Community-led growth
What is community-led growth?
Community-led growth is a strategy where a company grows by building and supporting a community around its product or problem: a forum, a Discord or Slack, events, user groups or an open-source project. Members help each other, share what they built and bring in others.
It is related to product-led growth and word of mouth, with the community as the engine.
Why community-led growth matters
A strong community lowers support costs, generates content and referrals, and makes switching away harder, because people stay for each other as much as for the product.
Related marketing terms
A brand community is a group of customers and fans who connect with each other around a brand, in forums, chat groups or events.
Community marketing is taking part in, or building, communities where customers gather, and earning attention by being genuinely helpful.
An online community is a group of people who interact around a shared interest online, in forums, subreddits, chat servers or social groups.
Product-led growth is a strategy where the product itself drives acquisition and expansion, usually through free trials, freemium and sharing.
Word-of-mouth marketing is when customers recommend you to others, and the work a company does to make that more likely and easier.