Focus on Building a Community More than Building a Brand

Build a thriving community for your subscription box business. Learn strategies to engage and connect with your audience beyond just building a brand.

When you hear the word “brand,” you probably think about Brands with a capital “B.” Companies like Nike or Coca Cola or Target. Instantly recognizable, seen and known everywhere. These brands are part of our daily lives and our shared experiences. 

Capital “B” brands are also very expensive to build. It takes huge amounts of marketing, research, influencers, and time. 

As a subscription box owner, do you need to build a brand? One that reflects your values and personality. One that your audience will come to know and recognize through consistent messaging. Absolutely. 

But there’s something else I want you to build. too. Something more powerful than a brand. A community. 

As a small business owner, you have a superpower. No, I don’t mean X-ray vision or the ability to leap tall buildings. Sure, those would be useful sometimes (although I rarely need to jump over anything several stories high), but I think our superpower is even better.

Small business owners can build a community in a way that large companies or big box stores cannot. 

Why should you build a community for your subscription box business? 

A community can be SO powerful. It can make your subscribers feel like they’re part of something bigger – something truly special. A community is a crucial part of increasing retention and building a growing, thriving subscription box business. 

As small business owners, we get to be unapologetically us. Our businesses are a reflection of who we are – with all our quirks and faults. And that’s powerful. Because being authentically you makes it easy to build connections – real connections – with your customers. 

You may not be able to build a brand with a capital “B,” but you can build a community. 

Let’s talk about 5 ways to build community in your subscription box business. 

1. Build community by practicing customer-focused marketing. 

Your marketing isn’t about you. It’s about them. 

Yes, I want you to be the face of your business. To let your audience get to know you, your business, and your why. 

But your marketing needs to be focused on your customers. How can you help them? What problem does your subscription box solve for them? What are they thinking, feeling, and doing right now? 

Answering these questions is easy if you’ve taken the time to choose a niche and identify your ideal customer. When you know – really know – who you serve, creating content that speaks to them feels like talking to a friend! 

Check out this blog post for more about identifying your ideal customer and why choosing a niche is so important. 

2. Create content to serve your community, not just sell. 

Yes, you’re going to sell. I want you to sell. But building community means doing more than just selling to your audience. It means taking the time to serve them. 

Serve them by providing resources or tips. Serve them by teaching them or helping them move closer to a goal or a solution to a problem. 

If you are a crafter, a DIYer, or an educator, you can show up and serve all day long. 

This is harder when you don’t teach as part of your business. 

My subscriptions are all about giving my subscribers cute, on-trend, fun items to wear and use. 

So how can I serve my audience? 

I created a resource called “Wear It vs. Style It” featuring the graphic tees from my T-Shirt Club. I show them how to elevate their look by adding accessories, a cardigan, a bag, and cute shoes. I’ve shown them how to take a cute basic and style it into a look they’ll love and feel confident in. 

Now I’ve created content I can use again and again. Every month I will create a Wear It vs. Style It guide for that month’s t-shirt! 

How can you create content to serve your audience instead of just selling? 

3. Encourage community by engaging on social media. 

You can’t just create a social media plan, schedule posts, and walk away. 

Engage with your audience. Let them get to know you. Talk to them during your LIVEs. Use people’s names. Make them feel seen and known. Like they’re in the room with you. 

Return to posts, videos, and LIVEs and respond to comments, answer questions, and respond to feedback. Those interactions are such an important part of building community. 

Social media is about being social! Get social on your social media! 

4. Highlight community members by creating more user-generated content. 

Highlight community members in your content – shine the spotlight on them!

When a subscriber sends an email with a pic showing how much she loved that month’s box or tags you in a post on their socials, use it to create content. Your subscriber will feel like a star and a valued member of your community. And non-subscribers? Hello, FOMO. 

Those monthly LIVE unboxings that are such an important part of your marketing strategy? Your subscribers show up to hang out with you. They already know what’s in the box. They want to be with you and the rest of the community.

5. Offer exclusive perks and rewards to your subscriber community. 

Your subscribers are the VIPs of your business. Make sure they feel like it by providing them with perks and rewards not available to anyone else. 

One member of Launch Your Box gives subscribers 15% off everything in her shop. Others give early access to new items, allowing subscribers to purchase them before anyone else even sees them. 

What exclusive perks can you offer your subscribers? 

• Free shipping
• VIP pricing
• Early access
• Coupons 
• Discounts on other items you sell 

Need more ideas? Grab my FREE resource – 10 Ways to Surprise & Delight Your Subscribers.

Provide concierge-level customer service. 

I have one last bonus step for you. One that is SO important for retention and community – customer service. 

Providing your subscribers with good customer service is a must. 

Go beyond “good.” Provide them with exceptional, concierge-level customer service. 

• Let subscribers know what to expect, when to expect it, and who to expect it from. 
• Answer FAQs about billing, shipping, etc. before they’re asked. 
• If there is an issue with an item, go beyond what’s expected. 

Exceptional customer service is a crucial part of building a subscriber community. It builds trust and loyalty, showing subscribers you truly care about them. 

What are you doing to build community? Take another look at these five (plus a bonus) items and pat yourself on the back for the ones you’re already doing. Then make a note of the ones you want to start implementing and get to work! 

You don’t need a well-known brand or a huge audience to have a successful subscription box business. I’ve built a 7-figure subscription box business with a relatively small audience. And I’m not alone. 

Remember, as a small business owner, you have a superpower. The power to build a community – a thriving community filled with subscribers who love who you are and what you do.