Brand Advocates: Turning Enthusiastic Customers into a Powerful Marketing Force

Chapter 19

Energizing: Advocates Have the Answers

Getting Advocates to answer prospects' questions is the third way you can energize your enthusiastic customers.

This is the best example of the Triangle of Trust. You're facilitating a conversation between your Advocates and prospects.

This is more personal and powerful than reviews or stories.

How Advocate Answers Works

Here's how Ooma is getting its Advocates to answer prospects' questions:

1. Invite prospects to ask questions. Ooma is putting a banner on the product page of its website, inviting prospects to ask questions. (This banner could also be put on other areas of your site. Plus, you can also put a banner or link on e-mail newsletters, Twitter, Facebook, or even within your online ads.) Here's the banner that Ooma has put on the product page of its website (see Figure 19.1).

2. Prospects ask questions. After clicking on the banner or link, prospects come to an online form that makes it easy for them to ask questions like this (see Figure 19.2).

3. Questions are sent to Advocates. After prospects create their questions and click on a submit button, the questions are routed via e-mail to Advocates. Here's an example (see Figure 19.3).

4. Answers are e-mailed back to prospects. After Advocates answer prospects' questions, the answers are then e-mailed to prospects (see Figure 19.4).

Figure 19.1 Ooma Banner Invitation

Source: Ooma.

Figure 19.2 Ooma Prospect Question

Source: Ooma.

Figure 19.3 Question Sent to Ooma Advocate ...