How to get people talking about your brand. Hosted by Feefo, a roundtable discussion with Autotrader and Atom Bank.
Why is advocacy important?
Advocacy is an important tool to drive profitable revenue growth - reviews are advocacy in action.
- 70% of people research products on the internet
- Only 34% of consumers say they trust most brands
- However, 62% of consumers say they will stay loyal once brands have gained their trust.
- 79% of companies that create brand advocates see an increase in cross-sell and upsell figures
- 50% of all buying decisions are driven by peer-to-peer marketing
The new consumer and changing trends
Brands are operating in an environment where consumers have less money to spend and are taking more time to do their research
- Consumers have access to more information than they’ve ever had before
- They’re actively searching for products on the internet before they purchase, which has led to a fragmented buyer journey
- Knowing who to trust is ever more challenging for consumers – which is why verified reviews are so important
The role of advocacy in building trust and growing brands
- Brands need to provide consumers with relevant content to help them in their decision-making process
- We’re all operating in an environment where competition is high as all brands up their advocacy game
- We’re spending time, money and effort attracting people to our websites and stores only for them not to purchase
Did you know?
- Brands see an 18% increase in online sales when they display reviews at the point of purchase
- A product with five reviews has a 270% greater likelihood of purchase than a product that displays no reviews
- People are 15% more likely to buy when they read a verified review over one that has been left on an open platform
How can we keep buyers in our ecosystem?
- For businesses to succeed they need to become inherently customer-led
- Building trust with your audience not only leads to consumer confidence, but also higher growth, employee engagement, and ultimately advocacy
- Trust is hard-won and easily lost – authenticity is key
How do you create advocates?
You have to go over and above a transactional relationship with customers. You need to go deeper.
You need to create a Value Exchange.
The Value Exchange is framed so that a company’s obsession with creating value for its customers,
translates into value for the business.
Reviews are a great way to help you create a Value Exchange with your customers. They give you an understanding of what your customers truly care about, which in turn helps you fulfil their needs.
This virtuous circle feeds itself, and benefits not only you and your current customers, but your future customers
as well.
Key learnings
- Customer feedback is the unsung hero driving competitive differentiation
- Remember the 80/20 rule
- Create a value exchange to achieve superior business performance
These insights were gained from a roundtable with Kate Neil, Marketing Manager at Auto Trader and Michael Sherwood, Head of Brand and Experience at Atom bank. Watch the full webinar.
