Community: the most powerful brand-building tool

We could debate all day long on the most powerful branding tool, but after reading this article on Reveries about the power of community, I think this gets my vote. The article features companies like Saturn, eBay and Starbucks (Paul, I expect a blog post on this one!) and it's a good read. We already know that customers are our best sales force... when they're rallied together into a community, their individual powers are combined into a brand-building force to be reckoned with.

Comments

[Paul Williams]

Thanks for pointing out the article about communities. I agree it was a good read.

It was the romance of Italy and the interaction between people in cafes that drove the inspiration and vision of Howard Schultz to expand the small retail business of Starbucks Coffee in Seattle.

While a positive article, I have a couple of comments... questions...

It refers to the addition of the wireless network within Starbucks locations as a promotion. I could see that if it were a temporary spot where a vendor was demonstrating how easy Wi-Fi is to use… But it’s a service that Starbucks has added to cater to that ‘road warrior’ customer. I see it as an extension of services.

Do folks really liken the content of the wireless network at Starbucks to a prize in a Happy Meal? I see it as a smart added-value to make using the service an experience unto itself.

Maybe I’m too close to it?