Community as a competitive advantage

Businesses that are willing to engage with the communities where their customers are most active can gain benefits such as increased trust and enduring long-term relationships. We examine how community participation – both on- and offline – can be a vital part of a growth strategy.

The ability to build trust and a sense of shared identity can be of huge value to businesses. By establishing a presence in the places where customers meet, whether that’s online or in the real world, firms can demonstrate their values, build mutually beneficial long-term relationships and start conversations with the people who buy their goods or services.

This type of engagement can be generated in a number of ways, from sponsorship of sports teams or arts events, to charitable work and simply participating in social media or other online platforms. Indeed, new technologies have a critical role to play.

In 2025, Sage began a long-term partnership with the English Football League (EFL). As the EFL’s Accounting Software Partner, Sage has strengthened its commitment to the 3.5 million small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) – including pubs, cafes and retailers – that consider themselves football supporters. 

Steve Hare, CEO of Sage, says: “We've been supporting British small businesses since we were founded, including many football clubs up and down the country. It's fantastic to bring all of this together in support of both the clubs themselves and the businesses that work with them to power the football experience week in, week out. This is more than a sponsorship: it's about delivering real value to the communities that make football what it is.”

Spar offers another good example of what can work really well at a local level. The supermarket group has just concluded its fifth annual Community Cashback scheme, with customers invited to apply for grants for local groups ranging from search and rescue services and youth charities to conservation groups and community sports clubs.

The idea, explains Ian Taylor, Retail and Brand Development Director at SPAR UK, is to really root the business in the communities it serves.  “There is nothing better than a community that comes together, and it's great to see how people across the UK care about their local communities,” he says. “We know that together, we are making a real difference.”

Meeting customers where they are

Being able to connect with existing and potential customers where their passions already exist – rather than trying to pull their attention away from the activities they are interested in – can be a highly effective way of building trust, says Chloe Buchanan, head of PR & social media at The MTM Agency,  “A well-chosen sponsorship or partnership should be read as evidence, not advertising,” she explains. “It's the difference between saying you care about something and actually putting your name next to it, publicly, with money and reputation on the line. If a community can look at who you've chosen to align with and immediately understand what you stand for, you've done it right. If they need a press release to explain it, you haven't.”

Buchanan adds: “Community is created when people feel part of something bigger. That might be a running club supported by a sportswear brand. It might be a local environmental initiative backed by a utilities company. It could be an educational programme, creator partnership or fan experience.”

Jake Third, CEO of marketing agency Hallam, says: “Authenticity is the foundation. Organisations must start with a genuine understanding of their purpose and values, and then look for communities where those values naturally align. Lasting relationships are not transactional, they are built through consistent, meaningful engagement over time. This means listening before speaking, showing up consistently, and demonstrating a genuine commitment to the community’s wellbeing beyond commercial interest.”

Identifying the communities that matter most

To establish which communities are most relevant, Third adds, businesses should look at the alignment between their purpose, their customer base and the communities they seek to serve. “Organisations should map their stakeholder ecosystem and identify where there is natural overlap.

“Digital listening tools, customer data, and local intelligence can help surface which communities are most engaged with business or its sector. The key is to focus on communities where the business can genuinely add value, rather than spreading efforts too thinly across areas where it has little to offer.”

For SMBs whose budgets might not run to full-fledged sponsorship or partnership opportunities, there are less costly ways of engaging with communities, especially via online platforms. Helene Simon at website hosting platform Webflow says: “To build community engagement, don’t broadcast but initiate or join a conversation on a community site and act appropriately, fitting in with the vibe of that site. Be part of it and engage in a friendly, professional and knowledgeable manner to build a sense of your organisation as an authentic presence that can be trusted.”

Simon points out that firms can benefit from engagement through increased visibility to AI-powered search engines. “Large language models rank community engagement highly as a trust marker,” she points out. Conversations with partners, peers and the broader community can therefore boost brands’ prominence in AI-mediated discovery.

Indeed, Buchanan adds: “Communities aren't just a nice-to-have anymore, they're becoming a primary discovery channel. What gets said about a brand on Reddit, in Discord servers, across niche forums, in Facebook and LinkedIn groups, or even in a podcast's listener community, increasingly shapes how a brand is being perceived. 

“And it's not just social media: it's every corner of the internet where people gather around a shared interest, profession or cause. Brands that ignore that conversation are ceding ground they don't even realise they're losing.”

Getting community engagement right

SMBs must be careful to avoid mis-steps that could reduce the effectiveness of engagement programmes or damage trust. Above all, the goal can’t simply be for 
businesses to identify communities and activities they can tap into simply as a route to customers. Rather, the most successful relationships are two-way: firms that genuinely contribute – and keep showing up will demonstrate how strong businesses and strong communities can support each other.

Buchanan adds. “The mistake I see most often is organisations bolting community engagement onto their existing communications calendar as if it's just another distribution channel. It's not. A community will forgive a brand for showing up late, but not for showing up dishonestly. Once that trust is broken, it doesn't just cost you that one community – it follows you into every other space where people talk.”

The benefits of effective community participation extend far beyond goodwill, Third argues. “Trust is increasingly a competitive differentiator in today’s market: it strengthens brand reputation, fosters customer loyalty and can open doors to new partnerships and talent.

“Engaged communities also provide valuable feedback and insights that can inform product development and business strategy. A business that is embedded in its community is more resilient, as it generates a support network – a pool of advocates who will champion its success.”