Common knowledge depicts traditional business as a place where profit goes before anything else. But throughout the years, this picture has been challenged by the times and trends.
Recently, businesses that seek to establish connection with all their stakeholders, from employees to customers, are on the rise. This connection is more commonly expressed through community building. This setup promotes a relational rather than transactional way of doing things. Your point of connection with customers does not end after you have delivered the product or service and they have given you their payment.
Here are 4 benefits of building a community centered on your business:
It creates a safe space
Like-minded individuals find themselves converging and collaborating in one place — your business. Think about how this can lead to an organic growth of loyal customers for you. At the same time, imagine how this community can spur members to contribute not only to your bottomline but also to your causes.
Take a yoga studio as an example. Many such businesses focus on the community aspect as much as they do the profit-making one. And you can actually get that communal vibe when you visit to, say, take a vinyasa class. Here, yogis and yoginis are free to explore and extend their capabilities. A yoga class is a place with no judgment. Progress, not perfection, is the mantra.
It promotes camaraderie and self-development among employees
Aside from the organic growth of clients, having a tight circle of employees help establish your business. This is because a support system exists for your employees. And in the likes of the fitness industr , in which employment does not equal a 9 to 5, getting instructors to be a part of your community makes it easier for you to manage manpower.
Already mentioned earlier, yoga instructor can bond together and provide feedback to each other. On the gym side, physical fitness instructors can pursue self-development through group trainings and encourage each other to acquire more certifications. These scenarios are not typical in cutthroat industries such as finance since colleagues can view the others as competition or a threat.
It expands your network
In this age, a community can be virtual. And then, as it grows bigger, it can actually become a “branch” anywhere in the world. Think about TechCrunch’s communities across cities and countries. This is absolutely a thrill for anyone starting up a business. There are no borders as to whom you are able to reach with your products or services.
More importantly, you are able to tap into markets that you will not otherwis tap into because of budget and logistics issues. And in case you do not get to make money out of your faraway network “branch” yet, you can however say that you have made the connection in that place. Just keep growing your network and watch out for where it will take you next.
It adds other streams of revenue
It is likely that with your community, you will be able to discover new ways to generate revenue. The Creative Collective New York City (CCNYC), a community of creatives of color, may have started as a diversity group instead of a business. The CCNYC has been holding events and conferences, and giving back to the creative community. But along the way, the people behind it have also found host sponsored events.
According to Shani Syphrett in a Forbes article, “the CCYNC serves as both a consulting agency and a production team that creates events and activations for brands. They are able to provide value for creatives who attend the events and the brands who want to be in the room with them.”
