Customer advocacy is all about building and nurturing relationships with your most loyal customers so that they’ll happily champion your brand, product or service.
From increased satisfaction and elevated loyalty to reduced churn and enhanced brand recognition, B2B companies with a robust customer advocacy strategy stand to benefit big time.
That’s customer advocacy in a nutshell. Now, how do you build a customer advocacy program that works for your business? Start with these top tips:
1. Dig deeper into customer data
While some content customers may get in touch directly, excited by the possibility of partnering with you, you might need to reach out to others. You can find these potential advocates by tracking their behaviour with a CRM tool. Data points like repeat purchases, continued communication and high Net Promoter Scores are all incredibly helpful.
Once you’ve identified your advocates, implementing a formalised advocacy program makes it easy for you and your customers to stay in contact and get the most from your partnership.
2. Make sure you give, not just take
For your advocacy program to work, your customers also have to get something out of it. Make their involvement worthwhile by serving up exclusive opportunities and rewards, such as:
Letting them be the first to test drive new updates, products or features
Offering them speaking opportunities like a guest slot on your podcast
Creating an online community where they can connect with other advocates
Providing financial incentives like referral fees when they sign up new customers
3. Turn feedback into action
Gathering feedback from customer advocates is invaluable, as their input can help to enhance your product, service and brand experience. Surveys, interviews and focus groups are great ways to collate this feedback. Armed with new information, you can take a more proactive approach to sales and customer service, such as improving internal processes for a better customer experience.
Let’s not forget…
Although customer advocacy programs build trust, they’re not a replacement for quality customer service. Top-notch customer service drives brand loyalty, so focusing on delivering that support will not only help you keep hold of current advocates, but also attract new ones.
At bbp, we’ve worked with clients like Worldpay from FIS to develop their customer advocacy programs. Get in touch with us to find out how we can help you do the same.
Featured image by Sincerely Media on Unsplash.
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