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Three Surprising Findings About Brand AdvocatesZuberance Study, 2012
Brand Advocates are: Highly active Have larger social networks Recommend more types of products than previously thought
Brand Advocates – consumers and business buyers who frequently recommend brands and products without being paid – are highly trusted and influential. Their recommendations drive trillions of dollars of purchase decisions for everything from cars to computers, fish tacos to fitness memberships, software to smart phones.
Now, a new study sponsored by Zuberance has revealed three surprising findings about Brand Advocates. The Zuberance study found that:
Brand Advocates are even more active than previously thought. Brand Advocates recommend more brands, products, and services more often and in more categories than earlier data suggested.
Brand Advocates have even larger social networks than previous studies showed. Brand Advocates have hundreds of friends and colleagues in their social networks. Their recommendations reach many more people than earlier estimates suggested.
Brand Advocates’ recommendations aren’t limited to consumer brands and products. Contrary to popular belief, Brand Advocates recommend both consumer and business products and services. Advocates recommend products that most people consider mundane, like anti-virus software and file transfer services.
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“Power Advocates”The Zuberance study also has suggested that there is a segment of Brand Advocates who are extremely active. These “Power Advocates,” which comprise about 15% of Brand Advocates:
• Recommend dozens of brands, products, and services
• Recommend several times each week
• Have more than 500 people in their social networks
A global Word of Mouth study by Gfk Roper in 2006 found that the average consumer recommends 3.7 brands. The Zuberance study found that, on average, Brand Advocates recommend nine brands, products, and services per year. The study also found that 16% of Brand Advocates recommend 10 or more brands, products, and services and 16% recommend 15 or more.
1. Brand Advocates are even more active than previously thought.
1 - 4 5 - 9 10 - 15 More than 150%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
30%
38%
16% 16%
NUMBER OF BRANDS, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES RECOMMENDED IN 1 YEAR
16% recommend more than 15
brands
32% recommend 10 or more brands
On average, Brand Advocates make 26 recommendations per year. But 18% of Brand Advocates recommend about once a week and 12% recommend several times per week.
1. Brand Advocates are even more active than previously thought.
FREQUENCY OF RECOMMENDATION
On average Advocates make 26 recommendations
per year
30% recommend once weekly or
more
A couple times a year
About once a month
About once a week
Several times a week
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
33%
38%
18%
12%
The Zuberance study also found that Brand Advocates make recommendations across multiple industries. While technology (25%) is the most popular category, Advocates make recommendations in ten industries including restaurants and dining, entertainment and leisure, and household items plus others.
1. Brand Advocates are even more active than previously thought.
MOST RECOMMENDED CATEGORIES
Automotive3% Beauty & Cosmetics
4%Entertainment &
Leisure14%
Fashion & Apparel
4%
Food, Beverage & Tobacco
10%
Health & Fitness7%
Household Items10%
Restaurants & Dining
15%
Technology25%
Travel & Hospitality7%
Other studies have indicated that Brand Advocates have larger social networks than non-Advocates. For example, a 2006 Comscore-Yahoo study, conducted before the rise of Facebook and social networking, found that Brand Advocates have 82 people in their social networks. The Zuberance study shows that on average, Brand Advocates have between 200 and 450 people in their social networks. And online Brand Advocates – consumers who recommend their favorite brands and products using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, plus shopping and review sites like Amazon.com, TripAdvisor, and Yelp – have between 300 to 600 contacts in their social networks.
2. Brand Advocates have very large social networks.
ESTIMATED NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN ADVOCATES’ SOCIAL NETWORKS (IN HUNDREDS)
Online Advocates have 300-600 in their networks
18% have 500+ in social networks
Many people mistakenly believe that Brand Advocates’ recommendations are limited to consumer products, like iPhones, energy drinks, and restaurants. In fact, the majority of Brand Advocates (67%) recommend both business and consumer products and services.
3. Brand Advocates recommend both consumer and business products.
TYPES OF RECOMMENDATIONS
Business products and services (e.g., business computers, business software, business consulting services)
Consumer products and services (e.g., cars, electronics, movies, hotels, restaurants)
Both business and consumer products and services
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
1%
31%
67%
Other Intriguing Findings The Zuberance study also revealed other intriguing findings about Brand Advocates.
