Many SaaS companies empower the advocates among their customers to help others. Well-designed advocacy programs benefit everyone:
- The advocates receive recognition, additional resources, and the overall satisfaction of helping others.
- Newer customers benefit from having a variety of people available to answer their questions and provide guidance.
- Your company benefits from increased customer loyalty and success.
Advocacy programs work when you focus on providing support and recognition, rather than monetary incentives alone.
The Hootsuite Ambassador program combines free training, exclusive access and promotions, and online recognition, plus the ability to claim membership:
The Salesforce MVP program is available to those customers who are expert and responsive answering others’ questions, and who are willing to be brand advocates. Salesforce recognizes and supports the MVPs among the customer base.
Both of these programs have training and education components. Offering certification is another way to develop advocates; a certification provides something of value that the individual customer can take with them between roles and jobs. HubSpot’s Inbound Marketing Certification is a great example.
Marketing teams should work with training and customer success organizations to develop advocacy programs that drive retention and loyalty.
- Recognize your most loyal customers; look for people who proactively reach out with comments or help others.
- Give them the support they need to help others effectively.
- Reward them with recognition, special programs, and exclusive access.
- Supplement advocacy programs with training and certification.
[This is an excerpt from the Subscription Marketing for SaaS ebook. Download the book here, and feel free to share it with anyone who might find it helpful.]
Image: Wil Stewart, on StockSnap.io
