How To Turn Customers into Brand Advocates
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Have you ever wondered how brands like Apple and Target cultivate brand advocates? Positive brand loyalty encourages customers to post about a brand on social media and spread their name via word of mouth. However, achieving a high level of brand advocacy is not easy. Read below to learn how offering incentives, like easy to send e-gift cards, can turn customers into strong brand advocates.
Customer Advocacy Programs
Customer advocacy programs are marketing initiatives designed to turn customers into spokespeople for your brand. Successful brand advocacy programs entail an open dialogue between your company and your customers, building trust and credibility. Most formal customer advocacy programs do this by offering customer incentives.
Offering rewards, such as rewards points, discounts, or gift cards, incentivize customers to share their experience, generating positive word-of-mouth. Word-of-mouth is powerful. People are far more likely to believe customer reviews and product testimonials over traditional advertising, which helps build and retain a solid customer base.
To help your brand get started with a customer advocacy program, consider offering gift card rewards. Brands that offer gift cards in exchange for customer referrals have stronger brand recognition and a higher public opinion than brands that do not incentivize referrals.
How to Find an Easy Incentive Solution
A customer advocacy program might sound nice, but how do you stay consistent and timely when rewarding customers? E-gift cards are a great way to generate positive reviews from your satisfied customers. After all, who doesn’t like a little extra money toward their favorite restaurant, store, or coffee shop? Keep in mind, not all e-gift card incentive programs are created equal. Make sure to use these tips for greater brand advocacy success:
- Offer a desirable incentive—Make sure the value of your reward matches the size of your ask. A $5 gift card, for example, is excellent for incentivizing a customer to take a survey. For a referral request that results in a new customer, you’ll want to offer an incentive closer to $50–$100.
- Make the criteria clear—When extending your incentive offer to existing customers, clearly state the task they must accomplish and the corresponding reward value. Include all information such as offer dates, reward limitations, or any other restrictions for total transparency.
- Communicate your offer—You could be offering the best incentive ever, and nobody will know if you don’t get the word out! Email marketing campaigns, website mentions, and social media posts are all effective ways to share a gift card incentive offer with existing customers.
Looking for an easy-to-use e-gift card solution? Try Tango Card, a company that makes gift cards easy to send and awesome to receive. Tango Card’s simple reward system includes their most popular product, Reward Link—the fastest, easiest way to send a choice of gift cards. Tango’s easy reward solution integrates with numerous survey platforms, allowing for delivery automation, instantly sending e-gift cards via email. Thus, you don’t have to worry about manually rewarding each recipient.
Your existing customers are your greatest asset when it comes to attracting new business. With the right customer advocacy program and the right incentives, you can secure more positive reviews and testimonials to help spread the word about your company.
