Organic brand advocacy is one of the most reliable and cost-friendly ways of creating a successful brand. It is a proven fact that good word-of-mouth can do wonders for a business because users’ organic reviews and referrals have a significantly greater reach than paid marketing campaigns and promotional strategies.
The goal of developing an efficient brand advocacy program is to ensure you can spend a minimum amount of money on advertising and still reach a wider audience through user-generated content. This article will provide you with details about the top four strategies that a business should use to build brand advocacy.
First of all, let’s discuss some basics:
Difference Between a Company and a Brand
The most critical difference between a company and a brand is that a business or a company is involved in selling products and services. In contrast, a brand is able to forge a personal connection with its consumers through a wide range of factors.
For instance,
Forbes has declared Apple to be the most valuable brand in the world. The primary reason behind the massive popularity of Apple is that it has a distinct persona in the smartphone industry, due to which it has managed to establish strong brand advocacy. People wait for Apple to release new products like the iPhone every year.
What is a Brand Advocate?
A brand advocate is one who promotes your brand’s products and services through positive reviews, referrals and even creating content about your brand. Employees, business partners, and social media influencers play important roles as brand advocates.
However, if you want to maximize the benefits of brand advocacy, your focus should be on your consumers because they have the most influence when it comes to marketing your business. Surveys show that
74% of the customers consider word-of-mouth marketing to be a deciding factor when it comes to making buying decisions.
Statistics also show that it is easier for companies to sell the products and services to existing customers instead of spending time, money, and energy on finding new customers. Therefore, building brand advocacy is important to make sure your current customers are satisfied with your products and services. They will keep buying from you and referring your business to other customers.
Working on Brand Advocacy
Brand advocacy focuses on the positive reviews and experiences of the consumers. It is a common practice for people nowadays to share their opinions on social media pages and accounts. However, most people share negative feedback and often ignore positive reviews. Therefore, it is crucial to build a culture of brand advocacy in your business to spread positive word-of-mouth.
Following are the top 4 strategies that you should be using to turn your customers into brand advocates:
1. Offer Referral Programs
If the customers love your products or services, you should capitalize on this opportunity by encouraging the customers to share positive reviews in exchange for some types of rewards. Make sure that you create a referral program that is easy to follow and understand for all types of users.
Various types of referral programs are possible for businesses. Moreover, the advantages of the referral program should be attractive enough for both the referrer and the referee. For instance, if you sell gadgets like headphones, you can offer a free headphone when the referee buys the first product and offer points to the referrer that can be used to purchase other products. Such small incentives go a long way in creating a fulfilling experience for the buyers.
2. Loyalty Rewards
A brand loyalty program is common for different types of businesses and companies. You should also implement a strong loyalty program to reward loyal customers to your brand. There can be many different loyalty rewards such as traditional gift cards, free delivery, discounts, and exclusive deals. When customers feel welcomed and respected by a business, they are likely to advocate for your business.
Moreover, businesses that provide extra value to customers to inspire loyalty are also likely to become more successful. Value-added marketi
ng has proven to be an effective tool for satisfying the existing customers and expanding the customer base in the long run.
3. Focus on Quality
Other than the loyalty rewards and referral program, it is important to keep your focus on the overall quality of the products and services. Ultimately, quality can be the make-or-break factor when it comes to turning your consumers into brand advocates.
4. Reviews
Reviews are critical for any type of business, especially in this era when most people rely on online reviews of a business before choosing to use its products or services. You should encourage your satisfied customers to leave reviews on your website and share them on social media to spread the word to a wider audience. New businesses can offer incentives for writing reviews, such as small discounts on the next purchase.
Other than these four strategies, businesses nowadays also have the option of hiring a customer retention specialist to deal with consumers’ requirements and provide a satisfying experience to all customers.
Branding and Marketing Help in Alexandria and Arlington
The bottom line is that building brand advocacy can take your business to the next level. It will help you establish a large base of loyal customers who will keep buying your products and services, making your business more successful and profitable.
If you need marketing or branding help, contact the experts at AlphaGraphics of Alexandria and Arlington. Over the years, we’ve helped countless Alexandria and Arlington businesses, individuals, and organizations create amazing and impactful monument signage. If you’d like to learn more about our sign services, give us a call at (703) 549-2432 or
contact us on our website.