When it comes to customer advocacy, there’s a lot to know. What does customer advocacy even mean? Why should you care? How can you be sure that your clients are advocating for your brand? We’ll answer all of those questions and more in this post. You’ll know the things that you need to focus on to create an effective customer advocacy program by the end.
What is Customer Advocacy?
For the last few years, advocacy has been a business buzzword by customers, but what does it mean? Customer advocacy is when your happiest customers become your biggest advocates, promoting your business to their friends, family, and social networks. This word-of-mouth marketing is compelling, as it comes from a trusted source and doesn’t require any paid advertising.
You need to create a product or service that your customers love to encourage customer advocacy. Next, you have to give them the tools they need to spread the word, whether that’s through social media sharing buttons, user-generated content platforms, or referral programs. Finally, you need to make sure you’re providing excellent customer service so that your advocates will appreciate your brand.
What You Need to Know About Customer Advocacy
Now that we have discussed customer advocacy, let’s take a look at a couple more things that you should know about the said topic.
What Does Customer Advocacy Mean for Your Business?
Customer advocacy is the most basic form of customer care. It’s a method for businesses to understand and meet their customers’ needs, expectations, and complaints. Companies can use their customer advocacy programs to enhance client experience while also converting satisfied consumers into brand advocates.
Customer advocacy, in this context, refers to unwavering attention to the client’s needs. You’ll never deceive your clients to make a quick buck or pull a fast one over them to get a sale. In today’s increasingly competitive market, exceptional customer support is not enough.
Here are a couple of traits that you must possess as a customer advocate:
- A sense of human touch. Customer loyalty is broken when companies fail to provide their consumers with human contact. In an era in which consumers are subject to automated calls, your firm may set itself apart by offering a personal touch.
- Empathy. You won’t be able to understand your customers’ needs and thus can’t solve their problems effectively if you don’t have compassion.
- Be truthful and sincere. In the long run, consumers who have faith in and trust you will repeat purchases and become brand advocates who help you broaden your reach.
- Great communication abilities. A fantastic consumer advocate should be able to express consumers’ wants and expectations straightforwardly and convincingly to the company.
What are the Benefits of Customer Advocacy for Your Company?
Customer advocacy and passion allow businesses to reach their most loyal and passionate consumers, who may then turn into vocal brand advocates.
It can also be a strategic marketing tool. By enlisting these brand ambassadors, businesses may actively engage them in the marketing and sales process to fuel company growth and show bottom-line results as they progress through the customer journey. Customer advocacy programs are also necessary for long-term success. Customers of your company can immediately impact the purchasing decisions of potential customers.
We usually think of word-of-mouth marketing as a form of oral communication. This new style of word-of-mouth marketing goes far beyond the literal meaning of words. Customers don’t only listen to their father or closest friend when deciding which brand is best. Instead, they have access to a plethora of information with just a click.
How Do You Create a Customer Advocacy Program?
There can be no customer advocacy program without participants, so finding potential brand ambassadors should be a top priority for your marketing team. It’s possible to construct a community of client advocates to help you expand your business quickly, but you should itemize each goal first. If you’re like most companies, your advocacy effort must lower your acquisition expenses and boost sales. However, you may be even more strategic with those objectives and categorize them into more sub-goals.
Here are a few ways to start creating your customer advocacy program:
- Give more than you receive. The first step is to put your consumers first. Your entire organization must focus on client success and happiness. This value should be a fundamental pillar of your company.
- Consider good stories. Don’t forget that some of the most extraordinary tales may come from smaller businesses that innovatively used your product or service. They might be a firm that picked you over another competitor. They could even be an elegant ambassador who is excited about your company’s mission and goals.
- Keep things simple. Most likely, your client’s advocacy on your behalf goes above and beyond their employment responsibilities. Keep this in mind when making the request. Remember to be considerate of their time and the amount of work required.
- Expand your efforts. Consider how you might expand some of your client’s advocacy efforts. You may frequently repurpose the valuable information you obtain from customers with their permission. Try transforming an hour-long interview into a shorter blog post and a more comprehensive case study with their approval.
The Importance of Employee Engagement in Customer Advocacy
Employees who are actively engaged become advocates for your business. Because employees are closest to your consumers, you can alter client experience immediately through them. Your workers know what they’re doing; making it public helps educate the market and build thought leadership.
Buyers are no longer satisfied with buying simple widgets; they want an expert partner. Give your staff the tools they need to keep up to date and improve their skills and the freedom to offer these resources to those who need them.
Companies that want to develop a culture of highly engaged employees, meaningful work, and strong leadership are outperforming their competitors and gaining top talent over them.
Conclusion
We hope this article has given you a better understanding of customer advocacy and its importance for businesses. At CEO Hangout, we understand the need for customer advocacy and the benefits it can bring to companies. We give our customers different services to help them create and manage successful customer advocacy programs.
If you want to know more about what we can do for your business, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d be glad to talk about your needs and how we can help you achieve success.