction and loyalty. Personalized emails, product recommendations, and special offers through segmentation can create a memorable customer journey. Founder/owner driven emails to top customers has also been an effective activity. 2. Loyalty Programs: Implementing a well-designed loyalty program can turn one-time buyers into repeat customers. Rewarding customers for their continued support with points, discounts, or exclusive perks enhances their experience and encourages repeat business, directly impacting revenue and brand value. 3. Exceptional Customer Service: Prompt, effective, and friendly customer service is non-negotiable. Positive interactions can turn a frustrated customer into a loyal advocate. We have unfortunatley seen the opposite effects of this and how it hurts reputation. Putting in the time to create the right process for customer service will pay off in spades over time. 4. Engaging Creative/Content: Providing valuable content through blogs, social media, or newsletters keeps customers engaged with your brand. Educational, entertaining, and relevant content fosters a deeper connection and encourages repeat visits, adding to the brand’s value proposition. This is becoming all the rage with consumer product brands. More to come on this! 5. Feedback and Improvement: Actively seeking customer feedback and making improvements based on their suggestions shows you value their opinions. This strengthens trust and loyalty, leading to long-term customer relationships and enhancing brand reputation. 6. Community Building: Creating a sense of community around your brand can foster loyalty and advocacy. Whether through social media groups, forums, or events, bringing customers together builds a stronger, more connected customer base. Retention and repeat purchases are not just about maintaining revenue; they are about building enterprise value. A loyal customer base translates to predictable revenue streams, higher customer lifetime value, and a stronger market position—all critical factors in boosting the overall worth of a brand. What customer retention strategies have you found most effective in elevating your brand’s value?

For emerging brands, building the core community first and then letting them market your brand or product with you, is a fast way to build brand loyalty. Peloton for example, goes beyond just selling bikes and products and features; they have built the company around the community. Even if you're working out alone at home, because of the strong community aspect, you feel connected and part of it. Recent studies show that 74% of Americans don't feel like they are part of any community. I am certainly not saying “brand communities” are the answer, but it shows that creating a sense of connection is an important way to market. Here’s some ideas on creating a welcoming brand community: Step 1: Focus on User Experience Make sure your product is top-notch, so people are proud to be associated with the brand and part of the community. Ask for reviews, feedback, improvements, Have human to human conversations. Step 2: Feature Real Users Use stories from actual users, not just models or actors, in your marketing. This makes your content more compelling to the people who may want to buy your product/service. And again, has a real human quality, not just an aspirational unattainable vibe. Step 3: Encourage Social Sharing Create fun and active social hubs for fans of the brand to participate with. Let them talk to each other and give helpful advice. Create incentives to be part of the community and provide tools and assets for them to share. By turning your product into more of a shared community experience, you make it more than just a one-time purchase. It can become a part of people's lives, and that keeps them coming back.

