Latest / Community Marketing with Fexingo: Discord, Slack Groups, and Brand Communities / How a Pet Food Startup Built a Community That Sells Itself
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's this moment early in a brand community's life where you've got a few hundred people in a Slack group, and you're wondering — is this actually going to drive any business, or is it just a nice chat room? Luna: Right, the classic ROI question. And most brands never get past that stage. Lucas: Exactly. But a pet food startup called Jinx did. They launched in 2020, and within their first year, 40 percent of new customers came through community member referrals. Not ads. Not influencers. Their own customers, talking to their friends. Luna: Forty percent. That's huge. How did they engineer that? Lucas: They started with a Slack group — just a couple hundred early adopters who were really into dog nutrition. And instead of just pushing coupons, they treated the group as a product feedback loop. They'd ask members what flavors they wanted, what ingredients they'd avoid, even what the packaging should look like. Luna: So the community actually shaped the product. That builds a lot of ownership. Lucas: Exactly. And then they layered a referral program on top — but not the standard 'give a code, get ten bucks' thing. They made it social. Members earned rewards not just for bringing in a friend, but for being active in the community — answering questions, posting photos of their dogs with the food. Luna: So the referral was a byproduct of engagement, not the goal. Lucas: That's the trick. The community's purpose was to help people be better dog owners. The marketing happened naturally. And it worked because the product was genuinely good — they weren't asking people to shill something mediocre. Luna: I want to dig into the mechanics. How big did the community get, and how did they keep it from turning into a spam fest? Lucas: They capped it initially — only invited by existing members. And they had clear norms: no self-promotion, no vet advice from randos. They had a community manager who was a real dog nutritionist, so the answers were actually credible. Luna: That makes sense. If you're just a brand person pretending to be a community member, people smell that. Lucas: Right. And they also used user-generated content really well. Members would post photos of their dogs with the food, and Jinx would feature those on product pages and social media. That gave members a sense of status — and it provided authentic social proof. Luna: So the community became a content engine too. That's a double win. Lucas: Exactly. And look, I know we talk a lot about communities and marketing on this show, and if these conversations have sparked something you've actually used in your own work, that's exactly what we hope for. Luna: Yeah, honestly, a lot of the ideas we dig into here have changed how I think about my own projects. Lucas: And a couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these going — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, if you've gotten something out of them. Luna: It makes a real difference, especially because we keep the show ad-free. Lucas: Anyway, back to Jinx. As the community grew past a thousand members, they started having moderation challenges. The same questions kept coming up, and some members felt the group was getting too commercial. Luna: That's a common tension — how do you keep it feeling like a genuine community when the brand is obviously benefiting? Lucas: They addressed it by creating sub-channels: one for product feedback, one for general dog chat, one for nutrition Q&A. And they were transparent about the fact that they read everything and used it to improve the food. Luna: So transparency instead of pretending. That builds trust. Lucas: Exactly. And they also made sure the community wasn't just about Jinx. They shared content from other pet brands, recommended vet clinics, even promoted dog adoption events. They became a hub for dog owners, not a billboard. Luna: That's smart. If you only talk about yourself, people tune out. But if you're genuinely useful, they stay. Lucas: Right. And the results speak for themselves. Within two years, Jinx had a community of over 10,000 members, and their customer lifetime value was significantly higher for members than non-members. The referral rate stayed above 30 percent. Luna: Do you know what their acquisition cost was compared to paid channels? Lucas: They never published exact numbers, but they said the community-driven customers had a customer acquisition cost that was about a third of their Facebook ads. And those customers also churned less. Luna: That's the dream. Lower cost, higher retention. Lucas: And I think the key lesson here is that the community wasn't an afterthought — it was embedded in the product development process from day one. That's what made it authentic. Luna: So for a brand thinking about starting a community, what's the first step? Just create a Slack group and hope? Lucas: No, I think you need a clear purpose beyond 'we want to sell more.' Jinx's purpose was 'help people raise healthier dogs.' The selling came later. So define the value you're providing that has nothing to do with your product. Luna: And that value should be something your team can actually deliver on. Like, if you don't have a nutritionist, don't pretend to be one. Lucas: Exactly. And start small. Jinx started with 200 hand-picked members who were passionate and knowledgeable. That set the tone. If you invite everyone at once, you lose control. Luna: I also like that they didn't try to monetize the community directly. No paid membership tiers, no exclusive products. Just free value. Lucas: Right. The community itself was the marketing. And I think that's the takeaway: if your community feels like a sales channel, it won't work. But if it feels like a genuine resource, people will naturally advocate for you. Luna: One last thing — how did they handle the inevitable negative feedback? Someone must have complained about the food or had a bad experience. Lucas: They addressed it publicly in the community. If someone had a problem, the community manager would respond within hours, offer a refund, and explain what they were doing to fix it. That turned critics into loyalists. Luna: Because people saw that the brand was listening and accountable. That's rare. Lucas: Rare and powerful. And it's a good note to end on. If you build a community where people feel heard and valued, they'll do the marketing for you. Luna: Absolutely. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks, Luna.