If we can learn anything from the last two years, it is the need to remain connected with your community.
Humans are naturally social, making our emotions and attitudes linked to social connections. Even though we live in a highly connected and digital environment, loneliness is still felt by 1 in 4 Australians especially in younger generations. This is an issue that needs to be addressed before the multiplier effect is in full effect by businesses to remain in touch with their target audiences.
Connecting with your community establishes trustworthy relationships between your business and clients whilst improving the well-being of both parties. By maintaining and establishing connections with your community, your business can grow exponentially. Connecting with your community will allow you to grow your business by increasing your brand and product awareness amongst your target audience, boosting online and in-person engagements and obtain feedback and ideas for improvement in your service.
In doing so, you also learn what motivates your customers’ needs and wants, allowing you to create an authentic experience. McKinsey and Company’s study after the pandemic found that consumers’ priorities and value systems have changed due to the need to support each other locally. A critical value that changed was consumers’ desire for businesses to be authentic. Connecting with your community can create more authentic service and consumer touchpoints. Thus demonstrating the importance of investing in the creation and management of brand communities.
Below are six tips for building and maintaining a connection with your community to help grow your business:
1. Be mindful of your purpose and how this will benefit your community.
2. Develop a community management strategy.
- You want to choose an appropriate social media channel where users can easily contact you or be led to your page. To remain authentic, businesses must also incorporate a range of in-person and online touchpoints to connect with current and future clients effectively.
3. Listen to your clients.
- This means replying to their enquiries and feedback. Doing this will make them feel valued and create a favourable perception of your brand in their mind, leading them to spread a positive WOM.
4. Connect regularly with them by posting on social media and conducting follow up calls or sending emails.
5. Be adaptable and responsive to changes in the market and society.
- Remain alert to social concerns and show your support. This will help clients see you as a trustworthy and responsible brand they want to support and connect with.
6. Hire the right people
- Hire employees who have the same values as the company and want to connect and learn from their clients. An employee who takes a genuine interest in their client will help the client feel connected and help the business retain them.
At Affinity, we love building strategies that will help your business grow and meet its goals while enhancing the customer experience.
Contact us to help you develop your community management strategy.