Strategies To Turn Your Customers Into Brand Advocates

It’s always exciting to gain new customers. However, repeat customers are the source of real business growth. According to research, returning customers spend 33% more per order than new clients.

That’s not all—they are also 77% more likely to recommend your brand to their friends, resulting in increased revenue. To top it all off, 92% of people now prefer personal recommendations to paid advertisements when purchasing.

All of these statistics boil down to one conclusion: you must exert the effort to convert your customers into brand advocates and loyal supporters.

We’ll show you exactly how to do it in this article.

Ideas To Convert Customers Into Brand Advocates

1. Deliver Proactive Customer Service

Being a step ahead of your customers is a winning strategy for gaining their trust and loyalty. This can range from keeping customers informed to making their lives easier with advanced service features. 

Inform them immediately if there will be a sales event or even something as simple as a delivery delay. Feature a live chat option to help with the sales process or a callback system to provide services when customers need them the most. Consider your customers’ needs, and they will definitely consider supporting you.

2. Focus On Omnichannel Marketing

Customers value options and omnichannel service provides them with just that. The challenge is providing a consistent experience by having skilled agents available to engage on any channel at any time. 

Ensure that all channels are optimized, keeping in mind that customers frequently have a preferred method of contact. Take note of this preference and strive to engage on the customer’s preferred channel for maximum impact.

3. Boost Customer Experience

The customer experience matters, and making it exceptional begins with being personal. To humanize your brand, always address customers by name in service interactions and marketing offers. Remember to keep the tone friendly and approachable.

Offering customized purchase settings such as wishlists and one-click checkout can help to streamline the sales process. 

Finally, keeping customers informed promptly is critical to gaining their loyalty. Treat each customer as a valued individual whose time and business are essential.

4. Embrace User-Generated Content

User-Generated Content (UGC) is any image, video, comment, review, or other content your customers create for your brand.

Getting your customers to create UGC is an excellent way to connect with them, increase brand loyalty, and generate word-of-mouth marketing.

According to research, 86% of Millennials believe that UGC is a reliable indication of the quality and trustworthiness of a product, brand, or service. 

Furthermore, according to the same study, UGC has been shown to influence the purchasing decisions of more than 80% of Millennials.

You can hold social media contests or incorporate UGC rewards into a loyalty program. Telling customer success stories is another excellent way to motivate others to share their experiences with your brand.

5. Offer An Enhanced Loyalty Program

Loyalty programs are critical in increasing brand advocacy and customer loyalty.

Loyalty programs are marketing strategies that encourage customers to interact with your brand in various ways, such as purchasing your product, purchasing add-ons, renewing subscriptions, sharing your content on social media, referring new customers, adding product pictures, leaving positive reviews, and so on to earn loyalty points.

When customers accumulate enough loyalty points, they can redeem them for benefits such as discounts and deals on various products.

This increases brand loyalty, allows you to earn more per customer, and increases the proportion of repeat sales.

6. Reward Customer Referrals

Modern consumers trust personal recommendations when making purchasing decisions more than paid advertising.

Why not capitalize on this trend by incentivizing satisfied customers to spread the word about your brand?

Launching a referral/affiliate program for your company can be a game-changer. It’s a tried-and-true strategy for driving brand advocacy by the world’s biggest brands.

According to a Forrester study, 84% of more than 150 companies with minimum annual revenues of $200 million have active affiliate programs. It converts passive customers who are mostly satisfied with your services into active marketers because they are rewarded money for their efforts.

7. Ask & Work On Customer Feedback

Turning customers into brand advocates requires demonstrating that their opinions are valued. To improve service, solicit their feedback through post-contact and periodic surveys. 

Never ignore social media channels, and encourage them to post comments and user-generated content, such as videos or testimonials, to demonstrate their affinity for your brand.

Customers will appreciate that you care enough to improve the brand for their benefit. Happy customers are a brand’s best asset because they help spread the word about their positive customer experiences. 

According to a Nielsen study, 84% of consumers reported taking action based on personal recommendations at least occasionally. In comparison, 70% did the same based on online opinions. Therefore, building relationships with customers to provide them with the best service possible is a must.

8. Make Non-Customers Experience Your Product

You must extend your value proposition from customers to non-customers in this case. This involves exposing non-customers to the core value of your product. For example, you can give away free samples of your product to non-customers, and if they like it, they might actually make a purchase. 

Even if they do not wish to purchase your product, they may recommend it to someone else. Digital products, for example, provide free trials, training videos, live webinars, and freemium options. All this is available for free so that non-customers can also experience the product’s core value.

Make Your Mark Now

Attracting customers is terrific for a business but keeping them for the long term is what turns a company into a legacy. Sometimes, all you need is the simple steps above to actually turn your customers into brand advocates.

Thinking about upgrading your brand’s social media marketing strategy? The Influence Agency has got you covered. As a leading digital marketing agency in North America, we’ve helped countless brands make their mark in online spaces. Will yours be next?

Connect with us today to learn more.

Guest post: Prakash Rawat is a SaaS Marketer. For the past two years, he has been specializing in SEO, PPC & Marketing Strategy at Taggbox. He has a super sharp analytical mind and a finely tuned creative eye for marketing initiatives that optimize brands.