Building Brand Communities

Successful brand communities are based on mutual concern, shared values, and common experiences--not simply mutual fondness for a product or service. This book explains exactly how to build them. This is a time when organizations must develop far deeper relationships with customers. But they don't know how this is done profitably and at scale. This book will help usher confused organizations into a new future where community and profit mutually support one another. Carrie Melissa Jones and Charles H. Vogl highlight companies succeeding (Airbnb, Reddit, Apple, Toyota Motor Company, etc.) and those who are failing (left anonymous). The authors clarify the structural differences between authentic brand community and simple marketing, social media, and platform projects. Their book outlines brand community strategies and models for organizations that will help them create communities that make the world a better place for the organization's stakeholders and everyone else. Organizational leaders will gain the skills to distinguish how communities differ when serving marketing, innovation, advocacy, recruitment, retention, and social support goals and choose how best to succeed with their own goal-appropriate community models.