It’s all too easy for companies to fall into the trap of viewing their customers as mere transactions, but taking a transactional approach to customer-business relationships can have negative consequences in the long run. Customers aren’t just interested in buying products and services; they also want to feel valued and appreciated. This is where customer advocacy comes in.
Customer advocacy is the practice of putting the customer at the center of your business strategy, and making their satisfaction and loyalty top priorities. It involves proactively anticipating and addressing customers’ needs and concerns, and actively seeking their feedback and input. This approach can help foster long-term, mutually beneficial relationships between businesses and their customers, leading to increased customer retention and revenue, as well as improved brand reputation and market share.
We’re not exaggerating when we say that customer advocacy has become more important than ever before. With so many options available to consumers, businesses need to go above and beyond simply selling products and services if they want to attract and retain customers. By embracing customer advocacy, you can build stronger, more meaningful relationships with your customers, enhance their overall experience with your brand, and ultimately achieve greater success in the marketplace.
So, how do you do it? Let’s talk about it.
What Is Customer Advocacy?
Customer advocacy refers to an approach that prioritizes the needs of customers. At its core, it is about delivering solution-based assistance to create strong relationships with customers and turn them into brand advocates. This approach is grounded in the belief that customer satisfaction is the key to unlocking growth for any business.
Effective customer advocacy requires a deep understanding of customer needs and interests. This means conducting thorough market research to understand what motivates your customers. Armed with this knowledge, you can develop targeted strategies to meet these needs and exceed customer expectations.
One of the key benefits of customer advocacy is that it helps to build strong relationships with customers. By taking the time to understand their needs and providing them with tailored solutions, you can build trust and loyalty with your customers. As a result, customers are more likely to advocate for your brand, spreading positive word-of-mouth and driving new business—so, everyone wins.
By prioritizing the needs of your customers and delivering solution-based assistance, you can foster strong relationships and turn customers into brand advocates. You’ll be amazed at the positive impact this approach can have on your business.
What is a Customer Advocate?
A customer advocate is a loyal customer who is willing to share the details of their experience with your business with people in their social circles and beyond. Customer advocates are the ones who sing your praises and recommend your business to others. They are passionate about your products and services, and they act as ambassadors for your brand.
Sounds pretty great, right? It is. However, creating customer advocates does not happen by chance. To create customer advocates, start by researching your customer’s needs and pain points. This can be achieved by collecting customer feedback through surveys, reviews, and social media platforms. Then, prioritize this feedback and develop solutions that address the concerns of their customers. You might even consider developing a customer advocacy program that helps you identify, engage, and nurture loyal customers.
There are many ways to go about prioritizing customer advocacy, so don’t be afraid to experiment with a few different approaches.
Benefits of Customer Advocacy
Fostering customer advocacy might sound like a lot of work—and it definitely can be—but there are numerous benefits that make that effort worthwhile. Let’s take a look at some of the main ways customer advocacy benefits businesses.
1. Improves brand loyalty.
Customers who feel valued by a brand are more likely to remain loyal to the brand and recommend its products or services to others. By creating a customer-focused approach, you’ll make your customers feel valued, leading to increased loyalty and stronger relationships.
2. Improves customer retention.
When a company cultivates a loyal customer base, these customers are more likely to continue doing business with the company. Additionally, if a customer has a positive experience with a company, they are less likely to switch to another brand—no more sending customers running to the competition.
3. Boosts Sales.
Happy customers are more likely to recommend a brand to others, and since referred customers will bring you a 25% higher profit margin on average, this is a big win. Furthermore, customer advocates are more likely to purchase from a brand repeatedly, leading to further sales growth.
4. Improves customer satisfaction.
Customer advocacy helps to improve customer satisfaction. When customers feel that a brand values their business and makes an effort to create a positive experience, they are more likely to be satisfied with the product or service. In turn, satisfied customers are more likely to become advocates for the brand.
5. Increases customer lifetime value.
The best kinds of customers are customers that stick around for a long time. When a customer is an advocate for a brand, they are more likely to purchase from a brand time and time again, over a longer period of time. This means that the company can expect to generate more revenue from that customer over their lifetime.
6. Creates a positive social media presence.
Customer advocacy helps to create a positive social media presence for a brand. Advocates will often promote a brand through their social media profiles, leading to increased brand visibility and positive customer engagement. Your loyal advocates can be some of your most effective marketers without even knowing it.
How to Build a Customer Advocacy Program & Strategy in 5 Steps
Designing a customer advocacy program will help you turn your customers into brand ambassadors who actively promote your company to others. So, how do you do it? Here’s a quick guide.
Step 1: Set your goals.
First, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. For example, maybe you want to increase customer loyalty, improve customer satisfaction, increase revenue, or reduce churn. Knowing your objectives will guide you in the creation of the program and help you measure success at the end.
