30Plays.Get a free growth plan
All plays

The Customer Community

Give customers a place to belong and help each other. It cuts churn, creates referrals and hands you content.

The original

In 1981 thirteen Harley-Davidson executives bought the company back from AMF. In 1983, with its share of heavyweight motorcycles down to 23% from 77% in the 1970s, it launched the Harley Owners Group. H.O.G. gave owners events, rallies, a magazine and local chapters, boasted more than 30,000 members in 1983, and had more than 60,000 across 49 chapters by the end of 1985 (Harley-Davidson).

By 1999 Harley held 56% of the large motorcycle market (White House, November 1999), measured on a slightly different definition, and Harvard Business Review called brand community central to the turnaround (Fournier and Lee, April 2009). Harley also fixed its quality and production in those years, so the club's own effect cannot be isolated.

30,000+
H.O.G. members in its launch year, 1983
23% to 56%
Harley's share of big motorcycles, 1983 to 1999
~19%
of one retailer's community members' spending attributable to joining

Best for

Consumer brands with an identity, SaaS, courses and memberships, and e-commerce brands people use often.

Why it works

Belonging changes behaviour. In a study in Marketing Science, about 19% of community members' spending in the 15 months after a retailer launched its online community was attributable to joining, mostly through more frequent orders (Manchanda, Packard and Pattabhiramaiah, 2015). LEGO Ideas shows the co-creation version: more than a million members and 26,000 ideas by 2019, 23 of which became sets (LEGO, October 2019).

How it runs

  1. Pick the platform your customers already use.
  2. Seed it with 50 power users and a reason to show up weekly: office hours, challenges, early access.
  3. Set the quality bar early: guidelines, moderation, a welcome ritual.
  4. Give members things to do: beta tests, votes, challenges, meet-ups.
  5. Replace some discounts with earned early access.
  6. Measure spend, retention and referrals of members against similar non-members.

Proof

Verified. Manchanda, Packard and Pattabhiramaiah (Marketing Science, 2015). Reported. Harley-Davidson's market share (case study; White House, 1999) and Harvard Business Review (2009). Self-reported. H.O.G. membership and LEGO Ideas figures.

Cost to test, and when to stop

Cost to test. A free or low-cost platform and a community manager's time, a day or two a week.

Kill it if after three months fewer than one member in ten takes part each month.

Watch-outs

A community without a manager goes quiet. Starting too broad produces silence. Do not gate support behind it. People who choose to join were already your keenest customers, so compare members with similar non-members before claiming the credit.

Pairs with

Users Teach Users, The Affiliate Discord, The Two-Sided Referral

Sources

Keep reading

Every play, filtered by business, stage and budget.

All playsAll services
Start here

Is this the play worth backing for you? Find out in a week.

A 30-minute call first. If it fits, two calls in one week and a written growth plan you keep.

Get a free growth plan