It was 2016. I was looking at the YTD reporting for a creator and I was blown away. $13m in sales. 3 person team. I had heard about stuff like this, but had never seen the hard data before. As I dove deeper into the creator space I started to find more and more stories like this. Marie Forleo. Pat Flynn. Sam Parr. Amy Porterfield. Jacques Hopkins. Dale Beaumont. Wildly successful creators with less than a dozen employees. Chatting with many of these creators first-hand. Here are a few things I have learned… 1) Trust is the biggest barrier: For online creators, digital marketers or small eCom brands, the biggest barrier is trust. Why should folks tune in for your content, or buy your membership or course? Nearly all of the folks mentioned above focused heavily on customer proof, testimonials and UGC to build their brands in the early days. Two tips here: #1 Make sure the testimonial style matches your audience. For example, someone like a Marie Forleo would want a more emotive before and after style of testimonial vs. a B2B SaaS creator might want very specific data and a more quantitative approach. #2 volume matters. Often folks won’t read through 100 reviews but if you have only 4 reviews on the site folks will wonder “Why can they only get 4 reviews? Are they small or unpopular?”. 2) Community, not just audience: For the top creators operating at scale, I find the communities they build are an essential part of the puzzle. When you foster an environment of like-minded people who can start to help each other, you create real lasting power and retention. Most of the top creators are masters of this. Top tips I find are: #1 Be a good curator. Free for all communities typically devolve quickly. Make sure you keep the quality bar high for folks. #2 Have a lot of dynamic content. Communities with just static resources get stale quickly. Workshops, lives, and other frequent dynamic events are key for retention. 3) Use email effectively: Whether it’s for onboarding, or a newsletter, or letting folks know about product launches, running promotions or even just deepening education on your niche, email is the lifeblood of effective digital businesses at scale. All of the top creators I have worked with use email and automation as a core revenue lever. Top tips I find are: #1 Segment based on dynamic and static behaviors, meaning things they do (opens, clicks, page visits) and info they provide (industry, team size, role). #2 Build systems. Email is not just a newsletter or to push coupons, but email is tied to the core processes of the business, taking people through a full lifecycle, and dynamically adjusting the pathway for trials/customers based on their needs. One of the things that has blown me away in my first quarter working at ActiveCampaign is how many small teams we have powering big businesses. Thousands of teams with just a few employees powering $1m+ businesses. Tech is heralding in a new age of accessibility in entrepreneurship.

Reflecting on what made client loyalty soar at my Lifecycle Insights - quick, genuine fans who begged us not to alter their customer experience. It boiled down to 3 simple things: Transparency: We shared our plans openly, letting customers and prospects peek at our roadmap, building trust. Accessibility: With limited resources, we got inventive. Group onboarding and Open Office Hours formed a place for partners to bond and build community - side benefit, it saved us lots of time compared to one-on-one meetings. Directness: We faced tough conversations head-on. When we had to decline 1400 feature requests, we explained why. Customers appreciate clarity, even when it's a "no." If you're after raving fans, think about weaving these three principles into your client interactions. You'll see all 3 well represented as we build out Empath!

Last week, I shared a bit about a series we've launched at Mvnifest, and the feedback was fantastic. TLDR: I’m back on my feet, literally and figuratively, after a skiing mishap earlier this spring. Being a Founder/CEO, wife, and mom, it was a massive disruption. For years, I've been wanting to capture the wisdom and experiences of my network of founder-friends, mentors, and consumer goods experts. I kept telling myself, "We'll get to it later," until now. I’m super excited to share this week's conversation with Siffat Haider,  CEO and Co-Founder of Arrae, a natural supplement brand that's taken the internet by storm. Our conversation focuses most deeply on the power of community. We talk about the importance and opportunity of community building and how to do it authentically, and acknowledge that for this one, there just aren’t shortcuts. It’s gotta be real to be real. Siff and I dive into so many aspects of her business, and there are so many amazing nuggets from our conversation, but she highlights the importance of the following: 1️⃣ Humanizing your brand: How to treat your brand as a living, breathing entity and operate your social media and marketing efforts from the voice of an individual.  2️⃣ Personal connection at scale: Consider surprising and delightful types of engagement, like handwritten notes, Polaroids, or personal messages. These can become a cornerstone of community, allowing you to start small and building to a conversation over time. 3️⃣ A balanced budget: Allocate a portion of your marketing budget to community-building efforts, just as you would for influencer marketing or other strategies. Balancing paid partnerships with community engagement is key. 4️⃣ Loyalty Programs (the Rolls Royce of them): Siff encourages founders to consider implementing a loyalty program—if it aligns with your business model. For high-subscription businesses, a well-designed loyalty program can strengthen customer relationships. We talk through how to design a performant loyalty program, including unique incentives that truly show appreciation to your customers. 5️⃣ Creative Engagement: It’s a competitive market, and to stand out, brands need to think differently. Hosting events, workshops, walks, or other activities to engage with your community are a way to bring digital communities together in a physical context. 6️⃣ The Power in Team Involvement: Siff underscores how to involve your entire team in community-building efforts to foster a close-knit relationship between your brand and your customers, and to help spread the weight of the authentic connection throughout your team. The conversation is packed with actionable insights and real-world experiences that founders in consumer goods NEED to hear. 🚀  Check out the full conversation on Substack and let me know if you have any thoughts below. 💬 https://lnkd.in/gcw9B3Qd #CommunityBuilding #CPGBrands #BehindtheBrand #Arrae #SiffHaider

