Everyone who’s studied business or marketing should know that keeping customers is more cost efficient than acquiring new ones.
What you may not know is how to use advocate marketing to recruit existing customers into your customer acquisition program.
This presentation will explain why Advocate Marketing is important,
and how you can use it to grow your business.
“Advocates are not just satisfied customers. They are enthusiasts who embrace your company’s vision and willingly advance your interests through their interaction with others.
Whether by sharing experiences online, referring new business, or recommending your products, these supporters
have enormous influence on your brand, demand generation, and pipeline efforts.”
In nearly every industry, consumers and business professionals alike trust the opinions of their peers more
than they trust brands.
Nielsen found that 84 percent of consumers take opinions of family and friends most seriously when making
purchase decisions.
84%
97%
In 2014, Spiceworks research found that 97 percent of IT buyers rely on peer recommendations as well as ratings
and reviews when choosing business software.
How IT Buyers Consume Their Content
Use during buying cycle
Use specifically for research/awareness
Use specifically for vendor consideration
100
80
60
40
20
0
97%
82% 79%
How IT Buyers Consume Peer Recommendations
How IT Buyers Consume Their Content
Use during buying cycle
Use specifically for research/awareness
Use specifically for vendor consideration
100
80
60
40
20
0
97%
80% 79%
How IT Buyers Consume Ratings and Reviews
How IT Buyers Consume Their Content
Use during buying cycle
Use specifically for research/awareness
Use specifically for vendor consideration
100
80
60
40
20
0
89%75%
54%
How IT Buyers Consume Free Product Trials
“Influitive...gives DocuSign a powerful way to gather advocates in one place and tap into our
customers’ passion.”
“Influitive...gives DocuSign a powerful way to gather advocates in one place and tap into our
customers’ passion.”
- Meagen Eisenberg, VP of Demand Generation
Before you start building the program, you need to identify the type of customer that would
make a good advocate.
Consider these three questions:
Do you have an ideal industry or business type for your product? Do your advocates work in such an environment?
1 Do you have an ideal industry or business type foryour product? Do your advocates work in such anenvironment?
Consider these three questions:
Do you have an ideal industry or business type for your product? Do your advocates work in such an environment?
Is the advocate active in the appropriate communities? Do they engage in online forums or get involved in professional groups?
1
2
Do you have an ideal industry or business type foryour product? Do your advocates work in such anenvironment?
Consider these three questions:
Do you have an ideal industry or business type for
your product? Do your advocates work in such an
environment?
Is the advocate active in the appropriate
communities? Do they engage in online forums or get
involved in professional groups?
How can you entice a customer to advocate for your
brand? What do they need in exchange?
1
2
3
Do you have an ideal industry or business type foryour product? Do your advocates work in such anenvironment?
?At its core, advocate marketing is
melding your outreach into a coordinated campaign - complete with an ask and reward
At its core, advocate marketing melds your outreach into a coordinated campaign that
includes an ask and a reward.
Examples:
• Ask for an advocate to write a review of your product
• Ask them to refer a new customer
Advocacy marketing doesn’t only have to target customers; employees are excellent brand advocates, too.
Employee advocacy asks could be as simple as sharing company content on social media or as detailed as leaving
a review on an employment job forum.
Especially by sharing photos and other content related to the culture of the company,
your employees can be the driving force behind your brand.
They can convince potential customers that your business is a vibrant, friendly establishment, rather than a cavern
of whitewashed walls and stale coffee.
Advocate marketing grants marketers the ability tocontrol their brand narrative from a perspective
outside the office.
By recruiting the real professionals who use your product or service, you’re essentially developing a network of fans who
not only reinforce your brand’s story,
but also contribute to real business results by referring new customers and leaving positive product reviews.
By listing products and services on our site, you not only expand your marketing reach by tapping a new audience,
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