10 Customer Advocacy Program Benefits: Customer Ed Nugget 22

Most customer education teams are always busy attracting new customers, facilitating the onboarding process and supporting ongoing learning. These priorities make sense. But because they demand so much attention, it’s easy to overlook the value of a customer advocacy program.

Advocacy is sometimes considered an optional final stage in the customer lifecycle. Yet, successful brands understand the power of developing loyal fans right from the start. They engage customers throughout their journey — listening closely to their feedback and rewarding their contributions. Over time, this builds deeper relationships that, in turn, create significant business value.

What else can you expect when investing in a customer advocacy program? That’s the question we’re exploring on this episode of the Customer Ed Nuggets podcast! Let’s get started…

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Today’s Guest Expert

Nick Eriksen, CTO and Founder, Eurekos

There’s a good reason why I’ve invited Eurekos CTO and Co-Founder, Nick Eriksen, to compare notes with me about the role of education in customer advocacy.

Eurekos is a Tier 1 global customer education platform, so Nick has extensive first-hand knowledge of customer experience practices and what it takes to design and deliver successful customer learning programs.

10 Reasons to Build a Customer Advocacy Program

A dedicated customer advocacy program improves business results in multiple ways. By fostering deeper relationships with happy, vocal customers you can generate more revenue, drive innovation and differentiate your offerings. Specifically, the right strategy can help you…

1. Reduce Acquisition Costs — Because customer advocacy leads are generated through word-of-mouth, they are more cost-effective and more likely to convert than leads from standard marketing channels.

2. Drive Revenue Growth — Advocate referrals are not only more likely become new customers, but also respond to renewal  and upselling offers at a healthier rate. For instance, the American Marketing Association says referral conversions are 30% higher, with a 16% higher lifetime value than other leads. This directly contributes to revenue expansion.

3. Reinforce Brand Loyalty — Every organization can stand to boost customer loyalty. It’s never strong enough.

4. Increase Retention — When advocates are recognized and rewarded, they feel valued. This increases loyalty and reduces churn, which in turn, lift revenue and profit.

5. Foster Community — Advocacy programs create a sense of belonging, where customers connect, collaborate and support one another around a shared brand experience.

6. Decrease Support Costs — When given an opportunity to assist others through peer-to-peer interactions, many advocates are happy to help. This reduces the need for formal customer support.

7. Establish an Early Warning System — By treating advocates as a trusted source of candid feedback, you can rely on them to help identify potential issues, threats and adverse trends before they escalate.

8. Produce Persuasive Case Studies — Enthusiastic advocates willingly share success stories and testimonials as a foundation for compelling marketing and sales content. Their authenticity and enthusiasm can help you generate more persuasive stories much more quickly.

9. Inform R&D Decisions — Ongoing customer feedback is an excellent source of intelligence for product development teams. By revealing emerging trends and uncovering unmet needs, it can spark opportunities for innovation.

10. Build a Competitive Advantage — When customers openly and consistently communicate about their positive experience, it differentiates your brand and reinforces your reputations in ways competitors can’t easily replicate.

Watch This Episode of Customer Ed Nuggets

Want to hear a bit more from us about the power of customer advocacy programs? Watch the 9-minute video below, where Nick and I discuss which benefits are most important and why…

If you’d prefer to listen to our conversation, tune in to this Customer Ed Nuggets audio podcast right here at TalentedLearning.com.

Customer Advocacy Program Benefits: The Bottom Line

In an ideal world, all of your customers would gladly champion your brand. But loyal fans don’t happen by accident. That’s why a customer advocacy program matters.

This isn’t just an extra set of activities for your team to shoulder late in a customer relationship. It’s bigger than that. It’s a mindset that puts the customer experience at the center of your organization, so customers become integral to your brand from the very first point of contact.

By designing a customer advocacy program around the benefits we’ve outlined here, you can develop customer relationships that last longer and are mutually beneficial, while creating a competitive edge along the way.

Learn More About Eurekos

To find out more about the Eurekos learning system, check out the vendor profile, including my review, the product demonstration, case studies and more in our Learning Systems Directory. Or visit the Eurekos website directly.

Check these other Customer Ed Nuggets with Nick, focusing on other phases of the customer lifecycle:

• Episode 1 – Pre-Sales Mistakes to Avoid
• Episode 7 – Onboarding Pitfalls
• Episode 11 – Providing Ongoing Customer Support

In addition, Eurekos CEO Anders Willumsen recently shared a fascinating update on the state of the European customer education market. Tune in to this episode of the Talented Learning Show Podcast here.

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About Talented Learning Customer Ed Nuggets

Hosted by Talented Learning CEO John Leh, the Customer Ed Nuggets podcast is a trusted source of advice, guidance and best practices for customer education professionals of all types. In this series of brief video and audio “nuggets” (each 10 minutes or less), we explore key topics with numerous guest experts.

Join us anytime here or on our YouTube channel to explore all facets of customer education learning tech, from how to build a persuasive business case, to effective strategies, technologies and content that help professionals create, deploy and grow successful customer-centered programs.

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