The 3 AM Community

What makes millions of people, with no connection to each other besides wanting a new cell phone, wake up in the middle of the night to buy it? There aren’t limited quantities, the phone itself doesn’t do anything different from other phones, and that same phone could just as easily be purchased in a store or online at any time. This isn’t a story about a phone, company or the needs of its audience. The story is about a brand community.

In college, the only thing comparable to this was when tickets for a concert would go on sale, and my roommates and I would man our respective phones to frantically dial into Ticketmaster at the same time. The law of averages suggests that with four of us working simultaneously, one of us was likely to succeed in actually getting through. These concerts would usually sell out within a matter of hours, if not minutes, so simply getting past the busy signal and reaching a person was a victory unto itself. Even at the concert, knowing that everyone there shared the same experience, getting to that point gave each of us a connection to each other even though we were complete strangers.

Few companies have cracked the code for creating a dedicated community like Apple has. Its competitors seem to have stopped trying. They’ve committed the cardinal sin of trying to tell people that their product is better, faster or cheaper than Apple’s, and expect that will be enough to gain market share. When it comes to tablets, that strategy has been a colossal failure. While some argue that it’s actually the Apple ecosystem of apps and user interfaces that’s the key differentiator, the community is the driving force behind the company’s sales.

Apple didn’t invent the tablet, or even the smartphone. It’s easy to argue that there are products on the market that are better, faster or cheaper. But here’s the thing: nobody cares. Brand loyalty isn’t swayed by companies that try to make comparative improvements such as, “Well, if you like X, than you’ll love Y.” That approach rarely works, even when engaging niche audiences. 

Rather than try to compete on the product level, brands need to refocus on separation at the community level. It’s about integrating into the lives of those with the most power to influence others across social networks.  A thriving community can lead to brand retention and also provide a unique listening tool for customer insights.

These communities are built on trust, the significance of which brands simply cannot overlook. A recent survey conducted by About.com found that 84 percent of respondents reported they will not engage with a brand until trust has been established. Trust strengthens the individual relationship between a consumer and a brand, but also makes that consumer an advocate who is more likely to recommend that brand in their own social networks.

The community has almost become bigger than the products themselves. Clearly, people aren’t going to wake up at 3 AM or stand in line for days for every product launch, but by understanding the factors that shape these behaviors, companies have a unique opportunity to build impactful and sustainable communities of passionate brand advocates.