How to Turn Brand Loyalty Into Brand Advocacy
Earning brand loyalty isn’t easy. However, when your customers keep choosing you over your competitors, very few things are as rewarding. It sustains a steady flow of sales and increases brand value.
But what’s better than that? Brand advocacy.
Why? Loyalty drives a single customer to buy your products frequently. But when they promote you to peers proactively, it alleviates a new customer’s initial doubts and simplifies conversion. Plus, brand advocacy can:
- Enhance trust and credibility
- Extends brand awareness beyond your immediate customer base
- Inspire loyalty in new customers
So, what are the ways of turning loyal customers into vocal brand advocates? Let’s find out:
8 Ways To Turn Brand Loyalty Into Brand Advocacy
1. Create exceptional customer experiences
A smooth, personalized customer journey makes customers believe you value their time and contribution to your business. A hiccup-free journey ensures loyal customers explore and interact with your brand without complicated steps. It enhances their satisfaction, boosts brand advocacy, and increases the chances for your starup’s success.
Offer a consistent UX through responsive web design and an omnichannel experience so customers can switch from one channel to another without missing a beat. Use heat mapping to identify and remove friction points. The payment gateway should be reliable and have multiple checkout options.
Amplify brand recognition with consistent, on-brand, and tailored messaging. To help buyers navigate better, you must also implement relevant content marketing across buyer journeys.
Offer valuable resources and newsletters that address specific customer challenges. Follow-up after every purchase with a thank you note and feedback form. This shows that you value their post-shopping experience just as much, improving satisfaction.
2. Foster a sense of community around your brand
Today, customers have multiple alternatives to choose from. So, even if you are lucky enough to win brand loyalty, how do you get shoutouts? By offering something more than mere products.
That’s where community building comes into play. It presents a space for your loyal fans to engage with fellow enthusiasts. It amplifies their experience with your brand and spreads awareness within their circles. With the right activities, you can nudge members to recommend your community to like-minded people. It also encourages UGC, one of the most effective word-of-mouth formats.
Identify your most loyal customers. What drives their passion for your brand? This will help you design a community and its activities that engage fans and foster advocacy. Ensure your brand story shines through your community.
For example, Lego built a legacy around innovation and creativity with its toy building blocks, and its thriving community page embodies this. Here, members post pictures of their latest designs and engage with fellow Lego enthusiasts. The community also hosts groups and trending conversations, which generate considerable UGC for them.
Offer community members exclusive benefits they can’t help but talk about with peers. Host webinars, meet-ups, and workshops. Regular event marketing keeps conversation around your brand, maintains engagement, and fosters advocacy.
3. Look for related products
Offer products that complement each other and generate the most buzz. Run competitor analysis and audit your current offerings to identify gaps. Then, innovate products that cater to your audience’s current desires while upholding your unique brand identity.
Conduct social listening to understand your loyalists’ latest challenges and evolving needs. Look for trending products and enrich your catalog because the more your offerings resonate with your loyal fans, the more likely they will recommend you.
Let’s say you are a skincare brand, and market research shows that your repeat customers are looking for a sunscreen with high SPF that leaves no white cast. If you design such a product, they will recommend it to their peers who face the same issue with regular sunscreens.
4. Offer exclusive perks and rewards to loyal customers
Maintain loyalty with customized rewards and perks for repeat buyers. Start a loyalty program where customers earn points for every purchase. Consider offering exclusive benefits to community members so they can brag about these savings to their acquaintances, increasing word of mouth.
For example, luxury fashion brand Neiman Marcus runs a loyalty program called InCircle.
Send emails with personalized vouchers, exclusive offers, and discount codes. Give your loyal customers early-bird access to new launches to make them feel valued. They will return the favor by advocating for your products and commitment to customer satisfaction.
5. Encourage user-generated content and testimonials
Tint’s 2023 State of Social UGC report shows buyers find authentic UGC the most trustworthy. And who is better at sharing honest UGC and testimonials than your loyal customers?