Loyalty isn't what it used to be. 74% of consumers say their loyalty is harder to earn than ever (source: KPMG), so how can your brand buck the trend? Recent studies have illuminated a stark reality: the era of guaranteed customer loyalty is over. Accenture Strategy reports that a whopping 77% of consumers retract loyalty faster than just three years ago. Similarly (and mind-blowingly), NielsenIQ finds that only 8% of shoppers consider themselves truly brand loyal, a drastic plummet from years past. But why the shift? Deloitte points out that 57% of consumers have recently switched brands for better price or value. Meanwhile, PwC underscores that one-third of consumers now place 'trust in brand' at the top of their shopping priorities, moving away from traditional loyalty. This landscape demands a new approach. Brands need to pivot from purely transactional relationships to creating meaningful connections. Here are actionable steps your brand can take: 1. Invest in Trust:  ↳ Enhance transparency and consistently communicate your brand values. 2. Personalize Experiences:  ↳ Leverage data to tailor experiences that resonate personally with consumers. 3. Reward Engagement:  ↳ Develop a rewards system that appreciates more than just purchases, such as social shares or community involvement. 4. Foster Community:  ↳ Build platforms where customers can interact, share experiences, and feel part of the brand story. 5. Adapt Quickly:  ↳ Stay responsive to market changes and customer feedback to continuously improve the offering. (side note: Nift excels at points 2 & 3 above, if you want to chat) Here's what it boils down to—the key to regaining and retaining loyalty lies in understanding and adapting to these new consumer behaviors. As Gartner highlights, 65% of customers are more open to new brands than ever—a challenge, but also an opportunity to redefine what loyalty means in your industry. Let's rethink loyalty together—because it's clear that the rules of engagement have changed.

The key to long-term success on Amazon? Building a sense of trust and loyalty with your customers.  This takes some strategic planning and the ability to leverage different tools and programs available on Amazon.  I've listed 6 key steps to maximize loyalty for sustainable, long-term results: 1. Amazon Brand Store: Establishing a dedicated brand store provides a cohesive and branded shopping experience for customers. By customizing your storefront you can highlight product creativity and reinforce your brand identity.  Brand stores are ideal for showcasing brand stories, which are particularly effective in categories like beauty. By offering a unique and immersive shopping experience, you can build deeper connections with your customers.  2. Listing Optimization: Utilize tools like A+ content to enhance product listings with high-resolution images, detailed descriptions, and comparison charts. Improved listings not only enhance customer understanding but also increase conversions, especially for new customers who trust Amazon.  By optimizing your listings, you provide customers with valuable information, instilling confidence in your brand and products, which leads to repeat purchases and sustained loyalty. 3. Subscribe and Save: Implement the Subscribe and Save program for relevant products to encourage repeat purchases. By offering discounts and incentives for subscribing to regular deliveries, you incentivize customers to engage with your brand consistently over time.  This builds brand loyalty through consistent engagement and ensures a steady stream of revenue for your business. 3. Brand Analytics: Leverage Amazon's Brand Analytics to gain insights into customer behavior, search terms, and competitive data. By understanding your customers' preferences and shopping habits, you can make informed decisions to optimize your storefront and listings.  This data-driven approach ensures that your brand remains relevant and resonates with your target audience, driving long-term success. 4. Customer Reviews: Encourage customers to leave reviews to enhance product visibility and credibility. Positive reviews significantly impact buying decisions and help build trust with potential customers.  Additionally, responding to negative feedback demonstrates care and a commitment to customer satisfaction, which can turn dissatisfied customers into loyal advocates for your brand. 5. Amazon Promotions and Discounts: Utilize promotional tools to offer discounts and time-limited promotions to your customers. Capitalize on events like Prime Day to attract repeat business and acquire new customers.  Promotions drive immediate sales and gather valuable customer data for future marketing efforts. Customer retention is a tough nut to crack on Amazon, but these steps are stepping stones to creating a robust loyalty program on Amazon. How do you drive loyalty and long-term relationships with your customers?

