So you are a startup searching for capital? You have been told by business gurus, venture capitalists and others that you need a business plan? Part of the business plan must be a marketing plan? Part of the marketing plan should be a discussion of the competitive environment?
Did anyone suggest a section of your marketing plan devoted to community? Most likely, not. I, however, am suggesting exactly this.
As an entrepreneur, you no doubt have a vision of your business. What is a vision? Essentially, your vision is about filling a need, providing a service - being helpful. Your vision should state:
- Whom you want to help
- How you want to help them
Because others may have similar visions, you face competition. And you must have a good plan to attack it.
But on the Internet, you have a bigger problem: Despite the lack of face-to-face communication, how can you develop a clientele that trusts you enough to do business with you and stays loyal to you? The answer is by being as helpful as possible. Instead of a website that is a non-step sales pitch, help prospects learn so they may make good consumer decisions.
Here is where community comes in. By building a communty, you build trust and loyalty. By getting prospects and clients to discuss and learn about issues they all face, they increase their trust in each other and in you. The result may be, not only a boost in loyal clients, but also a bumper crop of strategic ideas for your business.
You are skeptical? Well then, look at Microsoft. I don't need to tell you that Microsoft is a ferocious competitor. But how did they build their empire? "Community" is the one word answer. Microsoft makes it a practice to teach, train and help programmers and developers around the world so they understand their operating system well enough to write thousands of applications software programs that work with Windows. In plain language, Microsoft has been building a community loyal to Microsoft.
Arguably, building communities is a more important factor in Microsoft's success than their brutal competitive ways.
So in your business plan, reserve a section on community. Indicate what sort of communities you would like to build and how they should help you develop your business. In addition to impressing those with the purse strings, you will have an outstndng marketing plan to follow.
