Loyalty and listening: Olaplex CEO JuE Wong on the power of community

For brands, building a community offers the opportunity to engage with consumers, create loyalty and gain insights from listening to what they say.

Those were some of the insights shared by Olaplex CEO JuE Wong during a keynote at ShopTalk this week. With 2.2 million followers on Instagram and a growing presence on TikTok, the haircare brand has developed significant communities on social media after the team decided to invest in building.

With community, brands can forge deeper ties with consumers. Alongside offering information about what a product does and showing it, there is a chance to speak directly with consumers. The best communities also create a space where its members can connect to each other.

In the end, this creates a bond that goes beyond a single purchase.

“When you are able to cross the functional aspects of your brand into the emotional relationship and emotional connection, what ends up happening is you create an ecosystem of longevity and loyalty,” Wong said.

Alongside engagement, there is also the opportunity to learn. Pay attention to what these loyal consumers say, and it can inform the actions a brand takes. This "social listening" can be just as powerful as focus groups, Wong said. Consumers are there to give praise, or negative feedback. It's all valuable intelligence.