The Best Tool For Marketing? Your Customers, Of Course
A clear value proposition, a catchy name, a communicative visual brand. These are all valuable assets for marketing. But the most valuable asset for marketing which can sometimes go ignored is the base of customers already supporting you. Here, we’re going to look at how to use that positive social proof to your advantage and how to let your customers take you to new heights.
Get them talking
There’s a lot of value in talking. Particularly nowadays when we talk to hundreds or even thousands of people daily through our social media feeds. If you’re not engaging with customers on social media, now is the time to. It’s not just about posting news and retweeting others in the industry. Offer direct replies and use it as a content marketing system to give those customers something they genuinely want to share. Even a small crew can create a big social media presence with the help of social media management tools. What’s more, the likes and followers you will gain only serve as further proof that your business and your brand is worth supporting.
Get them promoting
You can do a lot more than just hoping that customers like your brand, your online voice, and your content enough to share and reply it. Plenty of businesses have found the value of asking them directly to refer you, and it’s widely known that you offer a little something in return, you get a lot more willing voices to your cause. Set up a referral system for the business, offering unique gifts or vouchers to give your most loyal customers just one more reason to shout that loyalty from the rooftops.
Get them repping
Brand fans are important. These are the people who already support you and want to see you succeed. Often, they’re forgotten by businesses attempting to win new customers instead. If you have brand fans, use them. For instance, they may very well be willing to wear their support in the form of custom lapel pins, whether at a conference/trade show or elsewhere. If they’re proud to be a fan of the business, then give them some means of identifying that. In this way, you create more than a customer base, you create a true following.
Get them sharing
Your customers can help by sharing your content, but they can also contribute content of their own. The best way to get people interested in your business is by showing the value it offers them. But most brands have a message that remains a hypothetical. “This is what we could do for you” rather than “this is what we’ve done for customers”. Show the proof in the pudding by forming case studies of your customer’s success stories and ask them to provide testimonials or leave reviews on the internet. It has a lot more clout than a simple marketing message.
Naturally, customers are only going to be a valuable marketing tool if you’re able to keep them happy. This is why you should always go with the customer-driven focus over any other goal.
