Some brands we admire, others we may trust and value and others we simply ignore. What causes us to take one step further? Where we’re happy to share our story with friends, associates and family? The stories that bond our loyalty to a particular brand? Do we consciously become brand advocates? Is it something we’re even aware of, or readily admit to?
AN OBVIOUS QUESTION OF ADVOCACY
As business owners, how can we increase the number of brand advocates relaying our stories and retaining loyalty to our brands?
Can we ‘buy’ brandvocacy, or do we simply earn brandvocacy by going that extra mile for our customers?
Can you place a value on brand advocates? How do you measure the ROI of a brand advocate?
Brand advocates are your super-consumers. The relationship reaches beyond the purchase, beyond the Facebook like or twitter follow. It represents a bond that as a consumer, without prompting or reward, leads me to tell the story of my relationship with your brand. That relationship is formed when a significant tipping point takes me beyond being a ‘typical customer’. That may be a situation where you’ve bent the rules to accommodate a particular request. It may be a gesture that humanises a corporation and rewards a customer for their loyalty.
Brand advocates aren’t simply trend followers who can easily have their head turned by the ‘next big thing’. Neither are they the repeat customers who return to your site out of necessity rather than choice. Each month I purchase James Wellbeloved dog food for my beagle. If the price suddenly went up by 20% I’d probably switch to a different brand. I buy out of habit, rather than out of allegiance.
WHAT TURNS A CUSTOMER INTO AN ADVOCATE?
Brand and Marketing managers are left pondering the stage, or level of service necessary, to take a standard customer and turn them into a brand advocate. Some attempt to manipulate by financial reward, vouchers or heavy discounts. Others try more elitist rewards via ‘Gold membership’ or ‘Platinum customer’ ratings, take IHG Rewards Club by Intercontinental Hotels as an example.
Any singular moment can cause the tipping point between custom and brandvocacy. It can be that isolated incident where a brand goes beyond the call of duty to assist a customer. It may be that special moment when a large-scale brand shows it’s human-side by acting in a particular way to prove the value of a particular customer.
A STORY OF BRAND ADVOCACY
12 years ago, a week after 9/11, I was in Florida struggling to find a route to return home to the UK. I spent hours on the phone in my hotel room trying to rearrange a flight back to the UK. I wasn’t quite aware of the phone bill that was quickly racking up. With plans laid to drive 1,500 miles up the coast to Washington DC two companies went beyond the call of duty to assist.
When checking out of my Ramada Inn room I was presented with a bill for $500 worth of calls. Yikes. I didn’t ask the manager to rebate my calls or even assist with the payment. Whether it was the way my jaw dropped to the ground, or the quick discolouration of my cheeks that led the receptionist to ask how the bill had racked up. Upon explanation he disappeared for 2 minutes and returned to tell me, following discussion with the hotel manager, the calls will be waived and to offer me a pleasant trip to DC.
12 years on, I’m booking hotels across the globe, whose good deed do I remember? Whose good deed influences me to book with that brand if they’re available at my destination?
Similarly, Hertz waived the usual destination-charges and additional mileage on my rental car, again without request, to allow me to complete the journey to Washington DC. At the time rental cars were like gold dust with no planes in operation. They could have easily profited by charging additional fees, but no, that act, just like that of Ramada turned me into a long-term customer, I share both stories on many occasions.
That’s brand advocacy. That’s the reward for exceptional beyond the call of duty service. That’s breaking convention.
CAR BRAND LOVE…
I’ve been around the block with many a car brand, I’m a car brand whore. In no specific order Peugeot, BMW, Mitsubishi, Nissan, VW, Ford and Lotus have all sat on my driveway. I had greater loyalty to my petrol brand than to my car manufacturer. Until now.
I bought my Audi a year ago. It ticked all the boxes and lets face it, another notch to my car-buying bedpost. I like the car. It suits its purpose. Then, last month, my car and I shared a special moment together.
Usually, I have flashing lights and irritating beeps to inform me that my car requires a service. Audi? I had a telephone call informing me that my service was due and would I be interested in booking it in? Great. Overpriced oil and a splash of dashboard cleaner to set me back £500, right? It was free of charge. So was the courtesy car. So was the coffee awaiting me when I dropped off the car.
