Best Brand Advocates: Leaders Who Gain Loyal Customers

Loyal customers are the best brand advocates. How so you might ask? Loyal customers support a company by buying more of the products that you sell or at least they make a habit of buying from you. So you must be doing something right if you are getting such high return on investment. The fact that they will keep coming back to you proves your value to them. Effective loyalty program is best for brand advocacy.

What’s wrong with one customer? Nothing really, they are just like any other customer. They want what they can’t have. So your job then is to accommodate their needs while marketing the same brand to others. As humans, we always find a way to get what we want no matter how difficult it may seem.

Now imagine this scenario. Your brand has a very strong loyalty program. You have won over most of your customers with your ability to offer the best possible value and exceptional service. Then some lucky ones might decide to switch to another one of your competitors brands.

How does this affect you? Well in the short term, you could do with fewer sales. In the medium term you could lose a few loyal customers who may have been faithful to you for a long time. But in the long term, your image would be much more stable and your brand would be seen as the number one choice of customers. And this is exactly what you need if you want to be a serious brand player.

So, why is it that some companies just cannot attract loyal customers? Some just do not have the correct message, the wrong values or perhaps just lack the creativity needed to create a loyal following. Well, I will tell you in one word – imagination. Without it you cannot expect to have loyal customers. It’s as simple as that.

The reason I say this is because the best brand advocates are those who embrace new innovation and keep abreast of new developments. Not everyone will be open to an innovative idea. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea. But what about those who are open to ideas and new products? They can form part of your customer base very easily if they like what you offer.

What then should you do to make sure that you attract the best brand advocates? The answer lies in understanding that every market segment has distinct requirements and that in order to attract loyal customers you must offer them something that they cannot get anywhere else. Loyal customers are those who come back to buy from you repeatedly. They spend more money and they know that your brand represents quality and loyalty.

The best brand advocates are the ones who can get beyond the customers’ needs and expectations. They are experts on how to reach out to your customers on multiple levels without simply coming across as pushy. Rather, they come across as genuinely helpful, complimentary and supportive.

You don’t have to be the world’s greatest brand creator to be an advocate. In fact, there is only one person who can tell you whether a product or service is worth your loyal customers’ trust: yourself. You need to be able to identify what your loyal customers want and expect from you, how you can deliver on those expectations and what you can do to ensure that you exceed those expectations. Brand advocates are not the kind who promote a brand because it sells well or looks good. They are instead the kind who promotes a brand because that brand delivers unparalleled value and is worth putting their reputation behind.

It’s important to remember that brands get loyal customers for two reasons. First, customers love to support brands that have proved themselves reliable and effective. And second, customers love to support brands where they feel they have a real stake in the success of that brand. In other words, customers love to give a brand a level of loyalty that makes them feel as if they are an integral part of that brand’s success – whatever that success might be.

However, brand advocates do more than just talk the talk. They have to walk the walk as well in order to truly become advocates. They need to demonstrate their passion and their commitment to customers by delivering excellent customer support and exceeding customer expectations. They also need to make sure that they are visible – that they engage with and connect with customers in an honest, respectful way that shows that they genuinely care about what their customers think.

So what do the best brand advocates look like? Most of them are CEOs who clearly understand what it takes to build and maintain a strong, successful brand. They are honest with you and willing to communicate honestly with you about any challenges or opportunities that may come up with the brand and how they will affect its growth. They are willing to take responsibility for their own actions and are not afraid to share their results with you.