We’ve previously written about why you should be following up with detractors. This is standard practice for anyone running a successful Net Promoter Score program, but we often see companies overlook the massive upside of leveraging promoters to their advantage.
A promoter, by definition, is a loyal enthusiast of your brand. They will give your business an NPS score of 9 or 10 which means they are “very” to “extremely” likely to refer your brand to friends and family. Essentially, promoters are your biggest fans and can amplify your company’s strengths, drive referrals, coach new users, and even help guide the product roadmap.
In light of this, we’ve put together 10 ways you and your team can do more with promoters to extend the influence of your brand.
1. Reach out to your promoters
Loyal customers like to feel acknowledged. Small businesses may have the bandwidth to forge personal, face-to-face relationships with patrons (think about your favorite neighborhood restaurant, chances are you know most of the staff!), while growing and large businesses can leverage their digital presence to provide promoters with a personal note from an executive or another relevant team member. Regardless of the size of your business, reaching out to your promoters — even if it’s just a simple thank you — can go a long way.
2. Provide a way for promoters to promote your brand
When it comes to referral marketing, promoters are your most powerful tool for spreading organic brand awareness. According to the Temkin Group, customers who have a positive brand experience are 77% more likely to refer your business or service to a friend.
In the pre-internet days, customer referrals existed as written testimonials used in ads, newspaper reviews, and most importantly, literal word of mouth. As technology evolved and access to information increased, so did the number of places that promoters could share feedback with others.
Now, customer referrals exist in many forms including online forums, product websites, and marketplace reviews — all places your business should encourage promoters to share their feelings about your brand. Here are some common ways to encourage promoters to promote your brand:
- Use a customer testimonial tool to easily capture positive feedback and publish it on your website or mobile app.
- Launch an automated customer referral program, like Friendbuy, to turn happy customers into brand advocates. With Delighted’s Friendbuy integration, every time a new promoter is identified, they receive an opportunity to share a referral code with their networks.
- Share pre-written social copy with your promoters so that they can easily post to their social media channels. Incentivize them to do this and track their participation by providing referral links with unique tracking mechanisms. If a referral can be tracked to their name, then provide them with a discount on their next purchase or other rewards.
3. Solicit feedback on new products from your promoters
More often than not, promoters are the first to purchase and try your newest products. Because of their increased interest in your brand, promoters will be able to provide critical and detailed insight into what’s to love (or not love) about your new product. Collecting feedback from promoters when a new product is released can not only help you build better products, but also make them feel valued as a loyal customer.
4. Give promoters exclusive access to limited edition products
Some of our ecommerce customers grant promoters early access to new products — typically items that will see a larger public release in the immediate future. Doing this is beneficial for 2 reasons. First, promoters are thrilled to be among the first to try out a new product. Secondly, you can test the reception of the product before a wider rollout and address any bugs before the product is released to the public. Additionally, promoters who are active on social media can generate buzz for the new product, priming demand for the release.
5. Give promoters exclusive access to beta features
Promoters are a perfectly suited audience for beta testing a new product or feature. As we’ve noted above, promoters are often more than willing to help shape a product from a brand they admire. Additionally, promoters often provide rich, actionable feedback and constructive criticism because of their intuitive and existing knowledge of your business.
6. Ask your promoters for a review
Online review sites can be an important factor in the buying process for prospective customers. Reviews on sites like Yelp, Trustpilot, G2Crowd, or StackShare can influence a potential customer’s willingness to try your product. Politely asking promoters for a review can lead to significant increases in the quantity and quality of reviews. However, avoid asking for reviews too often as this can negatively affect the relationship.
7. Hold round table discussions with promoters
Round table discussions can bubble up insights that don’t often reveal themselves in one-on-one feedback sessions. Customers love sharing tips and tricks with other people in their field. Here are some topics to kick off your discussions with promoters:
- Ask your promoters what solutions they were using prior to your product.
- Uncover if promoters have any unique tips or processes in place to maximize the value of your solution.
- Find out if there are any specific features about your product that they love. Don’t be afraid to get detailed.
These discussions with promoters can generate great content for guides, FAQs, blog posts, and more. They can take the shape of a simple video conference, a visit to your office, or even a nice dinner in a nearby city. Remember to always thank your promoters for their participation and offer them something in return if possible.
8. Ask promoters to participate in a case study
Do you have a customer with a particularly interesting story? Consider asking them to participate in a case study. Use the case study to dig into the challenges they were having before using your product, how they’re currently using your product, and the value they are seeing as a result. Case studies provide social proof and instill trust in prospective customers.
Companies often welcome an opportunity for positive exposure and are eager to tout their focus on customer experience to their customers. These profiles are most common in the B2B world and can lead to some powerful marketing materials, including articles and video testimonials.
9. Ask promoters to participate in customer reference calls
In the B2B world, prospective customers, especially in the enterprise space, often want to speak with existing customers about their experience before selecting a solution. Your promoters are a great source for these conversations. Reach out to a few of your promoters in different industries and see if they’d be open to occasionally speaking with prospective customers. Promoters know how to maximize the value of your product, and are uniquely positioned to enlighten others on how to do the same.
10. Offer your promoters a job
Not only are promoters brand advocates, but many of them are also considered to be “power users” of your product. Aside from being familiar with the intricacies of your product’s functionality, they also have first-hand experience using your product to solve a variety of use cases. That said, hiring a promoter with the capacity of a power user is beneficial for 2 reasons:
- They know your product like the back of their hand. Depending on their inherent skill set, this knowledge can be used to train other employees, customers, and create more hands-on marketing materials.
- Power users can relate more effectively to customers who may be using your product to solve similar issues that this promoter has already tackled. That real-world knowledge can make a former promoter an impeccable asset to any business.
It’s easy to focus all of your attention on detractors. After all, promoters are happy customers! But promoters can be immensely valuable in ways beyond simply spreading the word about your product. Let them help you — you’ll likely find that they’re eager to do it.
Start identifying who your brand’s promoters are with Delighted’s free NPS tool. Launch your complete customer experience program today.
