Marketing Versus Community

Marketing is the lifeblood for brands and businesses, and can be a powerful driver for more sales and leads.
A community is more about the people you serve, and without it we simply do not have a healthy customer base.
There are several goals that need to be separated out when taking a look at the differences between marketing and building a community. Let’s take a look at a few key elements that define each.

• Define your goals

While marketing attracts potential customers community takes over and creates a great experience for them once these leads have been converted. This is where relationships are built and needs are being met. Goals for marketing include things like a great signup form, new followers on social media, brand awareness, and website traffic. Your community goals should include retaining customers through feedback, a positive experience with your company, referrals, and active communication.

• Make your marketing work in sync with your community

In order to be effective it is important to see these as a partnership working together for the good of your customers. This is where your brand’s message and mission statement come into play, and everything should stem out of those beliefs. The community is brought together through a consistent message that they can relate to on a personal level. It’s what separates your business from the rest of the competition.

• Encourage word of mouth for more referrals

When marketing and community come together brand ambassadors are born, which makes for one of the most powerful tools in business, and that is word of mouth marketing. Allow your community to contribute their thoughts and ideas, and use this in your marketing. This creates a sense of identity for your audience, and builds a memorable brand for you.
Knowing the difference between marketing and community not only helps you to define your goals more clearly, but also builds your brand at a high level of trust. It is easy to perform both roles if operating on a small budget, often referred to as a community manager.
However you define your strategy, customer satisfaction and retention should always be the number one priority.
How do you define marketing and community? I look forward to reading your comments.
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