How Can Brand Ambassadors Help Your Business?

It can be hard to get your audience to pay attention to things like online ads for your business because consumers these days are extremely savvy about marketing and advertising. Most consumers trust the word of an individual, particularly a peer, more than they do of a brand or corporation. This is why word-of-mouth and referral marketing can be so effective.

One way to gain this kind of discussion and recommendation of your business and its products is by using brand ambassadors.

What is a brand ambassador?

A brand ambassador is, simply put, someone who acts as an ambassador for your brand. This might mean they recommend you to their friends and family, wear or use your branded products, leave positive reviews for you online, and share social posts or articles that tell everyone reading how great your brand, products, or services are. This should be someone who actually uses your products and genuinely likes them.

The benefits of brand ambassadors

Brand ambassadors help to increase your sales by talking you up. They are a walking, talking advertisement for your brand, but consumers are more likely to trust their opinions compared to any promotional messages your share from your brand. They add a human quality to your promotions, which most people find to be more credible and trustworthy.

Brand ambassadors also help to increase brand awareness since the people they’re recommending you to or the users that see their posts on social media may not have heard of you before. Even if these people don’t buy from you straight away based on your ambassador’s recommendation, they are still aware of you and might think of you in the future.

Turning loyal customers into brand ambassadors

The big brands may be able to pay a fortune for a celebrity to endorse their brand and become an ambassador, but what about your average small and local businesses? Chances are that you already have customers that are willing to spread the word about your business and recommend your products. Loyal customers make the perfect brand ambassadors.

You could approach a customer who buys from you on a regular basis or who often mentions you positively on social media. It helps if this person is active on social media or has their own blog, but it’s not completely necessary as they can still spread positive word-of-mouth in person.

You should approach them with some kind of offer so that you are providing them with something in return for being a brand ambassador, such as:

  • A standing discount on your products
  • Gift cards to spend in your store or elsewhere
  • A free product each month (or less often if you sell high-priced items)
  • Free branded promotional products

If you want to use branded promotional products to gain more referrals and turn your customers into brand ambassadors, then contact Custom Advertising for a quote or check out our online store to see the wide variety of customizable branded products we have available.