Your brand management strategy for 2022 should include engaging customers to make them brand advocates. Customers can be your best advocates, but only when they are motivated to talk about you.

All it takes is trust.

Edelman, a global communication firm that works with brands such as Dove, Ikea and Samsung, recently revealed that consumers are 7X more likely to purchase trusted brands. Trusted brands are motivated advocacy by brand advocates.

We will discuss customer brand advocacy, its importance for long-term growth and how engagement can help you do it.

What is customer brand advocacy?

When customers promote your brand, they become brand advocates. Customers can write positive customer reviews, refer customers to your site, promote your brand in a blog post, video or social media.

No matter what vehicle they use to promote a brand’s products or services, word-of mouth marketing is the result. Your brand advocates are passionate about your products or company, and will tell others about it.

Although anyone can become a brand advocate for your brand, there are three main types of people that can help you build trust in your brand.

• Employees (especially your organisation’s leadership).: Steve Jobs is an excellent example of an employee who helped to establish and promote Apple’s brand.
• Partners and vendors who work with you – Co-branding vendor partnerships can help both brands to be more visible and increase their visibility to customers.
• Customers – Any customer, new or old, can become a brand advocate.

Customer advocacy is especially effective in helping eCommerce companies get new customers, increase sales and establish trust.

Why is customer branding important for ecommerce businesses?

Brand advocates help legitimize your brand to other customers and can deeply–and positively–influence sales. More than 90% customers look for social recommendations from their friends and family before making a purchase.

This is partly due to the fact that consumer opinions and recommendations of friends are more trustworthy than other forms promotion such as TV ads.

Brand advocates are customers who are extremely satisfied with brands. They truly love what you do.

Advocates speak about the products that they use every day. Advocates are 75 percent more likely than non-advocates to share their experiences with your company. They share information almost everywhere but most notably online via email, social media and chat.

Engaging with customer brand advocates is a great way to grow your eCommerce business.

• They make people buy things. Brand advocates are 50 times more likely than regular customers to influence purchase decisions.
• They will advertise your company free of charge. Brand advocates are 83% more likely to share information on you to others.
• They are trusted by other customers. 90% of customers believe that word-of-mouth recommendations are what influence a purchase decision.

Your brand is valued by brand advocates who promote it and communicate authenticity. They can share your content with their networks and make you more visible. And they are more credible when they review your products and stores.

How can you create brand loyalty?

A great brand experience is key to building brand loyalty. Sell high-quality products. Communicate clearly the purpose of your company and your commitment to customers. Encourage and support employees to share positive experiences about their company with others.

Learn what customers are interested in and use language that emphasizes the company’s values to inform your content and interactions.

It is important to be clear about your beliefs.

71% of respondents to a Porter Novelli survey stated that they would choose a company that is purchase-driven over another when making a decision between two brands.

Trust to consumers equals purpose (and trust equals sales). The Porter Novelli survey found that purpose-driven brands are trusted and transparent.

How to leverage customer engagement to build brand loyalty

Although any customer who is passionate about your company makes a great brand advocate, it’s impossible to predict how and when they’ll talk about you business.

You can also help build brand loyalty by engaging with customers and allowing them to share their experiences.

For example, provide a unique product return experience

This is how Zappos, now owned by Amazon, rose to prominence as an online shoe retailer. Zappos allowed their customers to buy multiple sizes and allowed them return unwanted shoes free of charge. This helped to build an online shoe store that was more than a decade in the making.

This approach may not be sustainable for all eCommerce businesses, but we recognize that Zappos offered a superior customer service experience that was different from other companies and helped to establish trust. It earned brand loyalty and advocacy. Customers love to tell others about you.

Another way to get customers talking about you is by hosting social media hashtag events and contests. Hashtag campaigns can be a great way for brand advocates to engage with you and promote your business. Hasbro’s #DoGoodFromHome campaign inspired customers to act of kindness at home during the pandemic.

The company asked people to share a photo or video on social media with the #DoGoodFromHome hashtag. Hasbro pledged to donate a game or toy to every act of kindness shared.

Referral programs are another way to motivate brand advocates.

The simplest way to get advocates talking is to encourage product reviews after a customer makes a purchase.

An online store that is great encourages brand advocacy

Online stores can help build trust and encourage customer advocacy.

Wix’s eCommerce platform is an industry leader and includes more than 130 online store templates that are designed by designers, branding tools such as our logo maker, as well as a wide range of eCommerce features to personalize your store.

Wix eCommerce allows you to sell anywhere and across multiple channels with unlimited customization via APIs. It also offers a robust blog platform that will allow you to differentiate your brand (and encourage your customers advocates).

source https://www.wix.com/blog/ecommerce/2022/02/ecommerce-customer-engagement