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Circle Communities for Your Best Brand Strategy
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The word “community” in business is abused as often as its Latin origin suggests, communis, meaning “common”. If we define community simply as a group with something in common, there is plenty of room for context. What does this word community mean when I’m told by my insurance carrier that I’m a member of it? Do you know and understand the communities you serve? To do so, you will put in place your most effective brand strategy.
As a business owner, the communities I serve define our focus, our industry, our mission, and in no small measure, my time and money. So, I have a question mark beside my commitments. I have community obligations as a parent and good friend, as a business owner with a brick and mortar, as a concerned citizen, as an artist, as a budo practitioner. Each of my interests represents another community I enjoy.
I imagine my communities as circles. If I want to be a good neighbor, I could draw a circle around my office and the houses next door. As it turns out, my residential neighbors care how many cars park nearby and what time noise will cease. What about a larger circle for this historic neighborhood of St. Johns? Do you attend meetings with the neighborhood business association, the neighborhood watch organization? Here we have the St. Johns Boosters and St. Johns Main Street community organization of North Portland. And what of the Portland city and Oregon state level conversations that all urgently hope for my support?
All of these communities were vital to me and yet none of these yet represent the community of my customers. Do I understand this community, or do I just determine success through sales and other KPIs? Clearly, my community of customers is fine if I’m hitting my numbers, right?
Circles are how noted psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner modeled his Ecological Systems Theory. An individual’s behavior, according to the concept, may change based on their proximity and spheres of influence. We started as a family business, so I focused on what Bronfenbrenner named the microsystem of family and friends. Seems obvious, that family should be the core focus of a family business.
The secret to caring for the community is in caring for the community. It’s not a marketing trick. Understanding my core focus, who I am helping and why, means I can manage my time and resources and maintain my sense of health. It has helped me better serve my communities. The same, I have found, holds true for organizations.
Too often when pressed, our clients’ executive teams do not in fact know the communities they serve. Or if so, the information is in advertising demographic style delivery, without context for the microsystem described above. Asked about their brand messaging or their outreach strategy for connecting in a real way, the good answers are in short supply. I hear about communications plans that are impossibly broad for making a difference or for targeting as a marketing strategy. I hear things that sound like: “Our audience are humans who use oxygen.” Like most elements of marketing, effective community involvement requires focus.
I see great value in knowing the communities I serve and in determining how far I intend my circles to grow. I hope you will uncover, define and limit the communities you serve to discover similar success. To do so, the task of connecting with the communities with an authentic, core message becomes a simple extension of your time together. I promise this simple, authentic work will become your most effective brand strategy. It works wonders for me and for my customers to better support the communities we serve.