Identifying the “Best” Brand Evangelists

Branding Strategies: Identifying the “Best” Brand Evangelists

Yesterday I wrote about a case study for CashForGold, and their mistake of not developing sincere brand evangelists in today’s market.  In this post, I want to talk to you about brand evangelism and how to determine which customers will make the best brand evangelists for your products/services.

What is a Brand Evangelist?

Brand evangelists are a very special group of people.  They are your most loyal customers, and will go out of their way to spread the word about your brand. Mack Collier explains, “In many ways, brand evangelists are a company’s marketing partner. But brand evangelists are also members of communities, and as such their ability to reach fellow customers is often greater than a company’s. Whereas many companies use traditional marketing tactics to send a one-way promotional message to customers, brand evangelists can communicate with customers in their space. This is a very powerful difference: It shifts the communication from being one-way to creating an actual dialogue; and whereas many people simply do not trust advertising, a recommendation from a fellow customer is credible.”

Who are Your Brand Evangelists?

With the boom in social media over the past few years, everyone is talking to everyone else about everything, so how do you choose the right people as brand evangelists? The answer is that you don’t necessarily “choose” your brand evangelists, they choose you!  You can, however, select potential evangelists according to each individual’s interests, preferences and values, and then provide them with the information they need to promote your brand.

When looking to single out your top brand evangelists, I like to use the model created by Dave Balter, founder and CEO of BzzAgent, Inc.  His brand evangelism selection model revolves around the following three simple guidelines:

1. “Category Appreciation: Does the individual care about your product or service– or could the person learn to value what you offer? Would it make sense for that consumer to discuss your product with others?
2. Curiosity Quotient: Word-of-mouth success is not based on how many people with whom a consumer talks, but rather whether the product complements the person’s lifestyle. This is a huge distinction that many marketers overlook. Don’t evaluate your campaign participants based on how positive they will be, choose them instead because of their personal interest in the item.
3. Channel Usage: As media continues to fragment, the need to integrate the broadest spectrum of “customer evangelism” media — blogs, personal videos, at-home events, et cetera — becomes critical. A high impact word-of-mouth program encourages individuals to share their opinions in the places that are appropriate and natural for them.”

Once you have identified your top evangelists, you can then begin communicating with them, and sending them the information they need to promote your brand.  Now I do not recommend sending them your brand’s media or marketing packet, but instead engage with them on their level.  Find out what they like about your product/service, why they recommend you to their friends, offer them the chance to try out your new products/services at no charge (you know they are going to talk about it once you give it to them, so enjoy the marketing!)

If you only remember one thing from this article, remember that it is the relationship you develop with these evangelists that will grow your brand.  Consumers are much more likely to purchase a product/service when it has been recommended by someone they like and trust.  Why shouldn’t it be your brand they are recommending?

“The only way I know of to turn a customer into an evangelist is to consistently deliver unique value that exceeds their expectations.” – Pat McGraw