In 2024, social proof is the most valuable marketing currency.
The overwhelming majority of today's buyers look for reviews, testimonials, case studies, and other forms of customer-generated content before they even consider a purchase. Or, they consider a vendor their friend referred them to.
Why? Authenticity.
When someone vouches for your brand, they're doing it by choice. And that does heaps more for your credibility than any ad campaign.
So...how do you get more of your customers to be advocates? How can you turn as many positive experiences into recommendations and referrals as possible?
You have to build a customer advocacy program.
Most customer advocacy programs struggle to scale.
There are plenty of reasons for this, but they all boil down to a few common denominators.
- Spreadsheet- and email-based management is exhausting and messy. You might pull it off if all you're doing is a few case studies and testimonial quotes per quarter. But if you want to create a true advocacy engine that drives potential customers through every stage of the funnel, forget it.
- Nobody wants to join a messy process. Your customers aren't going to jump through hoops to sing your praises. And your CS team will be pulling their hair out trying to keep track of who's doing what, who's getting rewards, and why.
- Frankly, it looks bad. Customers rarely know what kind of content they should be creating. Plus, they're all different. Reeling them into a program that lacks structure and direction comes across as lazy and unprofessional. Not flattering.
The bottom line: you're limiting your own potential by making it too hard both for you and for your customers.
You can't afford not to have an advocacy program.
Despite the challenges of building a successful customer advocacy program, it's absolutely worth it. Social proof can increase web conversions by 270% and nearly 9 in 10 B2B decision-makers say they use it before investing in new products.
Plus...
- It makes you more credible.
- It's cost-effective (especially compared to paid ads).
- Participating in advocacy makes your current customers more loyal and engaged.
- You can repurpose user-generated content and reviews across all your sales and marketing channels.
- The feedback you get helps you improve your products and services.
A win-win. But you have to do it right.
What does a successful advocacy program look like in 2024?
The modern customer demands a frictionless experience and remarkable personalization. When it comes to your advocacy process, they expect the same — streamlined, engaging, and satisfying.
Here's what you need:
A reason for being that goes beyond closing deals
Sure, you want more sales. But true advocacy starts with thoughtful communication. You should strive to create an engaged community that advocates for your brand not because they have something to gain, but because they truly believe in you.
A one-stop shop for program management
We mentioned the nightmare of managing everything manually via spreadsheet and email. It's also worth mentioning software won't help you much either if your processes operate in silos.
- Onboarding customers to the program
- Setting and managing customers' contribution preferences
- Creating and distributing content
- Tracking and administering rewards
...should all happen under one roof. And needs to be self-service, so there's no need for extensive back-and-forth dialogue with your customers.
Automation tools
Artificial intelligence and process automation are the game-changers in customer advocacy today.
Use a platform like Deeto to:
- Automatically curate and distribute content based on customer input and feedback
- Source, track, and organize user-generated content
- Smart-match advocates with deals in your pipeline
- Track and assign rewards and incentives
- Display dynamic, personalized content on your website and landing pages
- Integrate your data to quantify advocacy impact and ROI
Refined focus on the customer experience
With the right tools in your corner, it's a whole lot easier to personalize at scale and make your program a joy to participate in.
But remember, the whole point of advocacy is building relationships. Although it's a software-enabled process, you still need to make it authentic and human.
That means:
- Training your sales team to use advocacy content in the sales process
- Recognizing your advocates through social media, email, and other channels
- Offering more than just rewards (think: early access to product updates, exclusive events)
- Asking customers for feedback and taking it seriously
Deeto makes it easy to do all these things and more. If you want to learn how to build a frictionless, authentic customer advocacy program that amplifies your brand and helps you build stronger relationships with your customers, request a demo today.
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