Latest / Community Marketing with Fexingo: Discord, Slack Groups, and Brand Communities / How a Brand Community Vetted Its Own Merch Line
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's this outdoor gear brand, TrailPulse, that did something I think a lot of community managers dream about but rarely execute well. They let their Discord community essentially choose which product they'd manufacture next. Luna: That's a bold move. Usually companies treat community as a focus group after they've already made up their mind. Lucas: Exactly. But TrailPulse went in with three concepts for a merch line and let the community pick the winner. The catch is they didn't just run a poll and call it a day. They structured it in two stages. First, a quick survey to gauge gut reactions to each concept. Then, a deeper dive with the people who said they'd actually buy something. Luna: So they separated the 'oh, that's cool' from the 'I'd put money down for that'. Lucas: Precisely. The first poll had about 400 responses out of their 2,000 members. That's a solid sample, but the second survey went to the 120 people who indicated they'd buy one of the three items. And that's where the real signal came from. Luna: What were the three options? I'm guessing one was a bag, because outdoor folks love bags. Lucas: You're close. One was a lightweight hydration vest, one was a technical shell jacket, and the third was a camp chair that folded down to the size of a water bottle. And the hydration vest won, but not by a landslide. It got about 38 percent of first-choice votes. The jacket was right behind at 31 percent. Luna: So not exactly a runaway. Why did they go with the vest then? Lucas: Because when they asked about willingness to pay, the vest had the highest price point people were comfortable with. The median was 75 dollars, versus 55 for the jacket. And in the follow-up interviews, members kept bringing up the same pain point: they wanted something that didn't slosh around on long trail runs. That specificity convinced the team. Luna: That's a great example of going beyond 'which one do you like?' and actually asking 'what problem does this solve for you?' Lucas: And that's what made the difference. If they'd just looked at the raw vote, they might have gone with the jacket. But the willingness to pay data and the qualitative feedback pointed to a product that had a real use case baked in. Luna: Okay, but here's my question. A community of 2,000 outdoor enthusiasts is pretty self-selected. How do you know that enthusiasm translates to the broader market? That's always my worry with community vetting. Lucas: It's a fair worry, and TrailPulse knew it. So they didn't just rely on the polls. They also beta-tested the vest with 30 community members who weren't hardcore early adopters — people who posted occasionally but weren't the loudest voices. That gave them a more representative slice. Luna: Smart. They were essentially building a mini-market test without the cost of a full launch. Lucas: Right. And the beta test surfaced a flaw that the core community might have missed. Several testers said the front pocket was too small for a phone, and they'd want a larger zipper pull for gloved hands. Those changes were made before production. Luna: So what happened when it actually launched? Did it sell out? I'm guessing that's where this story is heading. Lucas: It did. They produced 500 units, which was conservative, and it sold out in the first week. And here's a detail that stuck with me: 60 percent of the purchases came from people who weren't in the Discord server at all. So the community's choice had broader appeal. Luna: That's the dream scenario. The community picked a winner, and the people who didn't participate still wanted it. Lucas: And that's the strongest argument for this kind of vetting. It's not about getting a statistically perfect read. It's about leveraging the people who care most to surface the right questions, then validating with a broader sample. Luna: I think that's a really practical takeaway. And honestly, if today's conversation gave you one idea you might use in your own work, that's the thread. If you ever feel like it's worth a coffee to you, the link is buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, it's a small way to keep the show running ad-free and independent. Appreciate anyone who does that. Luna: But back to TrailPulse. What about the risk that the community picks something that only the community would buy? That's the flip side of this coin. Lucas: That's a real risk, and it's why TrailPulse didn't just go with the highest vote count. They weighted the data. They asked about usage frequency, not just preference. And they brought in those less-active members for the beta. That's a good blueprint for anyone trying this. Luna: So what's the one thing you'd tell a marketer who wants to do this but is nervous about giving up control? Lucas: Start with a small, low-stakes test. You don't have to let the community pick your entire product line. Pick one SKU, one colorway, one feature. Give them a real choice, but with guardrails. That way you're not betting the company on a poll. Luna: Sound advice. And I guess the other thing is to make sure the questions are designed to surface problems, not just popularity. Lucas: Absolutely. The worst thing you can do is ask 'which one do you like best?' and then build that one without asking why. The 'why' is where the gold is. Luna: So if someone wanted to try this next month, what's the first step? Lucas: Set up a simple survey with three concepts, but include questions about willingness to pay, usage frequency, and what problem the product solves. Then, after the initial batch, follow up with a smaller group for deeper interviews. TrailPulse did that with about a dozen one-on-one calls. Luna: And that's what made the difference between a gut check and a real market signal. Lucas: Exactly. The community gives you speed and honesty, but you still need a process to turn that raw feedback into a decision you can defend. Luna: I think that's a perfect note to end on. TrailPulse showed that community vetting isn't about abdicating decisions, it's about making them smarter. Lucas: And if you pull it off, you get a product your most loyal people already believe in, and a launch that doesn't feel like a gamble. That's a win-win.