Customers need more than a CSM to be successful. Over the past decade and a half, customer success managers have become the de facto stewards of the B2B tech customer experience. But there are some challenges with this: 1. Turnover When customer contact or CSM leave their company or gets promoted, we lose momentum in the relationship. This is a SPOF (single point of failure). 2. Quality If everyone on the team is doing repetitive enablement, training, support, and consulting tasks, it's nearly impossible to manage the quality of these disparate activities across a large group. Of course, you could have playbooks and documentation, but these don’t scale well. If the CSM is ill-equipped in any way, the customer will suffer. 3. Cost Employing an army of CSMs to have custom conversations with every customer doesn’t scale. Over the past year, it’s become clear that we need to focus on efficient customer interactions that add value, demonstrate results, and drive revenue retention and expansion. Here’s a better approach: Leverage scaled programs and community across your customer journey. Replace the mundane, repetitive tasks your CSMs are doing with programs that address the top drivers of effort for customers, the success team, and support: - product idea and feedback - support forums - knowledge base - expert webinars - user-generated content - crowdsourced best practices (See more 👇) Create a central landing spot where customers can quickly find these resources, learn, and interact with knowledgeable peers in their industry. (hint: check out Higher Logic Vanilla for this). Your marketing team can identify and recruit advocates. You will improve the quality of customer enablement. You will reduce the workload on your customer teams. You can use the saved time to engage customers to improve results (differentiating success from support). You will lift net revenue retention. As a customer told me last week, “communities are the price of entry for B2B.” What role are community and scaled programs playing in your customer success practice? —- Come join me and Peter Armaly next week as we talk about how community should be part of your customer expeirence. Thanks to ESG (Customer Success as a Service®️) and Higher Logic for hosting 🙌🙌🙌 —- #customersuccess #saas #software

Diving into the world of Email Marketing can be scary, but let's demystify it with a deep dive into the email marketing FUNNEL. Whether you're starting out or just need a refresher as a DTC Owner, here’s your guide: 1. Awareness: - The Intro: Your potential customer has just given you the golden ticket - their email. A warm welcome email can set the tone. Introduce them to your brand ethos, mission, and values. Maybe even throw in a fun fact or two about your journey! 2. Consideration: - Content is King: Regular newsletters with quality content can position you as an expert in your niche. This is also a great time to share user-generated content, like reviews or photos, to further build trust. - Engagement Boosters: Interactive content like quizzes or polls can keep your audience engaged and curious about your offerings. 3. Decision: - Personal Touch: Segmenting your email list can be a game-changer. Personalized product recommendations or services can make your potential customer feel valued and understood. - Incentive Drive: Limited-time offers, discounts, or even a bundle deal can be the nudge they need to make that purchase. 4. Action: -Gratitude Galore: A heartfelt thank you note can go a long way. Let them know how their purchase has made a difference. - Feedback Loop: Quick surveys can provide valuable insights into their buying experience and areas of potential improvement for you. 5. Retention: Loyalty Programs: Reward your long-term subscribers or frequent buyers with exclusive content, early access sales, or loyalty points. Stay Relevant: Regular check-ins, updates about upcoming products or services, or even behind-the-scenes glimpses can keep the bond strong. Navigating the Email Funnel is all about authentic relationship building. Aim to add value, understand your audience's needs, and communicate genuinely. If you or someone you know needs help with email marketing then visit my website and book a call! #DigitalMarketing #MarketingTips #EngagementStrategy