There’s something special about coming across niche stores that cater exactly to your  interests.

A niche brand resonates with a specific kind of shopper, so finding these shoppers and keeping them coming back is paramount to a successful business.

The best way to create longevity and success for a niche business is to build a brand community, and here are the top reasons why.

Attracting like-minded people to join your tight-knit community

While the type of niche business that can be created are nearly infinite, they all tend to have one thing in common: they attract like-minded people. So, when these like-minded people are brought together, it makes sense to give them a brand community that they can join and belong to and encourage future purchases.

Premier Yarns website 2020

Premier Yarns is, well, a yarn and tools supplier; their niche would fit in the DIY category. They knew that their yarn-loving customers were dedicated to the craft, but the total size of their market was only so big. Like other niche businesses, that means their success hinges on their ability to retain first-time customers and make them repeat purchasers.

Premier Yarns Instagram 2020

To work towards that goal, Premier created a community for their customers to join. After receiving enticing welcome points, members can connect with the brand on social media (for even more points), like their Instagram page or their Facebook Community. Knitters love to share designs and patterns, so the Facebook page was the perfect place for their customers to come together to share their love of the craft with one another.

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Customers in niche markets are looking for something specific, so having a community for them to join and connect with other lovers of your niche shows the immediate value of your brand. It’s also the perfect opportunity for people to rave about your brand online, so when new members come across your social pages they’ll trust the positive reviews and become part of your community as well.

Your brand can be the destination for customers to connect with others who share their passion, creating a pool of potential repeat purchasers that love your niche.

Becoming an essential hive for education and engagement

Once your customers know that your brand is the go-to community for your niche, they need to have a reason to stay a part of your community.

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The key to proving this value is found in creating an amazing customer experience, and creating relevant content that sparks engagement with your community. Few brands do this as well, but beekeeping experts, Bee Built, are buzzing in their niche: the home beekeeping market.

Bee Built website 2020

With a swarming community of happy customers, they wanted to make it easy and rewarding to show their position as leaders in their niche, while providing an avenue for members to engage with their brand.

The value they provide their community members comes from their engagement with Bee Built’s incredibly well-done educational content. Not only do they have a page featuring guides, blogs, and other training content on beekeeping, but they also have a YouTube channel with high-quality videos to train others on best industry practices. By making their community engagement focus on providing value and being informative, Bee Built has made their community a one-stop shop for beekeeping how-to’s, becoming a central hive of information for their industry.

The value they provide their community members comes from their engagement with Bee Built’s incredibly well done educational content. By making their community engagement focus on providing value and being informative, Bee Built has made their community a one-stop shop for beekeeping how-to’s, becoming a central hive of information for their industry.

Creating relevant value-add marketing content will show your brand’s authority in your niche. When customers know you are the industry expert, they wouldn’t dream of going to your competitors with mediocre expertise.

Empowering your customers to share and grow your brand

As a business, especially with a niche product, you need to get the word out about why your brand matters in order to be successful in a small market.

When you think about who knows the value of your product, the answer is your customers: they’ve discovered your brand, made a purchase, and used your product. If anyone is a brand expert, it’s your dedicated customers.

Referral rewards are the niche business’ best friend. They encourage your customers who are extremely satisfied with your brand to tell their social circles the value and benefits of your brand, so you don’t have to do it alone!

Altenew 2020

Altenew is challenged with having a novel product line competing with larger enterprise businesses that sell art and craft goods. However, they also know that people trust others who have used a product more than direct communication from the brand itself.

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What better way to spread the benefits of their brand than by empowering their delighted customers to share their love of the Altenew community?

Altenew Reviews 2020

Opening up a referral rewards program for their community let their most devoted customers share their knowledge of the product with their social circles. With the ability to be brand advocates, they can spread the benefits of Altenew’s products to their peers for extra rewards for both the loyalty member and their friend.

Your customers can do more to share the benefits of your niche products than you ever can alone. Also, like Altenew, offering points for writing product reviews is a great method to encourage people to be honest about your products and keeping these reviews in a place where new website visitors can read them shows authenticity. This will show potential new shoppers that your brand and products can be trusted, especially from real people’s opinions!

Reward programs help build thriving communities

Whether you supply yarn, beekeeping goods, paper art supplies, or any other niche market items, all your customers have an interest in what your business does. Rather than letting them make a purchase and then try to figure out how to get them to come back, put their love of your niche to good use.

Each and every one of your customers is extremely valuable for marketing your brand. A rewards program is designed to help you build a brand community, and transform them from one-time shoppers to dedicated brand advocates, no matter what your niche is.

If that sounds like something you’re interested in, book a demo with one of our experts to learn more about getting one for your niche business today.