As it relates to marketing, the term “low hanging fruit” is often used to describe your best channel for revenue with the least amount of work. Gaining new customers can be hard and expensive, especially in today’s market when it’s required to earn customer trust before they will purchase. Don’t fret, there is a solution.
The answer is developing a brand ambassador program. A brand ambassador program allows you to utilize ongoing, ideal relationships with special customers who are already fans of your brand and want to be ambassadors for it. Brand ambassadors not only stay in contact with your ideal customer base and promote your business to them, but provide essential and unique feedback that allows you to market more efficiently, allowing you to move forward and learn who your customers are and what they like.
1. Define Your Goals & Identify a Strategy
This is the time to be realistic in your brand ambassador program planning stage. Decide early if your goals are to increase awareness/engagement or revenue/sales, or both. Identifying your goals clearly will help you develop the right tactics to achieve them in a timely manner. Start by recognizing the most loyal advocates of the brand, enable them to take part as a brand embassador and empower them to inspire others.
2. Create a “Win-Win” Scenario
Ask yourself the question, “What does my customer value and how can I give that to them?” Now is the time to decide what you will provide to your ambassadors to help spread your brand’s message to the general public. Ambassadors can put these marketing materials on their social pages and blogs, helping the effort to increase engagement and conversation about your brand. Rewards or incentives are always appreciated, but not allows necessary. True brand ambassadors believe in your product or service as much as you and therefore want to share it.
3. Release the Reins
After creating your goals and developing strategies to execute the campaign tactics, it’s time to let the magic happen. Give your community the time and power to start the conversation and share information with one another, perhaps on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or blogs. Analyzing the progress of your ambassador campaign is the exciting part and great opportunity to learn what works and what doesn’t. As you discover success, reach out to your most active fans. Although you’re gaining new users, maintaining that ideal relationship with those who are already using your product increases brand loyalty.
4. Measure Success
There are many ways to track and analyze success of an ambassador program, depending on what outlets you use for the campaign and what your initial goals were. You can measure increase in followers, likes, check-ins and engagement for social websites. A great way to measure sales leads or new prospects in through online form fills, phone calls or scheduled face-to-face appointments. You can also analyze survey results or Google+ reviews. It is important to learn from these results to better optimize the campaign moving forward.
Best part is – an ambassador program doesn’t truly end. A successful brand doesn’t stop creating for its community. Ask yourself, how can I keep delivering value for my ambassadors? How can my ambassadors keep spreading the word to others? The answers to these questions will put your brand on the track to success.