Brand evangelists: what they are and what they can do for your business

Put simply, a brand evangelist is someone who strongly believes in your product and is happy to promote it. While customers may buy your product or service, brand evangelists go a step further and “preach” their experience with your brand to the outside world.

How can you foster this level of fandom? In short, give your users quality customer service that extends beyond your product offering. Here’s how:

Create a memorable customer experience

With some skill, great customer service can diffuse a bad situation and make an opportunity to generate returning business. In fact, according to a recent study, 66% of US consumers are willing to spend more money with a company that provides them with excellent customer service. Good feelings are worth way more than some saved cash!

On the flip side, customers may decide against making a purchase because of poor customer service. Even worse, a single bad experience is shared, on average, 16 times. Instead of doing damage control on word-of-mouth feedback, be proactive with your customer service efforts to always deliver delight and satisfaction.

Train customer service superstars

Standing out from your competitors is crucial for your company’s success. Thankfully, you can achieve this by focusing on customer service and satisfaction.

Zappos is a great example of a company that’s thriving because of their stellar customer service. The company uses their customer service agents to build strong relationships with their customers––not just make a sale. They also treat employees the same way they would treat a customer in order to foster employee advocates.

That exact attitude is what has created such loyal fans of the brand. This model should serve as an example for everyone: treat people with genuine care and you’ll soon have a loyal following of brand evangelists.

Of course, that concept is easy to understand. The harder part is figuring out how to train a 5-star customer service team. At MOO, we recommend keeping a customer-first approach, with a side of cake. Check out our guide to A+ customer service here.

Transparency is key

A key ingredient of customer loyalty is trust. Some of the most successful companies are those that are honest about their problems––and even ask their audience for help.

As a best practice, send out a yearly (or quarterly) survey to your customers—after all, your customers know your offering just as well as you do. Ask them about what areas you can improve. How was their customer experience? Did the product live up to their expectations? What products do they want to see from you in the future? Once you receive the results, share the key findings with your customers to show that you are taking the feedback to heart. Posting the survey results will make evangelists feel that their feedback can lead to meaningful changes in your brand’s offering.

“Treat people with genuine care, and you’ll soon have a loyal following of brand evangelists.”

Brand evangelists love social media

Brand evangelists will naturally want to share their great experiences with your company on social media. You have the power to spur this conversation—but how?

On a simple level, retweet and reply to all your customers. If they’re taking the time to compliment you, they might as well get some extra exposure and good feelings in the process. To take things to the next level, send them a gift or discount code as a way to say ‘thank you’ for the Internet love.

If you have some extra time––or a social media team––create a customer spotlight on your blog and social channels as well. This will give your fans a moment in the limelight, and allow you to illustrate how loyal people are to your brand. After all, loyalty is a two-way street, so profiling your customers will return the favor in exchange for continued support.

Provide with purpose

Companies that have a strong ethos––or a strong knowledge of their purpose––are much more compelling to customers.

This isn’t something that you have to dig for on the company’s website. Your values should come through in everything you do—from marketing to customer service. Since customers can know exactly how the company they’re backing is run, they’re more likely to support it. Transparency is key to creating brand evangelists.

What ways do you delight your loyal customers? How have brand evangelists helped your business? Share in the comments below!