Heidi Cohen interviews Mark Schaefer<\/h2>\n
To show that Mark Schaefer walks the talk, he has built a vibrant RISE Community<\/a>. In addition to its active Discord channel, the community experiments with NFTs, AI, and the metaverse as it explore the future of marketing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Heidi:<\/span>\u00a0Belonging To The Brand <\/em>starts by exploring the human changes that occurred during and after the pandemic.<\/strong><\/p>\n You cite 2 key, concurrent trends:<\/strong><\/p>\n If the pandemic hadn\u2019t occurred, do you believe that the social and business environment would still be ripe for growing brand-driven communities? <\/strong><\/p>\n Mark:\u00a0<\/span>Yes, absolutely!<\/em> Both of these trends have been creeping up since the 1960s.<\/strong> It\u2019s complicated since it includes rising divorce rates, the decline of social institutions, and increasing amounts of lonely screen time. The pandemic certainly accelerated all of that! <\/em><\/p>\n Heidi:\u00a0<\/span>From a marketing perspective, you make the following key distinction<\/strong> (page 32):<\/p>\n By contrast, I define these terms as follows:<\/p>\n How would you reconcile our difference in perspective? <\/strong><\/p>\n Mark:\u00a0<\/span>I\u2019m not sure we can. : )<\/p>\n Based on your definition, an audience may have little or no relationship with you<\/strong> \u2026 like the local media or the government. So there may be no regular communication at all, let alone an emotional connection.<\/em><\/p>\n My definition requires that an audience has actually opted-in to receive some sort of communication from you<\/strong>. For example, you have an audience for your newsletter. People have opted into hearing from you, which is awesome. But it\u2019s one-way. If you go away, the audience goes away.<\/em><\/p>\n Community is defined by the relationship people have with each other. <\/strong>Literally, this is communion. These relationships build an emotional switching cost for your brand.<\/em><\/p>\n A community gathers because they share some purpose, idea, or value with you. <\/strong>By engaging in your community, they grow, learn, or maybe change something. It\u2019s a powerful emotional bond. The ultimate marketing, really.<\/em><\/p>\n Heidi:\u00a0<\/span>In your definition of the 3 Key Qualities of Community, they all have both social and emotional components<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Connection:<\/strong><\/p>\n Purpose:<\/strong><\/p>\n Relevance:<\/strong><\/p>\n As a result, marketers should focus on community because people want to have a connection with others who have similar interests and desires based on their intellectual, psychological and emotional needs. <\/strong>Building a brand community meets these customer needs while providing business value and customer loyalty. (Page 48)<\/p>\n Heidi Cohen Belongs To The Brand<\/em> with Mark Schaefer\u2019s stickers<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Do you think that marketers and their organizations can meet these community needs and how do they need to change to accomplish this? <\/strong><\/p>\n Mark:\u00a0<\/span>It\u2019s already happening. <\/strong><\/p>\n For example: Sephora is known for its many brick-and-mortar stores, yet 80% of its revenue actually comes from its online community!<\/strong> The smallest community I profiled in the book was just 30 people. But it generated $40 in real estate sales for the sponsor company.<\/p>\n Whether anybody does it, I think a lot depends on the company culture.<\/strong> This may seem like a radical new way to go to market and it has to be supported up and down the organization. Ultimately it is a business strategy as much as a marketing strategy!<\/em><\/p>\n Heidi:\u00a0<\/span>I love that you show why businesses, and marketing in particular, must create brand communities to provide benefits that extend beyond direct financial metrics.<\/strong><\/p>\n 1 Brand Differentiation<\/strong><\/p>\n Decades before, the Grateful Dead created a vibrant following among their fans. The Dead embraced their community to generate revenue. For example, they embraced bootleg recorders and offered them prime locations at concerts.<\/p>\n With increased inflationary trends and pressure for management, especially CMOs, to show a direct relationship between marketing spend and financial results, how can marketers make the business case for creating and maintaining brand communities?<\/strong><\/p>\n Mark:\u00a0<\/span>You\u2019ve done a good job here outlining some of the business benefits of building a community<\/em>. I think it would be hard for a smart manager to ignore this potential \u2013 the business case is pretty compelling, and backed by data.