FAQs about Community-powered Online Stores

A community-powered online store actively uses its brand or customer community on its eCommerce website using community technology. 

Unlike a traditional online store, a community-powered online store actively connects its loyal customers to potential customers for authentic product experiences using community technology.

An online store that involves its customers may have Community Content, a form of user-generated content created by a brand’s customer community. It may also have a live Community Advice chat which allows advice-seeking shoppers to ask real brand users questions in real-time.

Here are a few tangible results a community-powered online store may see, by actively connecting its brand community to its potential customers:

• Better Customer-Product Fit: Real customers are eager to help others find products they’ll love, leading to authentic customer-product matches that ultimately boost customer satisfaction and retention.
• Better Sales Conversions: Advice from real customers, who are available when shoppers explore your product pages, has been shown to boost conversions by helping shoppers make timely, confident purchasing decisions.
• Boosted Engagement: The availability of live chat or community-created content from real customers results in longer, more meaningful page engagement.
• Trusted Peer Advice: Real customers offer personalized and helpful recommendations based on their own experiences, which consumers trust.
• Credible Customer Experience: By connecting like-minded consumers, your website becomes a trusted destination for genuine customer interactions among like-minded shoppers, which is increasingly important given consumers’ growing distrust in fake and non-human content.

Many brands overlook bringing their brand advocates to their online stores. Here are a few key points that highlight the value of investing in your on-page community:

• Social media communities offer broad visibility but are limited by platform algorithms and diluted brand discussions. In contrast, on-page communities give brands full control over the environment, providing a tailored, branded experience with custom design, features, and moderation.
• On-page communities allow shoppers to seek support and advice from your brand community on your online store. This engagement, combined with comprehensive analytics, helps brands make informed decisions and achieve meaningful results where it matters.
• While social media attracts a broader, less connected audience, on-page communities foster a more committed customer base aligned with the brand’s values and products.
• Integrating on-page communities into online stores enables real-time conversations and community-generated content directly on your product pages, increasing engagement and conversion potential. This creates a seamless and deeply meaningful customer experience, offering the support and information shoppers need to make informed purchasing decisions.

Overall, prioritising investment in on-page communities is essential for optimising online stores and driving meaningful results in brand affinity and sales conversions.

A Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) strategy that effectively takes back the control of the entire sales process should also bring the powerful voices of its loyal customers to its eCommerce platform.

Community-powered online stores create community-driven experiences where, shoppers can interact with passionate customers in real-time.

These customer-to-customer exchanges cultivate product discovery, product education and trusted, heart-felt advice or product recommendations. Community experiences is a key differentiator to intermediary platforms like Amazon.

Yes, your community can have a significant impact on eCommerce sales conversions.

For example, for the hesitant shopper, live community advice offers instant and trusted guidance from a like-minded consumer with firsthand brand experience.

For the passive scroller considering products, a product page that’s enriched with community-generated content boosts trust, shopping confidence and page engagement.

Community exchanges are shown to increase sales conversions while fostering a sense of belonging and boosting customer loyalty. Here are some case studies with industry-specific results.

Yes, a community involved in your online store has been shown to increase basket size at checkout, for several reasons:

1. The visible presence of a loyal customer community on an online store creates a trusted environment full of interactive social proof of the value of your products, that lead to buyers’ confidence.
2. If you enable a live customer-to-customer chat like GUURU’s Community Advice, your customers organically educate the shoppers they talk to, helping shoppers explore more products and product ranges.
3. Customers trust peer advice and often asking follow-up questions that boost purchasing confidence in related products within one peer-to-peer conversation.

Yes, involving your community in your online store will have a significant impact on customer retention, because your shoppers and community members often share values and interests that create lasting emotional connections.

When a shopper gets instant guidance from a like-minded consumer, rather than a sales agent or company employee, it creates a authentic layer of trust and camaraderie.

While shoppers come back for the trusted advice that on-page communities deliver, it’s the emotional investment in your brand’s community that often sets long-lasting customer retention and advocacy in stone.

Yes. Online stores that actively involve their community on their webpages often experience elevated levels of customer satisfaction and Net Promoter scores. Here’s why:

1. Trust and Credibility: Witnessing real consumers provide live advice and share their experiences with the brand or its products fosters trust and credibility. This transparency and authenticity instill confidence in customers, resulting in heightened satisfaction as they make purchasing decisions with assurance.
2. Personalized Recommendations: Community members offering live advice deliver personalized recommendations grounded in their own experiences with the brand or its products. These tailored suggestions resonate deeply with customers, leading to heightened satisfaction as they discover products that precisely match their unique needs and preferences.
3. Real-Time Assistance: Recognizing that shoppers seek immediate assistance even during weekends and after-hours, 24/7 live advice from community members offers invaluable real-time support. This addresses the needs of uncertain shoppers who may have inquiries at any time.
4. Product Discovery and Education: Real customers, speaking from firsthand brand experience, naturally impart product information and tips to those seeking advice. This empowers customers with knowledge and confidence in their purchase decisions, resulting in more gratifying transactions.
5. Sense of Community: Fostering a sense of belonging within a community of like-minded individuals enhances overall satisfaction with the brand and bolsters customer loyalty.