Weber Shandwick has just completed a really interesting European study with Paul Marsden looking at what drives Brand Advocacy (positive word of mouth). Our key findings were that a third of brand purchasers across Europe claimed Advocacy was the primary influencer on brand choice. It was five times more important in influencing choice than TV advertising! Advocates of brands claimed to be successful in converting browsers to purchasers on 50% of occasions and potentially most interesting was the finding that the majority of brands have only activated just over half of their available Advocates.
So how do you activate Advocates?
It seems that 70% of advocacy can be accounted for by the level of surprise created during a brand or product experience. Obvious? Well how many brands take a surprise and delight strategy to the core of their business – looking at how they can exceed expectations at every customer touch-point? Not many.
If you have a tough budget next year this could be worth a thought?
