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Brand community creates loyal customers


In the current environment of a certain field, it is difficult to establish a certain geographical division for the quality and function of the product. Creating a “brand community” formed around the use of products is a good way to enhance the relationship between consumers and enterprises and enhance brand loyalty.
“We found that building a branded community, bringing customers together and building a connection between the customer and the company can indeed bring immediate value, and customers have the opportunity to exchange their experiences, opinions and ideas.” DePaul University Professor Al Muniz and Professor of the University of Demp, Hep Sjo, after studying the examples of hundreds of brand communities, came to the conclusion that “more and more companies are building or supporting products around the company. The use of the 'brand community' has raised the concept of brand loyalty to a new level. Brand communities can often further strengthen consumer brand loyalty and establish long-term relationships between consumers and companies. Close relationship. Building a brand community is seen as an investment, not a expense!"
The company's success in building a branded community ranges from rock bands and TV series to cars, computers and beverages.
Interaction brings value to the brand community to bring together specific consumers with common sense and hobbies, and let them interact with the company, so that community members have a sense of belonging to the brand. The marketing value it brings to the company has not been fully exploited by marketers.
Let us first define the brand community. Muniz and Sijo believe that the brand community is a specialized, geographically unconstrained community based on a set of organized social relationships between a brand of advocates. This community has three main characteristics: a common sense, a common etiquette tradition, and a sense of moral responsibility.
When community members feel a strong sense of dependence on a brand, especially when members feel a stronger sense of belonging, a common sense will arise. For example, users of Apple Mac computers psychologically distinguish themselves from PC users.
And various etiquettes and traditional habits “represent, important social activities that convey and reproduce the meaning of the community within and outside the community. These activities are centered around the consumer experience associated with the brand, members of the brand community. Will also share stories about this brand." Community members of cyberspace often relished that cyber was once an aircraft manufacturer.
In terms of ethical responsibility, Muniz and his research partners found that community members have a sense of responsibility for the entire community and every member of the community. This includes recruiting new community members who meet the community's normative membership and helping other community members who are experiencing difficulties.
Jim McAugland, associate professor of marketing at Oregon State University, who also pays attention to the "brand community," said: "Some marketing activities in the past have proven that consumers can form a close relationship with brands and products, but marketers have yet to really understand consumers. The value found in the brand community. At the same time, they did not realize the vital benefits brought to the company by paying attention to the various relationships established in the marketing process."
Usp-esp-osp-bsp-msp:
Sales advocates the various sales propositions advocated by pyramid companies, like a pyramid, from usp to msp, which means that the company's focus shifts from products to consumers.
It is generally believed that if a product has a usp, then it has a reason for existence. In the past, companies have been striving to obtain their own usp, and in the current competitive environment, it is difficult to guarantee that any product is truly unique in terms of quality or function.
As a result, brands such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola began to differentiate their products by giving them a specific value and emotion rather than by the quality or function of the product. Both Coca-Cola and Pepsi are striving to build and continually reinforce a sporty, stylish drink.
Brands like Nike are recognized by consumers by establishing an “organizational sales proposition”. Nike has always been striving to promote a sports fashion and culture that is recognized by young people. They have achieved great success. Nike is regarded as a representative of sports fashion and culture. This view is not only for Nike brand users, but also for Nike's internal employees: in their view, making Nike products is not only their work, but also their lifestyle.
As the brand plays an increasingly important role, when the product is branded with a specific brand name, the product is accepted by the consumer mainly relying on the strength and strength of the brand name, and the product itself is not even important. Take the famous "Harry Potter" as an example. After the film "Harry Potter" was released, more than 3,000 kinds of "Harry Potter" related products were widely sold. This sales proposition is known as the "brand sales proposition."
At the very top of the pyramid is the "my sales proposition" that is called the highest level of the brand. At this stage, the brand is not a business but a consumer, and the consumer considers himself to be the owner of the brand. Their loyalty to the brand is quite high, acting as a brand communication and advertising player.
Msp advocates a role experience. The kind of role or situation conveyed by the brand is the experience that consumers are eager to obtain: for consumers, when they own a certain brand, the brand acts as a display of not only one identity, but also a consumer's personality. Behind every brand, there is a scenario to support. This scenario was carefully planned and designed by the brand staff, and the consumers participated in the establishment of this scenario and expanded it. Maslow believes that the highest realm of human psychological needs is the need for self-realization. As far as msp is concerned, it is the brand that helps consumers realize their self. "With Nike's basketball kid, it's easy to imagine yourself as Mike Jordan."
Brand community builds msp platform
Msp and the brand community seem to have an innate fit. The foundation of msp is communication: listening to consumers' opinions and responding, trying to research consumers and get inspiration from them. Msp requires brands and consumers to become intimate. At this time, there needs to be a platform where consumers can exchange their experiences and ideas and share the enjoyment of owning and using the brand. At the same time, companies need to have a convenient way to achieve consumer ideas and experience feedback. Whether on the line or offline, the brand community can well assume these functions.
Because a certain group of consumers have a special preference for a certain brand, they feel that the value carried by the brand and the certain personality they advertise are in line with their own values ​​and personalities, and then between consumers. The agreement between the person and the brand as the endorsement is reached. With brands as a link, consumers feel they belong to a group with this shared value. Once they are organized, the common sense, the common etiquette tradition and the moral responsibility are turned into the norms of the group, and the brand community is gradually formed. Brand experience is shared and shared in the community, and your brand becomes their brand.
It's very interesting that when your brand becomes their brand, sometimes you will be surprised to find that consumers are starting to become so demanding, so "not close to human feelings"! People don't forget the story of Coca-Cola: It was in 1985 that Coca-Cola announced that it would replace the 99-year-old "mysterious formula" with a sweeter new formula. This decision sensationalized the loyal consumers of Coca-Cola throughout the United States. I was very angry about this. In 78 days, I sent 400,000 protest letters and phone calls to Coca-Cola. Under pressure, Coca-Cola had to announce the restoration of the original formula and renamed it "Classic Cola."
It should be noted that the brand community is also a double-edged sword. Any company doing work for the brand community is between nurturing the community and suppressing the community: on the one hand, it is necessary to ensure that good brand information is accurate in the community. And widespread dissemination, and encourage such positive information to radiate to the periphery of the community. On the other hand, companies also need to avoid a bad or misunderstood brand information being widely circulated in such a community, causing a wide range of negative impact on the brand.
In addition, if the company forcibly builds a branded community, it may have the opposite effect. All brand communities have their own unique forms of expression, and their operations are different. Therefore, only the brand community is naturally formed to achieve the best effect. It is very difficult to create a community with no unconditional existence. A way of letting go with nature and long-term communication seems to be the best way to create this unique but extremely fragile community spirit.

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