If we’re lucky, it starts with our families and then extends to our family members and friends. In the ideal workplace, the managers of our company will support us and assist us in climbing the climb.
There’s nothing better than fans cheering on you from the sidelines and urging you into rooms that you’re not.
As a business owner, you’re also looking to have the same amount of support that you receive for your business’s image.
Brand champions are the ones who is someone who promotes your company and helps to increase the number of loyal customers.
Let’s explore the reasons you need the help of a brand ambassador, how to obtain one, and then how to integrate this into the marketing strategy.
Based what the dimensions of your company, depending on the size of your business, you could have several or one champions. Sometimes, the role of the champion is part of your staff’s responsibility.
For example, an employer brand specialist is accountable for promoting a company’s values and culture to potential candidates from the outside. In itself, it is a form of brand advocacy since their work is about advocating for your company’s brand.
The same can be said for brand ambassadors who work with companies to promote their products and create leads.
The main difference here is that there’s usually a contractual obligation on ambassadors to promote your company’s image. Ambassadors may be rewarded to promote your brand, but they aren’t required to promote your brand.
In a small-sized company, the owner of the company can be the brand ambassador by motivating employees within the company and collaborating with external parties to acquire more customers.
The main takeaway is that anyone is a brand’s champion, and the more brand advocates your brand has, the more successful it will become.
How to be (and gain) the status of a Brand Champion
To be a brand ambassador, There are some important traits and qualities you should possess. A brand-loving person should:
- Passionate about your company.
- Learn about the company’s vision and mission and the company values.
- Put your money into the long-term success of your brand as well as its expansion.
Do you have the ability to lead the growth of initiatives?
Keep up-to-date with the latest efficient strategies to increase brand loyalty among employees and customers.
One area where you may be looking to find brand ambassadors is among your employees.
Research shows that the way companies take care of their employees plays a big factor in the degree of trustworthiness they appear. In particular, during moments of crisis, customers examine how companies take care of their employees.
Inspiring employees to be brand ambassadors will require organizational changes within your company.
You’d like to create an environment that will create satisfied employees, as happy employees are great ambassadors who will help your company’s image without having to ask.
It’s similar to when you love something you’ve bought. There’s always an opportunity to let others know how much you appreciate it, even if you do not have a 10% referral discount coupon.
Begin by conducting frequent net promoter scores of your employees (NPS) surveys. It will let you know the satisfaction of your employees and also let you know how you can improve your support for them. If you find areas to make improvements, you must be certain to take steps to let employees know that their voice is valued and taken seriously.
If your business is traded on the public market, you might consider giving staff restricted stock units (PSUs). RSUs are stock that is offered to employees for compensation with a vesting timetable which can last between one and a few years following the employee’s beginning date.
The equity stake in your business will strengthen its commitment to your business and get them involved in its development.
Other methods to transform the employees you employ into brand ambassadors are:
- Providing professional development opportunities.
- Investment in programs to promote diversity and inclusiveness, for example, Employee resources groups (ERGs).
- The goal is to create psychological security.
- How to leverage brand Champion Marketing
1. Make sure you invest in branding for your employer.
Employer branding is one type of marketing where the intended group is those who are interested in joining your business. But it could also generate an extremely positive impression of your brand’s image to customers.
It’s been mentioned before how vital employees are in building trust with customers. If customers think that you’re inflicting unfair treatment on your employees or putting profits over employees, this could damage the image of your company.
The branding expert at your employer is the person in charge of the strategies that showcase the internal brand ambassadors of your company.
At HubSpot, We have a hashtag, @HubSpotLife, on Instagram. We share employees’ takeovers as well as the HubSpot Culture Code and more.
It’s a chance that our team members can share with the world the things they enjoy about being at HubSpot and share what they have learned from their own experiences.
Employer branding is about giving employees an insider’s view of the benefits of working for your company.
2. Enhance your brand by leveraging the voices of your evangelists.
If you’re a small or large-sized business, You probably already know who your most loyal customers and supporters are.
You might recognize them by name or from data that you’ve gathered (like NPS surveys). They are loyal customers and gold in the fight to promote your company.
It’s likely that they’re already doing it through the power of word-of-mouth. What better way to increase their reach and increase impact?
Another way to accomplish this is to ask your evangelists for reviews on websites like Google My Business, Yelp, and Facebook
Campaign and you want to include testimonials, contact your top supporters, and invite them for their participation. You could reuse the same testimonials on your landing pages, website, and much more.
Another method to increase your brand’s voice is by giving them personalized referral codes. When your ambassador is able to refer an individual to your company, both they and the recipient receive an additional discount on the next purchase. You also gain an additional customer. It’s an all-win situation.
3. Engage with your brand’s champions via social media.
Imagine your followers on social media as brand ambassadors in your field of training.
Your brand is already popular with them, which is why they’re already following them. If you can nurture your relationships with them and create a community, the more loyal they’ll be. Then, they’ll be your brand’s ambassadors.
There are numerous ways to engage with your followers via social media, such as:
- Responding to remarks
- Establishing private groups
- Making surveys and polls
- Conducting Q&As
- We live and share your content with your followers
- Reposting content created by users
Brand ambassadors can do wonders for your image in the eyes of the public since they promote the brand’s image in a manner that isn’t like an advertisement. Thus, cultivate those brand champions and use them to boost your brand’s popularity.