Run social media contests with branded hashtags to encourage UGC submissions. Ask your happy customers for testimonials through email and surveys. You can also collect positive customer reviews from third-party review sites and showcase them on your website and social media.
Glossier’s approach to UGC is a masterclass on fostering advocacy from loyal customers and using it to strengthen their brand. Staying true to its mission of giving “voice through beauty”, the company highlights real people and their beauty routines through digital marketing.
For example, the above Instagram post by Glossier is a UGC from Philippa Parnevik.
Glossier also publishes authentic GRWM videos created by their loyal followers.
6. Provide exceptional customer service and support
Extraordinary customer service is a prerequisite for turning loyal customers into brand advocates. No matter how good your products are, all business strategies will fail if customers don’t receive the required assistance before, during, and after purchasing from you.
To ensure your team consistently delivers this level of service, investing in skills-based learning can equip them with the necessary tools and knowledge to address customer needs and effectively foster strong, lasting relationships. This approach enhances service quality and solidifies customer loyalty and advocacy.
Prompt and effective customer service shows that you are always available to your customers. They recognize and appreciate this effort and will be more likely to promote you.
Get to know your buyers to the core through customer data, social listening, and surveys. This way, you can anticipate their needs before they can ask. So, personalize each stage based on customer segments.
Equip frontline employees to resolve customer requests without going back and forth with supervisors. Ensure they can access relevant customer information to deliver the right service at the right time. Using call center software can greatly enhance this capability. Keep multiple customer assistance channels open, like chatbots, contact numbers, emails, social media, and WhatsApp assistance.
For example, HubSpot’s customer assistance channels are easily accessible from their website.
They also have a dedicated Twitter account to solve customer queries, doubts, and complaints.
Holger Sindbaek, serial entrepreneur and the founder of Online Solitaire, says, “At Online Solitaire, we believe that exceptional customer service is the foundation of turning brand loyalty into brand advocacy. We’ve focused on personalizing our support by understanding each player’s unique preferences and challenges. This approach involves prompt responses to inquiries, comprehensive troubleshooting guides, and proactive outreach to ensure a seamless gaming experience. By consistently delivering beyond expectations, we’ve nurtured a community of players who not only return but also recommend our platform to others, transforming them from loyal users into vocal advocates for our brand.”
7. Implement a referral program to incentivize advocacy
Make brand advocacy worthwhile with attractive referral programs. Audit your budget and specify rewards that resonate with your customers without burning a hole in your pocket. These include small gift vouchers, free upgrades and add-ons, free delivery, brand merch, store credits, and even wallet points.
For example, Digital Ocean runs a referral program in which brand advocates receive $200, and new customers receive $25 worth of shopping credits.
8. Engage with customers through social media and other platforms
Create meaningful connections with customers through regular social media interactions. Respond to their concerns, complaints, and feedback promptly. This demonstrates your commitment to customer satisfaction and fosters advocacy.
Monitor and participate in trending conversations to bond with your customers. You can also join relevant social media groups and discussions. Interactions with their favorite brand will build further loyalty and generate brand advocacy.
Ensure your replies align with your brand persona. This enhances recognition and solidifies advocacy opportunities.
For example, Wendy’s has a thriving on-brand presence on Twitter, offers quick customer support, and interacts with fans with its signature humor.
To Wrap This Up
Now that you know how to turn loyal customers into vocal brand advocates, here is another suggestion: design an approach with the customer’s interest at its heart. Ensure that whatever steps you take reflect that you value customer satisfaction above everything else. Such thoughtfulness won’t go unnoticed, and you may be rewarded with glowing recommendations.
Seek feedback proactively and eliminate CX frictions. Create a community that offers a sense of belonging. Incentivize brand advocacy through rewards. Finally, ensure customers can rely on you for assistance.
Combined with diligent and transparent efforts, these strategies will earn you a group of brand advocates ready to spread the word.