One of the best marketing your startup company can get is when your customers start talking more about you and promoting you to others. And when harnessed correctly, that brand evangelism can give you the edge over competitors. But how do you awaken that sense of fervor among your customers? Let’s look into the secrets.
Understanding Brand Evangelism
So what is brand evangelism exactly? Brand evangelism is a customer’s dedication and enthusiasm for your label. That goes beyond typical loyal customers and advocates. Evangelists are your super fans who are ready to say good things about you. They will also fiercely promote it to others.
Why Are Evangelists Important?
Fostering brand evangelism can bring a lot to your business. Here are two reasons why you would want to invest in these superfans.
Potential Customers Trust People They Know More
Trying to convince people that your brand is worth their time is always a challenge for marketing. People are already wary of brands trying to advertise themselves as something big. But when close friends and family make the recommendations, they are more likely to listen.
Image from Hospitalitynet.
This part is where brand evangelists come in. One thing that sets them apart from the usual salesman is that they do not gain anything from that endorsement. They just love your brand. And that level of enthusiasm will win their friends and family over. From there, it is easy for them to convince other people.
Evangelists Provide Low-Cost Advertising
Okay, so you might already be aware of this. But you will be surprised as to what extent brand evangelists can advertise your startup company. These customers are willing to talk about your brand on every platform they have access to. In particular, many of them are active in social media.
That level of exposure gives them a lot of chances to go viral. Their authenticity and honesty are enough to get even those not connected to them to pay attention. You would not want to miss this opportunity. And all they want in return for their promotional effort is some recognition from you.
The Types Of Brand Evangelists For Your Startup Company
It is worth noting that brand evangelists can be varied. After all, every person has their reasons for liking your brand. However, you can broadly divide them into three different types. Understanding which of these types are more common in your customer base will help you devise a plan to engage them.
The Local Promoter
Image from Business First.
These are the people who endorse your brand on the grassroots level. They start as someone being impressed by the service delivered by your local branch. That initial interaction gives them the emotional connection to stay with your brand for years. During that time, they make the effort to convince their immediate families and neighbors to try that brand.
The Product Lover
These are customers who found your products to be the solution they are looking for. Often, this solution isn’t something they have expected. As such, they find new respect and affinity for it. They are the ones who will quickly buy your latest products and write glowing reviews about them.
The Image Maven
Image from 3BL Media.
These are the people who strongly identify with your brand image. They then connect your products to their image and reinforce the latter. You will see them post pictures and stories about using your products a lot online.
The Ethical Admirer
This customer looks up highly to your brand’s ethical stance, which they relate to. Thus, they will buy your products because they believe it helps your cause. They will also be willing to join your campaigns to support you.
How Your Startup Company Can Encourage Brand Evangelism
One thing you need to know about brand evangelism is it doesn’t come from your startup company. Instead, it starts with your customers themselves. All you can do is encourage and nurture this behavior. But how do you do that?
View Customers In a Different Light
The first thing that you need to know is that brand evangelists don’t view themselves as just customers. They see themselves as part of your team. And they are willing to help you given the opportunity.
Image from Elegant JBI.
With that, you should be ready to tap into that desire. Understanding your customers more is where it all begins. Gather as much data as you can to better understand their motivations and values. That will help you better align yours to them.
Note that this isn’t just about their attitude about your products. You also need to look into the bigger picture and see what they think about other topics. Virtua Solutions can help you with this work by doing social media monitoring. With us in the background, you get real-time information about your customers’ interests.
Establish A Strong Brand Identity For Your Startup Company
Another key to attracting potential brand evangelists is creating a strong image they can identify with. There is no magic formula here. You just double down on the great things you are already doing. Some of the things that you should focus on include:
- Creating better customer service: Think about how you can serve customers’ current needs and future ones.
- Highlighting customer stories: Show that customers are not just faceless numbers and share their stories with a wider audience. People become invested in these and your brand the more they see them.
- Create more engagement opportunities: Look for other ways your brand can engage with customers. These could include exploring new channels they are using and creating activities for them.
- Building your community: Your fans are always eager to share their stories with others. Bring them together in a community that will connect them to those audiences.
- Support your customers’ causes: For brand evangelists to support you, you should support them first. Get involved in the causes they champion and show how you can help.
All of these strategies will require a lot of effort on your part. Virtua Solutions will help you here by providing a full customer service team. We will cover everything from initial customer engagements to community development and management.
Let The Evangelists Carry Your Startup Company
Patience is vital when waiting for potential brand evangelists to appear within your community of customers. And when they do appear, you should be ready to support their work of spreading the word about your startup company. Contact us today and we will gladly lend you and them a hand.