How to create passionate brand advocates
The secret to fast growth? Customers who can’t stop talking about you.
When Aussie underwear brand Step One launched in 2017 from founder Greg Taylor’s bedroom, few could have predicted its meteoric rise. Just four years later, the brand had amassed more than $70 million in revenue and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
One of the key factors in Step One’s success? Its ability to turn customers into passionate brand advocates. In its first four years alone, the brand earned more than 50,000 five-star reviews.Meanwhile, a referral marketing programme incentivised customers to share Step One with their family and friends – turning satisfied shoppers into a power sales driver.
“Referral marketing is a huge part of our customer acquisition at Step One, through both organic word of mouth and our referral friend program,” says Step One partnerships manager Jason Cadee.
They say a satisfied customer is a loyal customer, and in this digital age, they can also be your best marketing strategy – if they’re willing to share your brand with their network.
In fact, research1 shows that 88 per cent of consumers globally trust ‘earned media’ (word-of-mouth recommendations) over branded advertising – meaning that brand advocacy could be the most cost-efficient way to boost brand awareness, build trust, foster customer loyalty and positively impact sales..
What is brand advocacy?
Brand advocacy – also known as customer advocacy – is when customers voluntarily promote a brand because they genuinely love it. This advocacy might take the form of word-of-mouth, glowing online reviews, or content shared on social media.
“Brand advocacy turns customers into a powerful marketing asset,” says public relations and branding mentor Catriona Pollard. “In retail, where competition is fierce and consumers have endless choices, brand advocacy can be a key differentiator, fostering loyalty and driving sales in a way that traditional marketing alone often cannot.”
How to drive brand advocacy
Here’s the thing: the only way to create true brand advocates is to create a superior customer experience. Everything from your products or services to your customer journey and communication needs to be top-notch for customers to want to sing your praises.
Once you have that foundation, here’s how to transform happy customers into passionate advocates who will recommend your brand.
Post-purchase communication
The sale is in the bag. End of story? In a successful brand advocacy program, it’s just the beginning. The after-purchase experience is a key part of the customer journey in terms of satisfaction and repeat business.
Retailers can encourage loyalty and brand advocacy at this stage in a number of ways. For example, an e-commerce beauty brand could include a handwritten note inside each box or in packaging asking customers to leave a review or post on social media. Retailers could also consider adding a request at the bottom of receipts or on to post-purchase emails.
Bunnings encourages customer feedback by providing multiple channels for advocacy, including online forms, in-store interactions, emails requesting feedback, and Write a Review buttons.
And if the reviews aren’t all glowing? That’s still an opportunity. “A poor review can present an opportunity to demonstrate excellent customer service and commitment to improvement,” says Pollard. “The key is to respond quickly, professionally, and empathetically.
"A poor review can present an opportunity to demonstrate excellent customer service."
Referral programs
Referral marketing gives customer-to-customer promotion a helping hand, using incentives such as discounts or rewards to encourage recommendations. Many brands use specific software, such as Referral Rock, ReferralCandy and Referral Factory, to create and manage their referral programs.
Referral programs work by giving customers something they want – whether that’s a discount, credit, loyalty points or free products – in return for sharing a referral.
Take Aussie mattress retailer Koala, which launched in 2015 with a marketing campaign that featured real customers’ reviews. A key part of its brand-building strategy is its generous Refer a Friend programme, which offers a $200 discount to customers, as well as $200 to any friends they bring into the fold.
“Koala’s focus on customer satisfaction naturally leads to advocacy,” says Pollard. “Their online presence often features customers enjoying their products and encourages positive word-of-mouth.”
But rewards don’t always have to be monetary. Cloud storage company Dropbox famously offered extra storage space to users who referred friends. This approach helped Dropbox grow from 100,000 users to 4 million in just 15 months2.
Identify and amplify super fans
Every brand has its cheerleaders; you just need to find them.
This means combing through positive reviews, comments on social media posts, and tracking customers who forward your emails or repeatedly refer new customers.
Social media tools like Sprout Social and Keyhole can help you identify your most active fans. You can also use survey tools such as Net Promoter Score (NPS) to pinpoint those most likely to refer others.
Once identified, consider ways to nurture and spotlight these superfans – whether that’s giving them early access to new products, asking for feedback, or inviting them to exclusive events. When Go-To Skincare turned 10, for example, the brand invited its very first and most loyal customers to a celebration at founder Zoë Foster-Blake’s home.
User-generated content
Unboxing videos, rate my outfit, real hotel images – these are all ways that customers provide free advertising for your brand by creating user-generated content (UGC) that they post on their social media channels.
“UCG is a powerful tool in our arsenal for attracting new customers,” says Cadee of Step One. “There is so much mass-produced advertising and content these days that people are now trusting ordinary individuals more and more. Therefore, the best way to advertise is to showcase real, authentic people who enjoy and use the product.”
Want to take UCG one step further? Consider a paid influencer marketing campaign, where influencers are offered products or services and paid to post about them.
The bottom line
Brand advocacy doesn’t happen overnight, but when it does, it’s invaluable. Happy customers who genuinely believe in your brand can often promote it more powerfully, more persuasively, and more cost-effectively than a paid campaign. But the secret is to focus on delivering standout experiences first, so advocacy will follow.
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