Involving others in your vision creates power, says Perky Perky Coffee founder Maruxa Murphy
Nearly every business from Google to Starbucks is concerned about creating community around their products or services. Companies like Lululemon and Harley-Davidson are held up as examples of large organizations doing community “right.”
But how do you create powerful connection between your customers or clients when you don't have a multi-million-dollar marketing budget? That's exactly what Maruxa Murphy, founder and “Chief Ignitor” at Austin-based Perky Perky Coffee has done.
Murphy launched Perky Perky with the specific intent of creating a company that supported women. Having spent time as a stay-at-home mom, a work-from-home mom, and a work-outside-the-home mom, she felt the loneliness and isolation that occurred in each circumstance. There was an underlying message of a lack of worth, that she was doing this mothering thing wrong, no matter what her work situation. Hearing the same fears from her friends, she thought, “Maybe I can be a voice for those moms,” she says.
After reflecting on ways women find solace and comfort, she immediately thought: COFFEE. “It's the first thing we do to take care of ourselves,” Murphy says. And Perky Perky was born. “I want to make this company a love letter to moms out there,” she says. And to do that, community was a primary value from Day One.
Along the way – as she chose everything from the packaging to the roast blends – community was forefront in her mind. She involved her growing group of fans in choosing logos and product names, and even opened up her home for taste-testing parties. “Having their involvement helps them own the brand in their own way,” explains Murphy.
This support is a way Murphy gives back to her customers, but also a way to build her business. Investing in the community means valuing their input. Creating opportunities for them to connect with each other has increased their buy-in, and that in turn builds loyalty, says Murphy.
Murphy has big plans for Perky Perky, including an expanded product line, subscriptions, and plenty of conversation and coffee – all created with a lot of involvement from her ever-growing group of fans and customers. And while she readily admits that Perky Perky had the advantage of building community into her company from the ground-up, Murphy urges all businesses to look at how they can add an element of interactivity. Here are a few of her tips:
1. You can involve the community AND be the leader. Murphy embraces her role as “Chief Ignitor” because she starts the fire and fans the flame, and then lets others take her vision and run with it on their own. There’s an element of letting go of control, she admits, but that doesn’t mean she’s not guiding the way.
2. Invite others into conversation. If you haven't done a good job of creating dialog with your customers and audience, that's where to start. “Literally just have an email or a letter going out to from the company saying, 'We want to get to know you,' she advises.
3. Listen. Even if you haven't been stoking the community fire, chances are your clients and customers are gathering to talk about issues that affect them and involve you. “Show up in the community that already exists,” Murphy advises.
4. Talk to your biggest fans and your greatest enemies. People who feel strongly about you – for good or for bad – are great sources of information and energy. And by engaging them in open conversation with no agenda other than to learn from them, you can take note of how they already experience you and build on that.
5. Get clear. Communities are all about shared goals and shared values... and until you know what yours are, it's hard to enlist others to your vision. Spend some time digging deep into what you're trying to accomplish personally and professionally, and then start sharing that.
Murphy emphasizes that the more passion you have, the easier it'll be to bring others onboard. If you don't really care about your business or your community, it'll be very difficult to get others to care. If you're not sure where to start, she suggests asking yourself, “What do I care so much about that I want to do something about?” A previous employer gave her this advice: “If you're going to build something, why not build something you give a damn about.”