How often have you heard someone in your marketing or sales organization say, ‘the competition has lots of impressive logos on their company site, why don’t we?’
My answer to that question is you can!
The most effective way to have more impressive logos is through building a solid network of advocates. Let your current customers tell their stories and share the brand love.
It starts with creating opportunities for your Happy Customers to find a medium and channel through which they want to share their story about your brand. Not everyone wants to be in a video, for example.
Think of the customer – what’s in it for them? And I don’t mean what you will give them to participate. I suggest building an engagement roadmap that focuses on the benefit to your customer to be associated with your brand.
- For the organization – highlight the customer as a thought leader by showcasing their success through technology innovation.
- For a team within the customer organization – generate recognition for the team’s technical prowess and skill.
- For an individual – building their brand through higher visibility channels may offer the opportunity for career advancement.
Recently, I had the opportunity to engage with executives at a large healthcare organization. They had a great story to share about their success with our brand. They wanted to explore the possibility of how they could tell their story but were hesitant to commit because they each had a perspective to share and a variety of comfort levels in which they may want to voice their story.
Instead of assuming I knew the ‘how and when,’ perhaps based on their title or role, I created one slide that included all the vehicles and channels our company offered through which they could tell their story and to the level that may be comfortable for them. The approach was well-received, and each participant was fully engaged in finding the medium and channel that worked for them, their IT team, and their organization!
Customer advocacy builds brand preference through association with and advocacy by top brands and increases customer loyalty by strengthening connections with advocacy partnerships. Your loyal customers become a very influential part of the buyer’s journey as they share their stories with your brand.