Understanding The Role Of Community In Ecommerce

Community in marketplaces is underrated. It’s also really hard to do well. Marketplaces want three things*: 1) more buyers & sellers, 2) more matches between them, 3) higher quality matches. Community* can help with all three. More buyers & sellers: - For buyers, community content is seen as where the real wisdom lies (which is why appending “Reddit” to google searches is so popular). - For sellers, community can act as a volunteer army of customer service reps and business coaches (“does anyone know how to…”). - In both cases, created content can draw in new users from search engines (though this will get harder over time as search traffic declines.) More matches between them: - Matching is typically the domain of teams working on search & browse, but feeding community content into an LLM-powered knowledge base or using it to augment product search is a great way to expand the number of queries that will have relevant results returned*. Higher quality matches: - Matching gets the buyer to the detail page, but the quality of the match is what leads to a transaction. - Communities can help buyers be more confident that this is the thing they are looking for, and can help sellers teach other how to improve the quality of their storefronts (better photos / descriptions / pricing, etc). The challenge, of course, is getting the community going and keeping it alive and healthy. Having a dedicated community manager (or managers) is necessary. Setting and enforcing rules and norms is a must, as is finding the right balance between “this is your space” vs “you’re in our space”. But us humans are naturally social animals - we will seek out others when we feel unsure, lonely, confused, anxious, etc. Community, if done right, can be a great boon for your users as well as an asset and moat for your business. —————— *If you’re interested in reading the footnotes as well as my work-in-progress thoughts on where the PM/PL job market is headed, sign up for my free newsletter: https://lnkd.in/g8GjKR5q

THE COMMUNITY ADVANTAGE: In a tough market, brands need every edge they can get. That’s why it’s time to look at one of the most underutilized business strategies out there: COMMUNITY. BUT, I don’t mean the old-school, customer-service version of community. Modern Community: Builds loyalty. Protects reputation. Informs product development. Drives demand. At the first-ever Spotter Showcase, the spotlight wasn’t just on YouTube creators’ world-class content. It was on their audiences. And the opportunities for brands. As creator Jordan Matter put it: “An influencer invites you into their home every week, and you feel like you’re part of their family. Once you’ve built that loyalty, you can sell almost anything.” Community SHOWS UP when you need them. When Hiya Health, a beloved kids’ vitamin brand, faced a misinformation crisis, it wasn’t the PR team that showed up first. It was their parent community—spontaneously defending the brand across platforms. As Sara Wilson founder of community strategy consultancy, SW Projects explains: “When you’ve built true community, your members respond to threats against the brand as if they were threats against their own identity. Because in many ways, they are.” In PUBLISHING, community IS the business model. Bindery Books is working with BookTok tastemakers to fund, launch, and promote books BEFORE they’re even printed. Their readers aren’t just BUYERS. They’re BACKERS. Loyalty. Defense. Strategy. Demand. Community delivers real business outcomes. To learn more, check out my latest article in Forbes 👇👇👇 https://lnkd.in/gyGiQZVD Huge thank you to Matt Kaye, Sara Wilson and Darren Litt for their time and insights.

A lot of e-commerce merchants get so caught up in sales that they forget one important thing: The people. When customers feel like they're part of something bigger, they become more than just one-time buyers. They turn into loyal advocates who are invested in the brand's success. They become engaged participants who share their experiences, offer valuable feedback, and spread the word to their networks. In short, they become the lifeblood of a thriving e-commerce business. So, how can businesses cultivate this sense of community? It starts with authenticity and a genuine desire to connect with customers as human beings. It means creating spaces (both online and off) where they can interact with each other and with the brand in meaningful ways. It involves listening to their stories, celebrating their successes, and being there to support them when they need it. It's about treating them like VIPs, not just numbers on a spreadsheet. Building a strong customer community takes effort, consistency, and a long-term perspective. It's not a quick fix or a shiny marketing tactic. But when done right, it can transform an e-commerce business from a mere store to a movement.