Brand advocacy has changed sales and management methods because buyers today have enormous data available on the internet and communication has also become effortless.
Buyers invariably seek advice from known friends or trustworthy consumer sources before making a purchase decision. Brands have begun to realize that what others say and write about them can make or mar their sales.
Prior to the advent of the internet, mobile and social media, brands built consumers’ awareness using traditional TV/Radio/Direct Mail campaigns.
Business organizations realize that traditional sales management methods no longer suffice to stay and survive in business in this era of information explosion.
Their existing customers and third party influencers have the capabilities to generate more referrals and help boost sales than the brand itself.
Business houses are reorienting their sales management policies taking into account the fact that external influences can transform into high-performing sales.
Businesses are evolving and putting in place the technology that would facilitate them to monitor and manage brand advocacy. The changed technology will enable brands to exploit social channels that will boost referrals, share information about new products, and write testimonials.
Business houses appreciate the importance of transforming their customers and other outside influencers into life-long brand advocates.
When your brand advocates share an offer with a prospective customer and that prospect accepts the offer, brands get a high quality lead that costs far less to acquire. Sales leads from this channel also take minimum time to generate.
Requesting your brand advocates to refer their friends is a rapid way to curtail the sales cycle and acquire new customers incurring no cost. Besides, referral prospects are the easiest parties to whom you can sell.
Because these prospects were referred by someone they trust, they readily buy your products. This apart, these new buyers are also more likely to refer your products to all others they know.
Creating and cultivating a large group of advocates can be richly rewarding as it will help in greater awareness of your brand, enlarge customer-base and boost revenue. The financial investment to create this channel is quite negligible when compared with the long-term benefits for the brand.
Finally, it can be said that a brand is no longer defined by what the marketers tell customers but by what the consumers and other influencers tell the world.