The Klarna Summer Small Business Accelerator Programme continues, bringing experts to our small and medium-size business partners with clear, actionable advice on ways to improve their businesses and attract new customers. The third session in the series was titled “The Hidden ROI of an active customer community” led by Fiona Stevens, Head of Marketing at LoyaltyLion. Trusted by thousands of fast-growth ecommerce merchants worldwide, LoyaltyLion are experts in driving data-driven engagement, unlocking insight and making customers feel valued.
You can view the entire session here, but in the meantime we’ve picked the smartest tips from LoyaltyLion to give you a whole new way of looking at customer communities and how they can help you drive growth.
There’s never been a better time to build your community.
The pandemic pushed ecommerce forward five years in less than a month. This created huge resource and logistical challenges for e-businesses. It also made the market intensely competitive.
While not every brand can compete with the likes of Amazon Prime on things like free shipping and returns, what you can do is show customers you care – by building and nurturing communities.
A little effort goes a long way.
Shoppers want brands to connect with them on an emotional level. In fact, 80% of marketers indicate that building brand communities has helped increased their traffic. Meanwhile, studies have shown that active communities can turbo-drive ROI by 4,000%.
Communities are also a great way to help drive your growth strategies. Two thirds (66%) of companies already use them for product development and 71% for market research. Meanwhile, a third (33%) have changed their marketing plans/products based purely on community feedback.
Some customers are more active than others.
Your customers are likely to fall into one of four main personas, depending on the level of effort you put into the relationship and the value you get back out of it. Here’s how they’re split.
- 14% are Drifters (most likely to leave you out in the cold)
- 17% are Lurkers (they may follow, but don’t engage)
- 52% are Supporters (will recommend to family in friends and share on social)
- 18% are Insiders (loyal and valuable, they love to interact and influence others)
It’s worth noting that Supporters and Insiders are the least likely to opt out of app tracking which means they’re especially valuable data sources and CRM targets. This will become increasingly important as consumers start to apply the new privacy functions included in the latest IOS platforms.
The biggest opportunity for growth.
With just a little effort – you can convert Supporters into evangelical Insiders. How? Engage them in your community by building great content hubs packed with inspiring conversations, insightful stories and shared passions. Offer loyalty programmes that also reward social sharing. And give them something to aspire to e.g. exclusive groups with early access to seasonal sales and hot-drop products.
It’s never too early to start engagement.
But how do you know if you need a community platform? Simple! Look at your retention data. Do you have a low repurchase level? Then you may lack customer connection.
And what about acquisition? Are you spending too much or struggling to engage without offers? You may not be adding enough emotional value.
Show you care.
Head over to our accelerator programme and catch our interview with Loyalty Lion for more great advice.