The Hive Experience, Chapter 4: Worker Bees Continued — The Customer
Customers can help your brand enhance and represent its values.
Andre Mello
VP, Engagement & Growth
In our last chapter, we focused on employees as worker bees—those inside the organization doing the work to build and protect the hive. But some of the most powerful workers you’ll ever have aren’t on the payroll. They’re your customers.
In a healthy brand hive, your customers aren’t just consumers. They’re co-creators. Co-storytellers. Brand builders. They believe in what you’re doing and want to be part of it. But why?
As we established earlier in this series, the Queen Bee is your brand’s purpose. That’s what draws customers to be a part of your brand. When customers see that purpose clearly, and align with it, they don’t just buy from you. They build with you.
The Purpose-Fueled Hive
Brands with hive-like customer bases all have one thing in common: they’ve communicated a clear, consistent purpose that resonates with customers emotionally. It’s about more than a product, or a service. It’s about building a community. The best brands allow their fans to be a part of their brand experience.
Music artists have done this for years, creating fan clubs where their community congregates and shares in an experience. Take Taylor Swift for example.
Swifties don’t just love her music. They identify with her storytelling, her vulnerability, and her empowerment of others. That’s why they trade friendship bracelets and organize listening parties. They see themselves in her—and in each other. This community is a HUGE part of Taylor’s brand experience. Without the fan community, her brand just wouldn’t be the same.
Hives in the Wild
LEGO: Co-Creation as Loyalty
LEGO don’t just build toys—they build worlds. And they invite their fans to help.
The Adult Fans of LEGO (AFOL) community is a vibrant group of hobbyists who create and share original designs online, at conventions, and in official contests. LEGO takes notice of them and even releases fan-designed sets through its LEGO Ideas platform. The company values its customers or “fans” so much it lets them create for company. The result? Lifelong loyalty and free marketing from customers who are thrilled to participate.
Trader Joe’s: Customers ARE the Advertising
Trader Joe’s spends almost nothing on traditional advertising. Yet it has one of the most passionate fanbases in retail. Why?
Because the experience is distinctive. The hand-written signs, the quirky product names, the affordable gourmet finds, the employee engagement all create experiences that shoppers want to talk about.
The Trader Joe’s experience has led to a big online fanbase. Customers build blogs, share shopping hacks on TikTok, and swap recipes on Reddit. And it all stems from a clear brand culture that customers feel every time they walk into a store.
Build It And They Will Come
You don’t have to go viral or try to become a cult brand overnight. But if you want your customers to help build your hive, you need to create the conditions for it. You must be intentional. Here is a story of a grass roots brand I have personally seen flourish:
REGROUP has been working with franchise brands for over 20 years, and attends the International Franchise Association’s convention each year. When you attend a Women’s Franchise Committee Event, you will see a lot of jean jackets… let me introduce to one of the strongest movements in franchising: The Fran Girl Gang brand.
Madeline Zook, a long time franchise marketing superstar, saw an opportunity to create a community of women franchise professionals to support each other in the industry. Her idea was unique: Maddi rolled up her sleeves, fired up her sewing machine, made a few custom jean jackets. She then gifted them to women in the franchise industry who supported her through the years.
A Clear Purpose
The Fran Girl Gang started with a clear purpose. Value and support women in franchising.
Visual Symbols to Connect
This group doesn’t just talk about inclusion: they create it. The jean jackets are a way for members to recognize people who are part of the group and encourages solidarity. The genius of it is that every jacket is personalized with custom patches and flair based on the member receiving it. Each individual member gets to stand out while still fitting in.
The jackets aren’t just cool—they’re currency. They’re a visual marker of belonging, recognition, and pride. Recognition like that builds internal motivation and external curiosity. It creates a gravitational pull.
Creating intentional opportunities to connect
The real power of the Fran Girl Gang is how they create opportunities to connect outside of the conferences they see each other in. Fran Girl Gang members appear in Women’s Franchise Committee events through the country. This allows for more and more people to see the brand, and to find other potential members.
They use #frangirlgang to connect on social channels and share their experiences.
They have also created three chat groups where they can check in with each other for advice and support.
Because the group is so well regarded, it has built the reputation of being able to help others in the industry. The post below shows how a Vice President at a franchise brand asked the Fran Girl Gang to mentor a friend…
Creating Stickiness
Remember your customers are not a separate group from your brand. They ARE the brand. They’re the ones out in the world, spreading your message, wearing your merch, sharing your posts, bringing in more customers. They’re the ones who decide if your brand is a moment—or a movement.
But with that power comes responsibility. You must guide the hive, nurture it, and protect the purpose it’s built around. So if you want more brand love, don’t just chase attention. Build belief. And give your worker bees a hive worth buzzing about.
Let us help your hive thrive
REGROUP is an independent, full service, brand and performance agency. We help complex organizations gain alignment under one marketing strategy with our brand and performance solutions. We aim to find truth, build loyalty, and power growth with everything we do.
Want to see how you can evaluate and improve your brand experience? We would love to chat.
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