December is always a good time to reflect on what has worked, what didn’t work and how you can grow strategically in the year to come.
To help you do that, we recently released our first-ever State of Brand Advocacy Report, which offers rich insights into the top activities, metrics and challenges faced and where there’s positive growth and opportunity (spoiler: it’s not all doom and gloom).
In this article, we’ll walk you through the key trends and strategies from the report that can help you take your 2024 programs to the next level.
Understanding Brand Advocacy
Before delving into the trends and strategies, let’s first define brand advocacy. It’s the process where customers, employees, partners, and influencers enthusiastically and voluntarily support a brand, often expressed through positive word-of-mouth, recommendations, and public endorsements. It’s a powerful marketing and branding tool that leverages authentic experiences and opinions to influence potential customers and strengthen brand credibility.
Key Trends and Strategies for 2024
Drawing from a comprehensive survey of customer advocacy/marketing professionals, we noted three key trends that can guide your strategy for 2024:
Trend #1: There’s still steadfast growth in customer advocacy
Despite market shifts, customer advocacy remains a cornerstone for business growth. A striking 95% of respondents observed either an increase or stability in their number of customer advocates, highlighting the resilience of these programs. Further, 88% of executives acknowledge the significant role customer advocacy plays in enhancing their company’s selling efforts.
Trend #2: Customer advocacy programs are a mature investment
The industry is witnessing a maturation of advocacy efforts, with 30% of programs in existence for over four years, indicating both stability and long-term commitment. Importantly, 86% of advocacy/marketing budgets have either grown or been maintained, reflecting the increasing recognition of the value of these initiatives.
Trend #3: Optimizing program management for customer and employee advocacy
The management of customer and employee advocacy programs varies widely, with 23% of respondents indicating these programs are managed by the same team. This highlights the ongoing exploration within the industry for optimal program structures to maximize impact.
Planning for Success in 2024
As we approach 2024, the landscape of brand advocacy continues to evolve, offering both challenges and opportunities for those in customer advocacy and marketing.
Here are a few actionable strategies to help you harness the full potential of brand advocacy:
Align advocacy with business objectives: A strategic alignment between advocacy programs and overall business goals is imperative. This goes beyond mere alignment; it requires a deep understanding of how advocacy can drive specific business outcomes. For instance, if enhancing customer lifetime value is a goal, advocacy efforts should be geared towards creating more engaging, community-driven experiences that foster long-term loyalty. This might involve leveraging advocate feedback in product development or creating exclusive forums where advocates can interact and share ideas.
Leverage technology: The role of technology in scaling and measuring the effectiveness of advocacy programs is more critical than ever. Tools like Influitive not only facilitate the management of these programs but also provide valuable data insights. These insights can help tailor advocacy efforts to resonate more deeply with target audiences and measure their impact in real time. As we move into 2024, investing in AI and machine learning could further refine these efforts, offering predictive insights and personalized engagement strategies.
Expand advocacy beyond traditional boundaries: As brand advocacy matures, there’s a need to look beyond traditional methods and channels. This could involve exploring new digital platforms, engaging with niche communities, and utilizing unconventional forms of content to reach and resonate with audiences. The goal is to create advocacy experiences that are not only impactful but also memorable and shareable.
Overcoming Challenges and Setting New Benchmarks
The report not only provides a blueprint for success but also identifies common challenges such as budget allocation and program management.
Heading into 2024, addressing these challenges head-on will be key:
Refine budgeting processes: The clarity and strategic allocation of budgets are crucial for the effective execution of advocacy programs. This involves not just securing sufficient funds but also ensuring that they are utilized in areas that promise the highest ROI. For many organizations, this might mean conducting thorough audits of past advocacy initiatives to understand what worked and what didn’t, and then reallocating budgets accordingly. Transparency in budgeting, coupled with regular reviews, can help advocacy programs stay agile and responsive to changing market dynamics.
Standardize your measurement metrics: The lack of standardized metrics for measuring the impact of advocacy programs can lead to fragmented efforts and unclear results. Developing a set of universal metrics that can be adopted across the industry would help in benchmarking success and identifying areas for improvement. These metrics should encompass both quantitative and qualitative aspects of advocacy, ranging from engagement rates and conversion metrics to sentiment analysis and brand perception.
Cultivate a culture of continuous improvement: In an industry that’s continuously evolving, fostering a culture of learning and adaptation within the organization is vital. Encouraging teams to stay curious, experiment with new ideas, and learn from both successes and failures can lead to more innovative and effective advocacy strategies.
Conclusion: Your Roadmap for 2024
Based on these findings, customer advocacy and marketing professionals need to refine, revamp, and reenergize their strategies for 2024. By harnessing the insights and trends outlined in the report, you can effectively plan and prioritize your initiatives, overcoming challenges and setting new benchmarks of success.
Download the full report now to embark on your journey of strategic planning and transformation for 2024. Let’s shape a year of unparalleled advocacy success and brand growth together.
