How To Convert Customers into Brand Ambassadors: Here is a recap of today’s Startup Canada #Startupchat, where we explored How To Convert Customers into Brand Ambassadors. The event had 53 contributors, 28.3 million impressions, and trended at #14 nationally!

My Advice: according to an article from HBR – 84% of B2B buyers are now starting the #purchasingprocess with a referral, and/or peer recommendation. By nurturing relationships with #brandambassadors you are leveraging a natural part of the new buying process. #startupchats @cocacola_ca

My advice: opening feedback channels that allow clients/customers to express their experience with your business/product will allow you to pinpoint your strengths & weaknesses along with the high-value benefits some clients find in what you offer. also imploying #leadscoring based on behavioral interactions with your brand, applied to existing clients will allow you to see who is the most engaged with your business & you can nurture these relationships. #startupchats @cocacola_ca #startupwomen

My advice: great marketing makes the client/customer the hero of the story; this engages & empowers your customers. Making them feel good about using your product/service & being associated with your brand. Everyone likes to feel good & show themselves in a positive light & #contests, #promotions & # campaigns that are centered around making the participants look good will have higher rates of engagements. #startupchats @cocacola_ca #startupwomen

My advice: I use a combination of #feedbackchannels, #leadscoring, #reviews & #referraltracking. This helps me not only pinpoint engaged clients & nurture the relationships towards #brandambassadors but also provides great insight into the value my happy customers find but also areas that can be improved upon. These insights are added as KPIs in my business plan. #startupchats @cocacola_ca #startupwomen

My advice: the subconscious emotions behind how/what people feel towards brands can not really be positively affected by money or other unrelated “gifts”. If you are looking at running a contest or showing your customers some appreciation, choose a gesture that relates directly to your brand and/or the products they use. If it is a free gift it needs to be one of your products or services. If it is a discount it should be on your product or service as this will ensure your resources are going towards engaged prospects #startupchats @cocacola_ca #startupwomen

My advice: #brandambassadors can benefit businesses across the board, in different ways. They play an important role in #b2bbusinesses #b2cbusinesses #servicebasedbusinesses #products etc. It really comes down to knowing your customer’s buying process, & the factors that impact it & how could a brand ambassador help.

My advice: I would say it is important that the brand ambassador is a reflection of your #buyerpersona, is motivated by an emotional connection to your product/service/brand, & is honest about their experiences with your product/service/brand. #startupchats @cocalcola_ca #startupwomen

My Advice: I believe with the current trends of buying processes that every business can benefit from having a brand ambassador. Recommendations play a huge & important role in purchase decisions, regardless if they are consumer or B2B. If someone can recommend your service/product to another person & gain you a sale than Brand ambassadors can work for you. #startupchats #startupwomen @cocacola_ca

My advice: A happy customer has a positive emotional connection with my brand/business/services. When they are successful, they like to share how they solved their pain-points, if my services are how they arrived at this state they share that. #startupchats #startupwomen @cocacola_ca

My advice: as with any emotional connection it can turn negative & they will share those feels as well. It’s important to keep in mind the motivations behind the brand ambassador& align your asks accordingly.

My advice: Listen to your customers, provide open feedback channels & implement the necessary changes to improve your product/service. Recommendations play a big role in purchasing decisions, & happy customers like the boost they feel when helping others solve their pain-points. #startupchats #STARTUPWOMEN @cocacola_ca

Closing off:

Converting Customers into Brand Ambassadors is an important factor and as #entrepreneurs one thing we universally understand is the need to do more while spending less – why should our approach to marketing be any different?

If this sounds like you, check out my free ebook ‘How to Market a Startup: 10 ways to bootstrap your sales funnel for success. #StartupChats

To check out the awesome advice from all of the advisors who participated in this How to Convert Customers into Brand Ambassadors chat, view this thread on Twitter