Customer evangelism is something big companies and marketing consultants have talked about for years. Too often though, the big companies get all the attention in this area. People assume small and mid-sized companies can’t create customer evangelists. But they’re wrong! Here are four things you can do to create customer evangelists.
1. Talk to your customers
Have real person-to-person conversations with as many customers as you can. If you have a lot of customers relative to your employees then you’ll need to prioritize. But find ways to have real, meaningful and ongoing conversations with them. This might mean inviting some to lunch. It might mean hosting get-togethers at your business. It might start with a survey and end with a phone call or a meeting. For others it might be virtual conversations using email or Web 2.0 tools.
2. Serve their needs
Of course you’re doing this to make your company better. But everything you do in this customer evangelism effort needs to be useful from your customer’s perspective. Educate them while you engage them. Always do things in ways that are useful to and respectful of your customers. Keep that as your primary focus.
3. Get them involved
Find multiple ways to get your customers involved. For some people, just a regular phone call or lunch will be enough. For others you might get their help finding solutions to challenges your facing (using brainstorming or other facilitated meetings). Or create communities for your customers to participate in. Forums and blogs are great for this. Software and online companies have done this for years but so can small businesses. For instance, VillageHatShop.com, (a small online and offline store) invited customers to submit pictures of themselves wearing their hats. They posted the pix on their website. Judging by the number of pictures it was a bug success for them.
4. Be open
However you engage your customers make sure you do it in a genuine and honest way. Be open about what you’re doing and why. In fact, make the process as transparent as possible. The more open you are with your customers the more open they will be with you. Let your employees participate. Don’t script them or micro-manage their involvement. Let them get to know your customers and vice-versa. The more your customers know and like your employees, the more likely they will be evangelists for you.
The bottom line in creating loyal customers who promote your business is this: You need to care about them. Every action your company takes needs to show your customers you are there to serve their needs, to help them be successful, happy to whatever they’re trying to accomplish (within the context of your service or product, of course). When you do this, you will deliver an experience that your customers can’t get anywhere else. So they’ll come back. And they’ll bring others with them.
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Great post, Kevin. I agree and would like to add that exemplary customer engagement comes down to actually knowing what kind of information your customers want to receive, as well as when and how they want to receive it. Today’s customers expect—and in many cases demand—that information be tailored to their ever-changing needs and interests.
It’s also important to create an experience. In my line of work, I spend a lot of time helping companies of all types engage and activate existing customers, and one surprising segment of small to mid-sized businesses – orthodontists – has really opened my eyes to the opportunity to truly communicate and engage with customers in a way that encourages behavior change. With GenZ making up the bulk of their customer base, orthodontists have had to adapt, and I believe most businesses can leverage some of their learnings to engage and activate customers.
For example, all businesses desire to build long-term relationships with their customers. With this in mind, many companies are employing the use of notifications technology such as e-mail and text messaging to provide ongoing customer care. For example, one progressive orthodontist I work with communicates with GenZ customers between visits to ensure the patient is managing his treatment at home. If part of a patient’s treatment is to wear headgear at night, the orthodontist schedules a series of text messages to be delivered a few nights a week reminding his patient to wear his headgear:
• Monday’s message: dnt 4gt 2 wear yr headgear (Translation: Don’t forget to wear your headgear)
• Thursday’s message: brush yr ivories n zzz wel (Translation: Brush your teeth and sleep well)
• Saturday’s message: 1ly 99 nyts lft 2 wear headgear (Translation: Only 99 nights left to wear headgear)
• Monday’s message: headgear = gr8 ivories n lots of d8s (Translation: Headgear equals great teeth and lots of dates)
This same orthodontist has kids and knows Generation Z customers are all about video. So, he e-mails his GenZ customers YouTube videos with tips from their peers. To give you a feel for what I’m talking about, view this YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSYpobV9UE8) that shares tips and tricks for wearing elastics. How cool is that?
By leveraging what I call “engagement communications (EC),” notifications technology, and some imagination, companies can deliver a more personalized customer experience, increase customer loyalty and reduce churn. So experiment, have fun and, most importantly, engage your customers – whatever the generation – with relevant, personalized communications that create a positive customer care experience.
Scott Zimmerman, President at http://www.televox.com