How to create a community that ‘sticks’

Recently I jumped into an interview over on ausbiz TV to speak about the current place of start-ups in the world, and in particular how Mindhive is adapting to the current crisis. During my segment, I mentioned the need for businesses to start fostering ‘sticky’ communities and received a lot of great feedback about highlighting the need to invest in your customers and clients to succeed in what you do as a business.

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But what I also received was a number of questions inquiring as to what exactly a sticky community is, and how to build one, so I’ll do my best to explain it in full.

The first step to creating a community that ‘sticks’ is to understand that one factor above all else decides whether or not consumers will stay within the orbit of your business.

Loyalty.

Loyalty is a word thrown around so often in the world of business that it has begun to lose all meaning, and now risks being relegated to little more than a metric on a marketer’s chart. But at its core, loyalty is whether or not a customer/client stands by your business and trusts you to look out for their best interests.

Loyalty raises the idea of not just attracting but retaining consumers who believe that what you do will provide for their needs wholly.

Which is the essence of what a truly ‘sticky’ community is all about. The act of providing a product or service that’s so good, that those who engage with it can’t help but stick around to see what they get to enjoy next.

But what helps build a ‘sticky’ community?

This is the question that often follows the answer given above. Unfortunately, as with many things in the world, there’s no hard and fast answer to creating a collective community that stands by you through thick and thin.

However, there are a few things that can get any business moving in the right direction.

Start by employing the right people.