5 Steps to Create a Brand Community & See Customer Loyalty at Your Club

How to build a brand community and see customer loyalty

Building a solid sense of brand community at your kids activity club is a great way of retaining and gaining new customers. Think about your own brand loyalty: what are some brands you always gravitate back to? You likely enjoy the product, but in a world with fierce competition it’s the brand and the community that really makes it stand out to you. The same can be done for your kids club! 

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In this blog, we’re breaking down how you can develop a solid brand community at your club, so that your customers keep gravitating back towards your club and can see the amazing value you can bring them beyond the classes you offer. 

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Step 1: How to get customer loyalty

In order to create a sense of community, you’ll need to figure out what your customers currently connect with. That is, what makes them choose your club over your competitors? What are the shared values creating a sense of belonging and purpose within the community? Get back to the basics and look at defining your goals and your unique selling point to figure out what makes your customers emotionally connected to your club. If you can understand what it is that makes customers invested in your club, you can work this knowledge into your customer engagement strategies to develop super loyal customers that keep coming back to you!

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Step 2: How to speak to your customers

Okay, we know you’ve probably heard this one before, but it’s because it’s so important that you communicate effectively with your customers. How? You simply have to make sure that you’re doing two things: 

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[.pink__text]1. Make sure that you’re speaking your customer’s language[.pink__text]

[.blue__text]2. Keep it open and honest.[.blue__text]

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Take a look at who your customers are and how they normally communicate. Maybe they’re detail oriented and want all of the behind the scenes information about the goings on in your club? Or maybe they’re short on time and want the information they absolutely need and nothing more. They might prefer more formal, business-oriented language? Or perhaps they’re keen on more relaxed lingo? In order for your customers to really understand your messages, you need to be speaking the language that suits them!

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If you’re looking to build online community and a bit of a fan-base for your club, you’ll want to keep it real with everyone. As the saying goes: Honesty really is the best policy! Not only should you make sure to be transparent and honest, but keeping customers up-to-date on what’s happening at your club also ensures they feel that sense of community and that they feel valued. Try to establish a community platform where you can tell your customers about upcoming events and where they can speak amongst themselves too!

Step 3: How to build a community platform

Allowing your customers a space that’s just for them is a great way to establish a sense of community! Depending on your customers, this will look very different, but the goal is the same: Getting your customers excited about your club. So, how can you do that? You’ll want to send out regular updates about the exciting upcoming things going on at your club. Whether that looks like sending the kids home with a cool flyer or if it’s a text message directly to parents, you want them to feel involved and like they’re in on the secret. 

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So, what could a community platform or a space for your customers to build an online community look like? It might look like a newsletter that you send out on a monthly basis, containing all of the behind the scenes info about upcoming events and new announcements. If you think this could suit your club, you can easily use registration questions to ask new parents to be part of your emailing list at sign up! Another great way of creating a sense of community is by creating a space for parents to communicate with each other as well as with you. This can easily be done by creating Facebook groups, Whatsapp chats or any other type of forum where everyone is able to have conversations with each other. This is a great way of building community around your club.

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Step 4: How to make your customers feel special

When building a sense of community, you want to “woo” your customers and make sure that they feel valued and special. You essentially want to let them know how important they are to you and your club. After all, your club wouldn’t run without them! So, what can you do to make your customers feel special? 

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You need to give back and reward loyalty. This can be done with special offers or discounts that are only for existing customers or exclusive to customers that have been at your club for a certain amount of time. Think of the rewards programmes you're already a part of: maybe you’re a loyal Starbucks customer who uses the app to buy your drinks so that you earn points? In this case, the brand is rewarding you for your loyalty with points you can use at a later date!

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Another way to make your customers feel special is by giving them early access to your sales, new terms, camps, parties, special sessions or merchandise. Offer to make it easy for existing customers to book with you again, or offer for them to be the first priority for spaces at your brand new summer camp. This will encourage brand loyalty and ensure your customers want to stick with you.

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A third way to encourage brand loyalty is by running referral programs. What are these? It’s an opportunity for your customers to share their love of your club with their friends and family. Research has established time and again that reviews and testimonials from our friends are one of the strongest ways to create brand awareness and brand loyalty, so it’s a great idea to utilise that! Running a referral program simply means that you offer your existing customers a discount or special offer in return for them bringing along or referring someone they know to your club.