Half of the respondents (50%) said the primary reason they recommend is they’ve had a good experience with a product or service. Over one-third (37%) of Brand Advocates recommend because they want to help others. Only 1% of respondents said they recommend because they get incentives and rewards. This finding confirms previous research showing that incentives like free products, discounts, cash, or points do not motivate authentic Brand Advocates.
Brand Advocates recommend because of good experiences and a desire to help others, not because they get freebies.
PRIMARY REASON FOR RECOMMENDING
I get incentives and rewards (e.g., free products, discounts, cash, points) for recommending
I want others to know I'm knowledgeable about certain brands and types of products
I recommend brands, products, and services but only when I am asked my opinion
I want to help others (e.g., I want my friends to make smarter purchase decisions)
I had good experiences with a product or service
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
1%
3%
8%
37%
50%
Over 80% of Brand Advocates believe their recommendations get their friends and peers to take action. Sixty-one percent of Advocates said their recommendations caused friends and peers to consider buying the recommended brand, product, or service and 22% said their contacts buy the recommended item.
Brand Advocates are persuasive salespeople
WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE RECOMMENDATION
They don't do anything with the recommendation
I don't know
They buy the brand, product or service I recommend
They consider buying the brand, product or service I recommend
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
0%
17%
22%
61%
Brand Advocates who recommend online and offline use both methods fairly evenly. They recommend brands and products online on Facebook, Amazon.com, TripAdvisor, and Yelp plus offline (over coffee, dinner, while on the phone, etc.).
Brand Advocates recommend using online and offline channels
RECOMMENDATION METHODS USED BY CONSUMERS: OFFLINE & ONLINE
1 2 30
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1,000
774
376
143
122
343
143
22
47
143
Online: Third-party Shopping/Review Sites
Online: Social Networks
Offline (e.g., meeting, phone)
E-mail and Facebook are the most popular online tools for Advocates, the study showed.
Brand Advocates recommend using online and offline channels
Blog1%
Email57%
Facebook35%
LinkedIn1%
Twitter1%
eCommerce & Third-party sites
5%
ONLINE TOOLS USED FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
Implications for Marketers Here are the implications for marketers:
• Marketers need to identify and engage Advocates now. It’s important that marketers find out who their Advocates are by name and email address and create an ongoing dialogue with them. This is not a one-time exercise and should not be limited to quarterly or annual customer satisfaction studies. It should be done on an ongoing basis using online surveys, social media listening tools, and other ways of identifying Advocates.
• Marketers should activate their Advocates immediately. In the social media age, power has shifted from advertising’s Mad Men to trusted Brand Advocates. Getting Advocates to recommend a company and its products or services is the most important marketing mission.
• Marketers need to place special emphasis on Power Advocates. Marketers should seek to identify and mobilize as many Advocates as possible. Special efforts should be made to engage and energize Power Advocates because they are a company’s or brand’s most influential Advocates.
Lastly, the Zuberance study again puts to rest the myth that advocacy is a consumer phenomenon only. As the study showed, people recommend both consumer and business products. Therefore B2C and B2B marketers need to find and activate their Advocates.
How the Study Was Conducted A total of 1,445 consumers participated in the Zuberance study, which was conducted January 4-17, 2012 by Loyalty Wins, a consultancy providing strategic guidance on developing global customer experience programs. Participants for the study, which represented a cross-section of US adults, were provided by Media Baby, an online marketing solutions company with a 100% permission-based database of more than 65 million records.
About Zuberance Zuberance is the leading social media marketing company focused on Brand Advocates. Zuberance’s award-winning social media marketing solution enables companies to systematically identify and energize their highly-satisfied customers (AKA “Brand Advocates”), driving measurable increases in referral leads, recommendations, and revenues. For more information, visit www.zuberance.com or follow Zuberance on Twitter @zuberance.
Three Surprising Findings About Brand Advocates
To download the full report go to: zuberance.com/brandadvocateresearch
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