A brand community is a group of customers who are invested in a brand beyond what’s being sold. A group of passionate consumers organized around the lifestyle, activities, and ethos of the brand. They are the ones who repeat purchase most and refer the brand to their friends and family.
Grow your business by creating a brand community that communicates your message. And how do you share your message and make sure it resonates with customers? A loyalty program is where to start. With one, you can strengthen emotional connections with your customers, encourage repeat purchases, generate enthusiastic referrals and create community spirit.
So you can see a best-in-class customer community in practice, we’ve created this dissect into Boody’s loyalty program. You’ll see how the sustainable clothing brand communicates its values, connects with customers, and uses the power of social media.
👉 Who is Boody?
Boody creates sustainable and ethically crafted bamboo clothing. A climate-centered focus drives their mission to provide affordable and comfortable clothing.
The brand already had a strong community. But they needed to create a space where they could reward their shoppers for their loyalty to the brand:
“We have an incredibly engaged community that really aligns with our core values. We wanted to create a space where we could reward this community for their dedication to Boody, as well as welcome new customers to our brand. Boody is all about making people feel good, whether it’s the soft feel of our fabrics or the fact that by aligning with us you can feel good that you are making an ethical and sustainable choice. We wanted this concept to be the foundation of our loyalty program, which is why we decided to call it ‘The Goodness Corner’.”
Shaun Greenblo, CEO at Boody
So how did Boody use its loyalty program to connect with customers and grow their community?
👉 How Boody built a brand community
Tactic #1: Don’t be a stranger
Boody is established on the idea of “good for you and our planet”. Following its environmentally-focused philosophy, Boody’s customers are eco-conscious and are looking for brands that have similar values to them.
The best way to strengthen your bond with your customers and expand your community is by knowing what they value. Boody recognized that their shoppers wanted to connect on shared values so they geared their loyalty program to reflect them.
The program is called “The Goodness Corner” and their program currency is “comfort coins”. Everything on the page demonstrates their brand focus and becomes a destination shoppers can return to and interact with the brand’s identity. On this page, you can see how Boody is building trust and engagement with simple loyalty program techniques.
Tactic #2: Give a little bit!
Shoppers want a value exchange from a brand before becoming an active community member. They want to be sure they’re getting something for their loyalty.
To better reward their shoppers, Boody added tiers to their program. Here, members with a higher lifetime value get more exclusive perks as a thank you for being a long-term member.
You earn:
1 coin per $1 when you make a purchase
10 coins for a Like on Facebook or a follow on Instagram
50 coins for a review via email
300 coins when you refer a friend
300 coins on your birthday
You can redeem these coins at various levels to receive a variety of rewards.
At Goodness Explorer (Level 1) these exclusive perks include 15% off their insider sale, a birthday offer, the ability to refer a friend, and $1 off for every 20 coins earned. These rewards also scale up at every level.
At Goodness Catalyst (Level 2) you receive 20% off insider sales and early access to sale events. And at Goodness Advocate (Level 3) you get 25% off insider sales, access to double point shopping days, and a surprise gift.
Boody has recognized where they can deliver value and enhance the customer experience.
35% of consumers said that loyalty perks or rewards motivate them to try new brands. And, 77% of digital natives are willing to pay a premium to participate in a loyalty program if they will be rewarded with valuable perks like free shipping.
It is clear that exclusive perks, and loyalty programs, make shoppers feel like a vital part of the brand rather than just a customer on the periphery. This inclusive feeling is what makes a community flourish.
Customer communities live and breathe on social media. This is because consumers (wherever they are) can still become passive community members without having to make a purchase. They can support the brand by liking and engaging with the brand’s social content. They can also talk to other customers in these community-focused spaces and build up organic rapport around your brand.
Plus, on social media, brands can leverage UGC to shine a light on real community members wearing and using their products.
“UGC can be of significant value to brands, helping them to create more impactful marketing materials which resonate with customers, as evidenced by the fact that 85% of consumers find UGC to be more influential than branded content. Similarly, 79% watch UGC before purchasing anything”. You will also attract customers that you may not have found using traditional promotional avenues.
To grow their community on social media, Boody enables customers to earn points for social follows. They can then keep reminding their followers of their values and engage in two-way conversations with their community members on their social feeds. This increased engagement can help to drum up excitement around your brand.
Check out some example posts from Boody on Instagram: #EveryBoody
👉 How to build a brand community like Boody
Brand communities are vital to the success of your business. They are a reliable way of creating buzz around your brand and you can turn that excitement into revenue.
The challenge lies in maintaining a thriving brand community and rewarding members for their participation.
You will have to focus on curating shared values and really dig into the kind of community-driven initiatives you want your brand to promote. It is about expanding and solidifying your community.
Boody is nurturing their customer community by connecting with their values, rewarding community members, and tapping into its social media presence. Boody is a great example of how companies can enhance their brand community by communicating their mission and adding an effective loyalty program.
Ipek is a Product Marketing Consultant at LoyaltyLion. Before doing her Marketing masters at the Queen Mary University of London, she worked in top global advertising and marketing agencies providing creative strategies for both B2B and B2C clients. At LoyaltyLion, Ipek makes sure our readers get the best content about LoyaltyLion's features and how it can help to power your ecommerce businesses.
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