Brand Advocates: Turning Enthusiastic Customers into a Powerful Marketing Force

Chapter 4

Five Proven Ways (and One Shocking Way) to Create More Brand Advocates

Advocates already exist. Your opportunity is to turn them into a powerful marketing force.

But how do companies create more Brand Advocates? Here's what it takes:

1. Provide an “insanely great product.”

This was one of Steve Jobs's famous statements. Very few people go out of their way to advocate mediocre products or services. Advocacy starts with having a product or service people are eager to recommend.

2. Deliver memorable service.

In an era when so many products and services are similar, service is the great differentiator. Nordstrom, Zappo's, and Four Seasons hotels are examples of companies that created legions of Advocates by providing extraordinary service.

3. Focus on good profits.

As loyalty guru Fred Reichheld has stated, there's a difference between good profits and bad profits. Bad profits include earnings from price gouging, cutbacks on customer service, and hidden charges.

4. Do the right thing, even when it costs you money.

It's easy for companies to do the right thing when it doesn't cost extra. But when doing the right thing costs companies money, many firms take the low road. For example, if allowing a customer to return a lemon costs you money, do it anyway. Much better to do this than create a Detractor. If your company has screwed up, admit your mistake and fix it as fast as possible. In the social media age, a handful of disgruntled customers can harm your company or brand's ...