Brand advocate: 7 essential tips for your business success.

The prices are getting higher, time is running out and the competition between the corporates are getting fierce and stronger, so we decided to give you the magical solution which is seven tips you should know about brand advocate will help you in marketing.

Nowadays, many multinational companies start to care about their brand advocates, it seems that brand advocacy is a super effective and efficient solution also it’s costless.

They are more effective than any influencers.

First, what’s Brand Advocate?

A brand advocate isn’t a normal customer, he’s a loyal customer, a customer that is completely obsessed with your product/service and permanent user of it.

This customer always speaks in favor of your brand through word of mouth.

They talk about your brand with great passion as it’s indispensable. They’re your superpower.

Word of mouth

The process in which a loyal customer transmits information to other people especially the close one and gives feedback about your product or service.

Nowadays, many companies started to focus on ”WOM – Word of Mouth” and many of them depend completely on it, But how?

First: We Trust our friends and family as we believe in their recommendation, they’re our comfort zone and heaven, so every decision they take and everything they choose we put our trust in it.

Second: They’re very specific and straight to the point so they aren’t persuading you with the brand as they won’t gain any profit.

Why do all of the businesses appeal to it? Because ”WOM” facilitates the process of their reach and brand awareness beside that they’re very effective.

Throughout time, it clarifies many hidden points you even may don’t notice about your company.

Second, Who can be a brand advocate?

• Potential customers
• Your employees, many companies started to work on turning employees into advocates.
• Your suppliers
• VIP customers, they could be influencers like bloggers, celebrities and experts.
• Non-profit organizations that support you

Third, How can you build a brand advocate?

You should have the best customer service whereas they need to ask the customers some specific questions or ask them to fill a survey to get effective output and feedback and start putting actions into consideration.

know your how and understand the reason for your existence, to deliver your product effectively and efficiently, so make it easy, transparent, consistent and easy.

You’ll facilitate the process of your reach and you’ll also facilitate the method on brand advocates to deliver your message easily.

Fourth, Where can you find a brand advocate?

• Social media where the most effective and efficient brand advocates are on Social media.
• E-mail
• Forums
• E-commerce sites

Fifth, Why should you turn your employees into brand advocates?

Nowadays, there are some Famous brands use their employees as brand advocates.

How do they do this?

To have efficient brand advocacy, you should know that your employee will pass through four phases that identify him/her.

Brand resisters

They’re negative employees, they don’t understand the culture of the place they work at.

They have a lack of knowledge about the organization, they put their self-interests in the first place which means that they don’t care about it.

They aren’t interested in your brand, you won’t be able to motivate this type of employees.

Brand learners

They don’t seek to develop the content or the brand.

They know the basic information about the company as values, stories, methods, and its way, however, they don’t seek to know more.

They do exactly what is needed from them and their attitude mainly depends on accomplishing customers’ needs without exceeding it.

Brand believers

They believe in the brand and they also know much information about it, although they don’t have enough knowledge.

They can act as brand advocates.

Brand advocates

They’re completely aware of the brand whether knowledgeable wise or information.

They understand the customer needs well.

Also, They’re very active and loyal towards the brand so, they’re ambassadors of the brand and they’re also strong and efficient marketing tools.

The important steps that you should take to turn your employees into brand advocates

First, if the employer doesn’t show interest in your brand, it’ll be impossible for the employees to feel the excitement.

You should give them enough information and knowledge about your brand.

Let them think and share.

Secondly, getting them involved by taking their opinion.

They should be aware of the changes and decisions that your company is passing through.

This will make them feel that they’re essential and that their existence does a great different

They’ll leave an impact on the brand positively.

Treat your employees as your best friends in your personal life and as a partner in work life.

Thirdly, you have to give the employee the chance to have a connection between them and the brand.

This will give them self-confidence at the personal level, he’ll become more engaged with your company and love the brand.

Finally, they should know the needs and wants of the customer to become a real brand advocate.

When they become a brand advocate, you’ve to follow up with them permanently, keep them motivated by giving rewards.

This’ll reinforce their behavior and their engagement process with the brand.

Congratulations you’ve turned your employees into brand advocates.

Sixth, who should you follow, brand advocate or brand ambassador or Influencer?

Mainly it depends on the needs and wants of your company or organization, you’re aware of its needs.

Why should I appeal to a brand advocate rather than an influencer?

Influencers are well-known people such as bloggers, experts, and celebrities.

Most marketers appeal to them when they need to increase brand awareness and reach as they’re effective but it costs much money.

On the other hand, brand advocates don’t cost much.

They just need your honesty and your belief in the brand.

Starbucks has succeeded in turning its employees into advocates.

They become an unbreakable arm because they believe in their employees and give them trust.

So definitely, they will be loyal and committed.

Starbucks’s sales have increased and the attraction is getting higher.

Besides that, it has its values, emotions, and appreciation that do a great impact on their employees

Starbucks gives us strong evidence that brand advocates don’t have to be influencers.

