As marketers in industries such
as CPG, one of our main goals is often turning casual consumers into repeat
buyers. There are a few ways we can do that, through methods such as influencer
marketing, consumer education, sales…but one of the most important and best
ways to grow brand loyalists is to take your consumers on a path from people
who simply buy your product, to people who advocate and live with your product.
Simply put, brand advocates will do more for you than your own marketing ever
will.
Having worked in the CPG industry
from the beginning of my career 15 years ago, and learning from amazing
companies I have had the fortunate opportunities to be a part of, I work hard
FOR my brand advocates. What may surprise many people, is I do this strictly organically.
I have worked with some of the best, brightest and biggest brand champions and
have never once paid them.
Any company can “pay to play” or
throw money at people to talk about their product. How effective is that,
though, really? I’m a firm believer that the more honest and trustworthy people
are, the more we will listen to what they say. No-brainer, right? People trust
friend’s reviews and recommendations more than they trust brand’s
recommendations, as we know, so the more unbiased peer advice is, the better. So
to me, it would only follow that my consumers will trust my brand advocates
more if they know they’re not paid to talk about my product, and are doing so
because it truly fills a consumers need, to enhance their lives.
It is definitely the harder
route, developing brand advocates based on emotions and relationship building,
as opposed to giving them money to do things you ask of them. However, it leads
to more fully engaged people talking about, using and purchasing your brand,
and I’d argue it is much more of a long-term strategy. I also will often see
companies, SMMs and brands using the terms “Brand Advocates” and “Brand
Influencers” interchangeably, when they are quite different. It is not unusual
to not pay Brand Advocates. That is part of the misconception.
Brand Advocates willingly share your brand with others via WOM, social media,
etc because they truly enjoy and get something out of your brand. They are
motivated not by cash from the brand, but the ability to be looked at as
thought leaders within their own networks, as they continually recommend things
to their communities that people also get something out of. They thrive on
helping the people in the groups they keep themselves in and getting
recognition from brands for doing so. Once you have identified who your most loyal consumers are, you can begin to join them along a path towards Brand Advocacy.
Here are a few ways that have
worked for me, to transform casual consumers into powerful brand advocates.
1.
Focus on What’s in it For Them, not What’s
in it For Me? You’ve got a product or service that you stand behind and one that has been
designed to fill a need in consumers lives. What more are they looking for?
Recognition from the brand? Doing product reviews on their sites that you bring
to your community, offering your advocates a larger reach and more eyeballs on
THEIR products as well as yours? As in any other relationship you are growing,
you want it to be beneficial for both parties.
2.
Be Grateful. Without
people purchasing your products/services, you have no brand/company. Without
your brand advocates, you don’t have credible help growing your sales, sharing
your offering to a larger audience or bringing more people to you. I don’t see
a way not to feel grateful for these people! Let them not just see yu saying
thank you, but you want to ensure you are making them FEEL thanked and that you
are happy to be working with them. I’d advise having a tracking procedure in
place prior to beginning to work with your advocates so you can keep track of
what each of them are doing with you, and how you plan to keep them happy and
continue to build on what you’ve started with them.
3.
Give Them An “Inside View.” Your advocates are great people to give first looks of new products or
campaigns to. Allow them to feel the exclusivity of being the first ones with
knowledge or sneak peeks into your content. Let THEM do the sharing of this new
information, rather than you as the brand.
4.
Share Your Passion. The more your passion is for your brand is communicated to your consumers,
the more they can get excited and inspired by you and begin to feel that
passion for themselves. How do you create an emotional connection with complete
strangers and your brand? Share your brand stories, the stories of your
employees and encourage your consumers to share theirs with you.
5.
Offer Incentives. Besides getting inside knowledge, I like to seed my advocates with
product. They already are purchasing and love your product, why not ensure they
always have a stash available to them? Through the building of relationships,
networking and sheer time I’ve been involved in the industry, I am also able to
offer my advocates access to things they, on their own, might not have access
to – backstage passes, tickets, unique experiences….people will always remember
how you make them feel, I try to always make people feel appreciated.
Marketing is no
longer a one-size fits all approach, nor is it done by sending out messages to
the masses. It is built one personalization, creating an emotional experience
between consumers and your brand, and via the building of honest, true,
long-term relationships. Your investment into your brand advocates translates
directly to their investment with your brand.
I'd love to hear what tips have worked for YOU! Tweet me and share your stories? @lucyrk78
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