Nothing beats promoting your own business. But when somebody else promotes your business through testimonials and recommendations it is that much sweeter! That’s because when it doesn’t come directly from you or your brand, it cannot be perceived as biased but rather as a true experience.
Did you know that 88% of users rely on online reviewers made by other users and trust recommendations from friends and family members?
Whether you want to call your happy customers cheerleaders, ambassadors, or organic influencers – these positive talkers are invaluable to your business growth and you should nourish these relationships to your advantage.
Here are five ways you can turn your happy fans into advocates for your company:
1. Give impeccable customer service:
Everybody loves having a wonderful customer experience.
As a company, you should strive to level up and make the experience that much more special for your customers.
Building strong relationships is the aim of the game. You can implement additional training for your team, focus on listening to your clients and treating them with respect.
Other special ideas for making an impact can be to do something special for your customers on birthdays and holidays.
Remember it is key to always aim for the WOW experience, be truthful and willing to find solutions to any issues your customers may have along the way.
2. Social media is your friend – use it wisely
The way people engage your brand on social media is a good indication of the general client sentiment.
The opportunities to reach a wide market are endless and so you should prioritise serving your clients on social platforms.
The more you interact with people and attend to their queries or concerns on mediums like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, the more value you can offer, and the more they like you.
Use your brand pages to build trust and loyalty with your customer, so hopefully, they will share their great experience with their networks.
With a platform like Talkwalker, you can understand trends and react to customer opinions instantly.
3. Offer rewards for loyalty
Loyalty programs offer great incentives for faithful customers. Although not a new concept you might want to consider providing extra perks and exclusive benefits for return clients to keep them coming back for more of your product/service.
You can also use your exclusive benefits or customer loyalty points as a gesture of goodwill in cases where your customers may have had an unsatisfactory experience.
Rewarding will quickly help you to win back your distressed client—and maybe he or she can then advocate for your brand!
Check out these ideas for loyalty rewards.
4. Provide referral bonuses
You can also offer clients referral and invitation bonuses for sharing your company offers with their friends.
These incentives are extremely effective for promoting your brand through word of mouth.
These bonuses have the potential to bring you a lot of new customers, at a small cost. Not only will your customer appreciate the ‘bonus’ but all parties win in this situation; you, your advocate, and the new client.
You can also consider structuring your referral program with a social cause that people resonate with and want to share.
5. Ask for feedback and use it
Listening is one of the best ways you can serve your client base. But asking for feedback is key.
You can make use of surveys, request sales and call centre feedback and even social media messenger to learn how the customer experienced your brand.
For the negative feedback, engage and find a solution or way forward with your customer. For the sterling reviews, don’t shy from sharing them on your platforms.
Asking for recommendations ensures you build natural advocates for your business. Especially if you credit the customer on social media or on your website.
Everybody wants to be heard, thank your clients for their feedback and use it for the betterment of your brand.
Finally, remember that turning customers into advocates for your company is centred around customer experience, which includes relationship building.
You need to carefully build your strategy for this. In addition to growing brand loyalty and love, by implementing the above tips you can look forward to seeing growth for business all round.
