What is of Brand Advocacy
Brand Advocacy can be defined as when a person or a customer of the brand talks in the favor of the brand and its offerings of products and services and spreads the positive word of mouth to his or her friends, family, relatives, and peers about the brand.
With the changing business dynamics and the market scenario, the concept of Brand Advocacy is not just a mere marketing strategy but has become a philosophy of the business to elevate the brand awareness, achieve sales closures, and attain the overall business objectives. It is one of the cheapest and effective marketing and promotional tool to build the confidence in the minds of the customers about the brand.
Steps to build Brand Advocacy:
1. Define the Objectives:
It is quite important to have a proper plan and create a community of the loyal customers of the brand who endorse the company and its offerings in the shining light and the positive manner. The real foundation of the Brand Advocacy program is to have a set of loyal customers who are the repeat buyers of the products and services and the brand has to provide them loyalty and exclusive benefits to make them feel special.
2. Provide a memorable and delightful experience:
Apart from reaping the benefits of the products and services opted for the brand, it is the experience whilst indulging in the process of sales and purchase that is remembered by the customer. Hence, it is crucial that the brand has to personify the overall buying experience of the customer by providing the hospitality of the first order, understanding the problems, providing viable and practical solutions, and ensuring the satisfaction of the customer making their journey with the brand an exciting and fulfilling one. It is also important to offer the finest levels of after sale services to convert the customer into a loyalist who advocates the brand.
3. Create distinctive branding:
The aesthetics and uniqueness of the creative’s, artworks, and designs of the marketing collaterals and promotional tools attract the customers raising the level of inquisitiveness about the brand. Hence, it is vital for the brand and marketing managers to plan and design the creative’s that are out-of-the-box and are unique in nature.
4. Key of consistency:
There should be the consistent message about the brand and its offerings across all the media and marketing channels having a unison voice to ensure the proper registration and hammering effect plus the top of the mind recall factor about the brand. Even the language and the tonality have to be similar and consistent.
5. Exclusivity:
As discussed in the earlier part, the company has to filter the set of customers who are brand loyal and are repeat buyers. And for them to endorse and advocate the brand, exclusive benefits such as loyalty rewards and additional discounts need to be planned especially for them.
6. Engage the internal staff:
The internal staff and employees need to be continuously and consistently engaged that raises their morale and motivates them. As a happy and satisfied employee will definitely spread a positive word of mouth amongst his social circle that will elevate the brand awareness and value
Importance of having Brand Advocates:
1. Saves marketing costs:
Brand Advocacy is one of the most cost-effective marketing strategy and promotional tool as it simply relies on the word of mouth promotions by the loyal clientele of the brand that showcases the brand in a positive manner to their social group consisting of friends, family, peers, and relatives. The expenses incurred by the company on the loyalty programs and discount packages are also quite nominal in nature without any disturbance to the marketing budgets.
2. Brand Awareness:
When people start talking about the brand and its offerings on one-to-one-basis and on the social media channels, there is an increased level of brand awareness and the prospective customer base that is untapped by the brand is enlightened about the company and its offerings in the process.
3. Increases lead generation:
When more people talk and discuss the brand, there is a generation of more number of inquiries that forms a huge lead bank for the brand that is most likely to be converted into the customers that result in attaining the objectives of higher profits and sales closures.
4. Builds brand loyalty:
When the brand develops a community or a set of customers who indulge into the repeat purchases for the products and services, exclusive discount packages and loyalty programs are presented to them that results in the loyalty factor towards the brand.
5. Builds Trust:
The customers only refer the brand and its offerings to their friends, family, and loved ones only when they have culminated the factor of trust towards the brand due to the overall experience that they have felt during the purchase and the after sale services, getting exclusive benefits, and reaping the merits and advantages after using the products and services.
6. More sales closures:
Brand Advocacy helps the brand and the company to accomplish one of the most prime objectives of higher sales as having Brand Advocates helps the brand to reach the untapped market locations and target audience, elevate brand value and awareness, and customer loyalty. Also, the objective of increased profits and revenues is also achieved due to higher sales closures.
There are customers who come and purchase the products or services and never come back, then there are customers who come and purchase repeatedly and express their satisfaction and happiness during the process and then there are customers who come, purchase, express happiness, and talk and praise about the brand to their friends and family at the top of their voice. The latter ones are actually the Brand Advocates for the company and they are one of the most crucial and important assets of the brand. Hence, it is quite necessary for the brand to take care of such customers by offering special discounts, freebies, customer loyalty packages, and offer a world-class experience.