Did I know the service would be free when I bought the car? Was it pointed out as a benefit at the time? Not that I can recall.
Did the free service turn me into a brandvocate for Audi? No. I was told my car should be ready at 5pm and I’d receive a call to confirm. At 4:30 I have a call from the garage. “Mr Rhodes, did you know that you had a screw lodged in your rear passenger side tyre?” “No… I wasn’t aware…”. Here we go… I thought, a new tyre? “It’s okay, I’ll just pick up the car and pop it into Kwik Fit later”. “Okay, Mr Rhodes, your car is now ready”.
2 minutes later “ding!”. An email from Audi arrives:
Ooh! Intrigue, let’s take a look at what’s in store. I proceed to view a 1 minute personalised video of my car’s service engineer stood under my car (it was on a ramp at this stage…) showing me the screw and providing me with a recommendation – a quick 5 minute repair if I was interested?
Audi’s approach broke convention. It exceeded expectation. It changed perception.
IT’S NOT YOUR MONEY WE’RE AFTER…
For £15 they would remove the screw and seal the puncture. In my head I was thinking £200+ for a new tyre. They could have easily recommended I just bought a new tyre. Straight away I called Audi back and asked if it was too late to repair the tyre? “Of course not, we’ll just pop your car up on the ramp and fix it straight away”.
I’ve relayed this story a dozen or so times. Was it the fact that they saved me the price of a new tyre that has turned me into an Audi advocate? Not really. It was the way they went that ‘extra mile’ to inform me of the puncture and to provide honest detail of what was needed to fix the problem. It was a human approach, an honest appraisal from my service engineer.
FROM CUSTOMER TO ADVOCATE
Not only am I retelling the story of the awesome service that Audi provided me, I know that my next car purchase will be an Audi. Audi and me are now best of friends. We’ve built a long-term relationship off of the back of a simple service repair video.
Would the offer of a ‘half price’ tyre drawn my attention? It probably would have. I’d have been happy with my routine service, and that would be that.
That extra mile took Audi outside of the normal ‘service’ and through digital technology, one simple email, one simple video, I’m now a believer. An advocate of Audi.
ADVOCACY ISN’T JUST RESERVED FOR THE BIG TICKET ITEM
I’ve read a lot of business books. An awful lot. I love books that examine brands and how they go from zero to hero. Andrew Davis (@tpldrew) wrote a book that inspired me to view the creation of partnerships between brands in a whole new way. However, it wasn’t Andrew’s book ‘Brandscaping’ that turned me into an advocate of his work.
I’d ordered the book direct and it arrived signed. Nice touch. I then had a couple of tweets back and forth regarding different examples of brand partnership. Again, a nice touch. It was his response to an article I published which included a mention of his book which turned me from an avid reader to an advocate. A simple appreciation of my promotion of his book. The human approach.
With my own clients I’m often discussing the possibilities of strategic brand partnerships. What do I do? Do I tell them ‘hey, you need to order this book called Brandscaping – you may even get a signed copy’. No, that would make me look odd. I outline Andrew’s book and the reasons why I feel my client would find it a valuable read. I could recommend 100’s of books. But, it’s that personable approach Andrew takes, and his open request for feedback, that sets him apart.
Kashflow – online software that saves me hours each week invoicing and managing my accounts. An essential piece of software for my consultancy business. Does the ease of use turn me into an advocate? No. It helps, but it’s their blog, packed full of insight above and beyond the act of invoicing, alongside their webinars and the proactive approach of their founder, Duane Jackson, that leads me to talk about their software and recommend their software.
YOU DON’T BUILD BRAND ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS
Taking the route of Facebook competitions to ‘earn’ likes isn’t how you create long term custom or brand advocacy. Your company culture sits at the heart of brand advocacy. If your business culture isn’t about ‘going that extra mile’ than you will continuously struggle to build your external team of marketers & salespeople – your brand advocates.
These examples may not represent the norm for each brand. For every great experience I may have had, another customer may be left disappointed. But, to me, the individual they turned from a customer into an advocate – these experiences will ensure my long term custom and mean that only an extraordinary circumstance would turn me off these particular brands.
What are you doing to help set the foundations for your own set of brand advocates? How do you measure the value of a brand advocate? Does it represent itself in ROI, or an immeasurable aspect of your own business’ culture?
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