Step 2: Identify loyal customers.
The next step is to identify your most loyal customers—those who interact with your brand regularly, engage with your content, and are quick to offer feedback. You can use data analytics tools to segment and filter through the customers. Once identified, you should treat these customers like gold. Engage with them on a regular basis, and prioritize their needs and wants.
Step 3: Improve the customer experience.
Customer advocacy and the customer experience go hand in hand. So, the next step in building a customer advocacy program is to enhance your customer experience. This could include providing personalized experiences, exceptional customer service and communication, offering rewards or incentives, or all of the above.
Step 4: Appoint a customer advocate specialist.
We’re not necessarily saying you need to hire someone new, but we are saying that you should appoint a dedicated customer advocate specialist. Your customer advocate specialist will be the face of your customer advocacy program and strategy. This person will work closely with the loyal customers, understand their needs, and advocate for their interests within the company. Having a dedicated person to play this role will help build trust and strengthen relationships with your customers.
Step 5: Measure performance and scale.
Lastly, measuring performance is a critical step in building a successful customer advocacy program. This enables you to assess the efficacy of the program and make adjustments as required. Be sure to monitor customer advocacy metrics such as Net Promoter Score (NPS), customer retention, customer feedback, and referral rates to measure program performance.
Customer Advocacy Strategy Examples
So you know what you need to do, but you’re wondering how to do it. We’ve got your back. Here are five customer advocacy strategy examples that you can use to improve customer relationships and win the heart of the modern consumer.
1. Collect customer feedback.
When customers feel valued and heard, it translates into positive word-of-mouth advertising, increased loyalty, and higher profits. One of the most effective ways to cultivate customer advocacy is by soliciting feedback from customers.
There are several ways to collect customer feedback, such as surveys, texts, or social media channels and review platforms. By taking advantage of these channels, you can reach customers where they are already active and engaged. Be sure to make it easy for customers to share their thoughts and ideas, and offer incentives such as discounts or special promotions for their participation.
By understanding what your customers want, you can tailor your products or services to better meet their needs. This can lead to increased customer satisfaction, improved customer loyalty, and greater customer retention. Additionally, by demonstrating that you are listening and responding to customer feedback, you can enhance your brand reputation and cultivate a positive brand image.
→ Need a hand gathering collecting reviews? Check out these tips.
2. Improve your customer experience.
Customers care about great experiences and service—it’s what keeps them coming back time and time again. One way to improve in this area is to make it easy for customers to reach your team through their preferred channels. Nowadays, customers expect to communicate through various channels, such as text, chat, social media, or phone. The easier it is for customers to reach you, the better.
Another way to improve customer service is to offer flexible and convenient payment options is an excellent way to enhance your customer service. This could include accepting payment through different channels (such as mobile money or credit cards) and offering payment plans to suit different customer needs.
3. Start a rewards or loyalty program.
Another customer advocacy strategy is to offer rewards or rewards programs to customers who advocate for the business. For example, you might offer referral bonuses to reward customers who refer new customers to your business. This not only encourages customers to spread the word about your business, but also incentivizes them to actively bring in new business.
Loyalty programs are another effective way to encourage customer advocacy. These programs reward customers based on their loyalty to your business. For example, a customer may earn points for each purchase they make, which they can later redeem for exclusive discounts or free products. This not only makes the customer feel appreciated, but also encourages them to continue doing business with you.
Sure, putting together such a program will take some time and resources, but members of loyalty programs generate 12-18% more revenue per year than non-members, so both you and your customers stand to benefit here.
4. Improve your data to identify potential advocates.
Improving the quality of your data is not only important for logistical and analytical purposes, but it can also serve as a powerful customer advocacy strategy. By collecting and analyzing customer data, you can better understand who your most satisfied customers are, which can help them identify potential brand advocates.
One effective way to gather this information is by creating updated customer profiles that include detailed demographic data, purchase history, and other relevant information. By regularly updating these profiles and tracking customer interactions, you can gain valuable insights into your customers’ preferences and behavior patterns.
In addition, using metrics to measure customer engagement with your brand is crucial in identifying your most vocal advocates. Metrics such as Net Promoter Score (NPS), customer satisfaction ratings and reviews, and social media engagement can all provide valuable insights into which customers are the most likely to recommend your brand to others.
Customer Advocacy Marketing Solutions
We understand just how important customer advocacy is for small businesses. That’s why we’ve developed solutions to help businesses save time, improve their customer relationships, and build a loyal customer base.
Our tools are designed to streamline customer service, allowing for personalized interactions that build trust and loyalty. With Podium, you can easily track every interaction and keep every team member on the same page, ensuring that each customer receives a tailored experience. Podium also allows you to efficiently search and organize customers based on important attributes, initiate payments, manage conversations, gather reviews, and more.
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