Most modern companies go toward having loyal and engaged consumers. A business can retain that kind of customer, and encourage them to return for repeat business. However, there is a problem. People don’t trust companies.
But they do trust other people, their family, friends, or even complete strangers. In fact, 92% of online consumers will trust a recommendation from the person they don’t even know. While 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Word-of-mouth recommendation goes a long way in attracting new clients and building your brand awareness.
In other words, loyal clients can endorse your business by recommending it to their family and friends, as well as to other consumers. However, to have brand representatives in your audience, you need to first encourage them in that direction. In regards to this, here are four ways to make your consumers your number one brand representatives.
Your offer must be something worth talking about
For starters, your service or product on offer needs to be something for which people get in line to receive it. If it isn’t, there is no way to turn consumers into brand ambassadors – and it won’t matter how superior your customer service is.
While this sounds obvious, just think about the momentum Apple build with its iPhone and iPod, although neither one was the first touch-screen phone or MP3 player in existence. It was Apple’s superior design, user-friendliness, and the deep loyalty the corporation already created which led to long lines of clients all over the globe just waiting to be a part of Apple’s movement.
You should offer branded items
Giving branded merchandise to your consumers not only inspires loyalty and engagement in your clients but is also a great way to build brand awareness. In fact, 63% of consumers decide to join a loyalty program because of free products. Almost everyone loves receiving a free gift and it will even encourage your clients to suggest your brand to family and friends.
For example, you can hand out promotional hats with your logo on them. Most consumers will remember the brand whose gifts they’ve received. Additionally, many consumer claims that branded items improve their awareness of a brand. Offering free items to the clientele is a beautiful way to increase their loyalty, satisfaction and improve relations with them.
Know your clientele
Clients see themselves as unique individuals – consequently, they expect the same view from brands. However, the only way to tell your consumers apart from each other is to get to know them well. Once you complete this, you can communicate efficiently with them.
Consider marketing automation to keep track of, get to know, and identify clients. Such automation enables you to track what consumers are buying and talking about – their purchasing behavior. Any interaction with them is recorded, hence you will know exactly who they are.
While customers today know that companies collect user data on them, the bottom line is whether or not a business is utilizing that information effectively. Identify the customers who are sharing data and engaging with others on behalf of your company. Next, do something for them.
Build relationships
In the end, the relationship you have with your clients determines their willingness to endorse your brand further. It’s crucial to understand that such a relationship isn’t only based on sales and purchases. Sometimes, you need to give value to your consumers without asking anything in return – in order to spark engagement. One of the easiest ways to start this is via social media networks. They will enable you to directly engage with the target audience.
Moreover, you can build compelling content and share it with your customers over social media platforms. Although, a content that delivers value to your customers is the one relevant to them. For instance, you can educate them on a particular topic, inform them about the latest news, or simply entertain them with content. The more value you provide to your audience, the more engaged they will be – ultimately promoting your business via word-of-mouth recommendations.
In conclusion, we bring you one more pro tip. Make it worth their while. No matter how inspired your fans are about your brand, you must make supporting your company worth their while. Show gratitude to your brand representatives with an entry to a cool event, or with a personalized video message. When you see them engaging with your content or interacting with their network about your brand, like and reply.