<\/strong> If a leader reads my book, the business case is self-evident.<\/p>\n Further, in the book, I differentiate between direct marketing and brand marketing. If you need quick sales, you might need direct marketing in the short term. But the best-managed companies \u2013 Ikea, LEGO, Nike \u2013 are dominant because of their BRAND marketing and much of that is done through community. <\/strong><\/p>\n I understand the need to drive sales, especially in tough times. But tough times also present an opportunity to establish brand dominance!<\/strong><\/p>\n Mark:\u00a0<\/span>I guess the world would be better off if they listened to Peter Drucker! They usually are!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n To me, it\u2019s apparent that nearly every way we go to market does not work as it did a few years ago.<\/strong><\/p>\n Consumers are in control and companies better wake up to that!<\/strong>\u00a0What would happen if you stopped interrupting people, spamming them, and annoying them and instead provided something they actually NEED \u2013 community?<\/p>\n Somebody in your industry is going to create a community and there is probably room for just one so it better be you!<\/em><\/p>\n Heidi:\u00a0<\/span>Your \u201cCommunity Framework\u201d is super helpful for readers since it guides them through how to build a member-focused community.<\/strong> Unfortunately, the first 4 steps tend to run contrary to how most businesses operate.<\/p>\n![\"Belonging](\"https:\/\/heidicohen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Belonging_to_the_Brand__book_by__Mark_Schaefer-_Heidi_Cohen_s_notes-182x300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nNew Book: Belonging To The Brand<\/em>: Why Community Is The Last Great Marketing Strategy<\/a><\/h4>\n
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<\/a>Editor\u2019s Note:<\/h4>\n\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nQUESTION: <\/strong><\/h4>\n
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QUESTION:<\/h4>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nRecommended Reading<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
3 Key Qualities of Community<\/h2>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nQUESTION:<\/h4>\n
10 Reasons Businesses Can No Longer Ignore Brand Communities<\/h2>\n
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2 Market Relevance<\/h4>\n
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3 Speed of Information<\/h4>\n
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4 Trust<\/h4>\n
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5 Center of Advocacy<\/h4>\n
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![\"Brand](\"https:\/\/heidicohen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Brand_loyalty_elusive_in_today_s_market-chart-McKinsey-02172017.jpg\")
<\/p>\n6 Brand Loyalty<\/h4>\n
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7 Soul of Co-creation<\/h4>\n
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8 Community-As-A-Service (CaaS)<\/h4>\n
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9 Community Connection to Culture<\/h4>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nRecommended Reading<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
10 Consumer Data Solution<\/h4>\n
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QUESTION:<\/h4>\n
QUESTION:
Since most businesses don\u2019t operate on Peter Drucker\u2019s theory that:
<\/strong>\u201cBecause the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two\u2014and only two\u2014basic functions: marketing and innovation.\u201d<\/em><\/h4>\n
Does this make it more difficult to get sufficient management support and funding to create a brand community focused on more than customer service?<\/strong><\/p>\nCommunity Framework<\/h2>\n
1 Culture<\/h4>\n
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2 Purpose<\/h4>\n
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3 Gathering Members<\/h4>\n
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![\"The](\"https:\/\/heidicohen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dana_Malstaff-_Boss_Mom_Communnity_Homepage-580x310.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n4 Redistribution of Power<\/h4>\n
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5 Monetizing Community-Based Businesses<\/h4>\n
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6 Success Measurements<\/h4>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/heidicohen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mark_W__Schaefer_via_https___businessgrow_com-263x300.jpg\")
Contact information<\/strong><\/h3>\n