Is there any difference between brand advocates and brand ambassadors?

Brand advocates decorate the information because they have strong knowledge and they love talking about your brand so they deliver the theme of your products to their friends effectively and efficiently.

On the other hand, brand ambassadors are representatives of your brand, they are almost influencers, but for the long term, the company is hiring them.

Have you ever asked yourself if you’re a brand advocate?

We talk with our friends, family, and neighbors daily, through our conversations we talk about the brands we love and commit loyalty to it.

Every person in this world is a brand advocate for a brand or more than one brand.

Seventh, let’s talk about one of the well-known international NGO AIESEC

The customer flow of ‘‘AIESEC” mainly depends on brand advocacy.

How do they do this?

They just ask the exchange participants whether the citizens will have an exchange outside their country or the foreigners that are having exchange inside your country to make a video or put a post on ”Facebook” or ”Instagram”.

The exchange participants talk about their experience and the way it reflects on them, the changes they’ve passes through, the way they’ve got adapted with a different and new culture and environment.

They become self-aware of themselves, world citizens, solution-oriented and they can empower others.

Why do they do this?

• Acting sustainably.
• Believing in their values
• Believing that brand advocates are perfect tools for marketing.
• Knowing those brand advocates are the fundamental solution.

They also succeed in turning employees into brand advocates.

They motivate their members by giving them rewards if they achieve a specific number of approvals and if their performance was very good throughout their term.

Many of their members have exchange with AIESEC after joining the membership body which ensures that they believe in the organization.

How do they use brand advocacy?

They call the clients regularly to ask about their satisfaction and if they’re complaining about something.

They start getting solutions for these problems and complains and they start to consider action.

What will happen after that?

According to the citizens when they see a post from their relatives or friends talking about the experience with a great passion for sure he’ll be excited to try this experience.

While foreigners do the same thing but they talk about the project, the country, and the service, during the 45 days.

In conclusion, they have Loyal customers and they gain their employees.

Another example of a company uses brand advocacy.

A computer science learning center that offers courses for different fields of any age.

How can you tell the success of your brand advocacy?

Firstly, you should know

• How many posts did the audience share and interact with them?
• Was the content of your post efficient?
• Which social media channel do they interact the most with?
• Why do they need your product and service

Secondly, you should know

• The reaction of the customers towards your product
• Are they satisfied or not?

Finally, a big number of shares doesn’t mean that they’re satisfied but their reactions towards your product or service are the point.

Is there a difference between brand loyalty and brand advocate?

Mentally there is no difference, but brand advocate is sometimes more powerful and effective than brand loyalty.

The point that brand loyalty doesn’t have other options, however, they love your brand, for example, Apple Users.

99% of Apple users have great loyalty towards the brand, so they’re brand loyal, but they don’t know much information or any knowledge about it.

How can you create a successful advocacy campaign?

• You should know your audience well that will help you to choose the right design, good memes, and catchy content.
• Hashtags are very effective as you create a connection between the brand and your audience.
• you should use more than one social media channel don’t constrain yourself with only one.
• Try to get brand advocates to promote your campaign whether they’re customers or employees or both together
• Set the deadline for your campaign.

Two examples of two international companies that use customers in brand advocacy.

First, ”Coca-Cola in 2010”

They put a Coca-Cola machine in college and when any student starts to put a coin to get one can, the machine started to get out more than one Coca-Cola can, it also gives out presents like a teddy bear and food like pizza and chips.

Second, ”Samsung”

Their objective was launching a mobile charger that charges the mobile in 10 minutes only so they started to take normal people and enter them a small room consists of three departments.

The decoration of each room was completely different, so the customer didn’t feel time.

Does advocacy have an existence in the business model?

Yes, there is the customer purchase funnel.

The first is awareness, the customer knows your product.

The second is a consideration, they start to understand and consider your product.

The third is a preference, they start to lean to your product or somehow get convinced by it.

The fourth is purchasing, they buy the product or get the service.

The fifth is loyalty, they start to love it and they choose it every time.

The sixth is advocacy, they start to speak about your product and show how much they’re inspired by it.

Phycology of brand advocacy

We should have a strong base because there is no building without strong concrete otherwise it will be destroyed so physiological needs aren’t considered as a brand.

In this phase, the customers are not brand advocates and not brand resistors as well.

Many companies produce mineral waters, but more than half of the customers insist on buying ”Nestle” or ”Dasani” because they trust this brand, however, they aren’t brand advocates too.

Belonging, this phase that the customer starts to become a brand advocate, he/she insists on buying a specific brand as ”Nestle”.

In conclusion

The seven questions that will make you aware of the brand advocate from zero to hero:

• What is brand advocate?
• Who can be a brand advocate?
• How can you build brand advocate?
• Where can you find brand advocate?
• Why should you turn your employees into a brand advocate?
• Who should you follow, brand advocate or brand ambassador or influencer?
• Example of internation NGO that uses brand advocacy