A step-by-step guide to create a vibrant community for your brand.
In our industry, we have a field inherently built into our business model. But the real question is: Have we invested the time and intention to create a true community and strong culture? You may wonder if it’s even important or your responsibility.
The answer is YES, and NOW is the time to double down and really take a stand for the element that makes our industry shine—community.
A true community isn’t just a group of people. It’s a deeper connection. That’s what creates culture—where people can unite around shared ideas, behaviors, beliefs, goals and vision. And when they deeply align with a culture, they can’t help but share it with others.
A Spirit of Collaboration
Some companies choose to leave culture creation entirely to the field because they lack the internal resources or attention it deserves. The result is a culture created by default. This hands-off approach creates a missed opportunity to not only build a strong culture but to make your field feel loved, valued and important in the process.
On the other hand, if a company tries to create culture alone, it risks alienating the field, leading to disengagement and exclusion. The essence of a community is belonging, and to exclude your community from taking a big role leaves them feeling isolated and undervalued.
Creating culture isn’t about competing, it’s about complimenting, collaborating and building something better than corporate or the field can do alone. The best culture emerges from co-creation between the company and its community. Done right, it’s one of the most powerful tools a brand can possess. It’s not just nice to have, it’s essential—and more important than ever.
In today’s competitive landscape, word-of-mouth and referral marketing are highly valued across industries. Brands work hard to build communities that foster loyalty and belonging.
It should be no different for direct selling.
Our industry has a built-in field, but we can’t take this for granted. Creating and sustaining community and culture requires effort and intentionality. So how do you create a strong community and thriving culture?
There are four key phases.
Phase 1 / Clarity
Phase 2 / Creation
Phase 3 / Communication
Phase 4 / Consistency
1 / Clarity
This is about knowing who you are; who your community is; and what you collectively stand for. It’s about finding that sweet spot where the company and community intersect to form a culture and naming it by creating what I call a Brand Blueprint.
Chances are you already have a Brand Guide that includes your market position, purpose, mission, vision, core principles and voice as well as logo guidelines and color palettes.
Your Brand Blueprint takes this a step further and includes:
- Community Identity: Their values, attitudes, interests, lifestyle, personality, etc. This doesn’t need to be who the community is, but it should reflect what it aspires to be.
- Community Promise: An aspirational statement that affirms the community identity.
- Community Responsibility: A clearly defined statement of the field’s wants and needs.
- Community Exchange: How the company rewards the community for its contribution.
- Community Value: How the company views the community and what they value most about it.
- Community Collaboration: A policy for how the company seeks to work with the community and what the community can expect.
A Brand Blueprint can foster a deeper connection to your company, empowering your community to feel engaged in co-creating the culture and taking responsibility for it.
Get creative. Go deep. Splurge on this phase and remember, your company is more than what it sells.
2 / Creation
This phase focuses on creating spaces for connection. Review your current tools (e.g., Facebook groups, back-office platforms) and confirm they align with the culture you want to foster. Next, review the communication channels you are currently using and identify opportunities for new channels, elevating the quantity and quality of your communication.
Make these spaces and channels about more than corporate updates; they should reflect the community’s shared identity and values and work intentionally at validating the culture you seek to create.
Now of course, leaders will create their own communities and forums for their team. You want this! Just keep in mind that there also needs to be a stable place that everyone companywide can plug into to connect with the culture of your brand. This is vital in creating and affirming the culture, as well as shining the light on contributors to the community.
3 / Communication
Now it’s time to make the culture known and loved. To bring it to life. And the most important tool to do that is communication. During this phase, identify the initiatives needed to support your goals, execute projects and measure the results. Aligning this back to your Brand Blueprint is what makes the magic happen. This is where you get to stand out and truly create the unexpected.
Start by aligning all messaging—social media, marketing materials, events, even packaging—with your Brand Blueprint. Create unique, memorable experiences that reflect your culture and resonate with your community.
Do what you say you are going to do. Be who you say you are. If you don’t do this well, you will confuse your community, and they will lose trust. This seems obvious but is often overlooked.
Whether it’s a messy design or mixed messaging in your communication, it creates confusion. Everything from the fonts on your posts and reels to the personality of your customer service rep matters. Your brand voice, personality, key messaging, logo, fonts and colors—it all communicates.
Here are some tips to make whatever you create extraordinary.
- Collaborate with your community in launches and campaigns.
Involve the community in the launch of a new product. Promote them in your reels. Let them announce the release of a new tool or product. Encourage user-generated content, reward engagement and recognize contributions.
- Add value in unique ways at unexpected times.
Offer exclusive content, experiences or support. Surprise and delight your community. This could be anything from behind-the-scenes access to special events or expert advice. Most companies put attention on the activity before the sale and at the sale. Do the unexpected and look to go beyond the transaction.
- Show admiration and appreciation consistently.
Let your community know you are grateful for them. This is beyond the basic recognition. Go bigger. Be louder. And be consistent with it. Spotlight your community members in newsletters or social media shout-outs for more than rank, enrollments or sales.
- Make it Instagram-worthy.
Create moments your community will want to share organically. Think of what your community will make a reel about or post about or put in their stories. Not because you ask them to—or even because you incentivize them—but because it had that much of an impact on them.
4 / Consistency
Consistency is what transforms average to excellence. This final phase ensures your efforts are sustained. The goal is to protect the systems, strategies and practices you implemented in the previous phases.
Here is where you must build systems and document processes to maintain the culture, positioning your community and culture to thrive amid challenges, whether it’s employee turnover, rapid growth or unexpected changes. It’s not just about solving problems as they arise—it’s about building resilience and readiness to handle anything that comes your way.
We have all heard the phrase “how you do anything is how you do everything,” and that definitely applies to culture. Consistency builds trust and positions your community and culture to thrive long-term.
“C”s the Day
Community and culture aren’t just buzzwords; they’re essential elements that set great companies apart. And they just happen to be something that our industry is poised to dominate. By co-creating a strong culture with your field, you foster loyalty, collaboration and growth.
It’s time to take a stand; invest in your community; and build something extraordinary. You and your community deserve it.
Jenn Ashby leverages 17 years of multifaceted industry experience, blending her hands-on work as a distributor with her roles consulting with leaders and companies. With a robust background in project management, Jenn excels at translating knowledge and strategies into actionable steps that get results. Her expertise lies in fostering sales growth and brand loyalty by building vibrant communities and cultivating strong company cultures.
From the January/February 2025 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.
