There will be a recession. The cost of living squeeze we presently feel is only going to become worse, despite the fact that no economist can accurately anticipate its severity or duration. The modern marketing stack is on the verge of falling. The pile keeps expanding with every new gadget, software program, and channel that is introduced.

Brand trust is always essential. This is more true than ever when times are rough. With consumers carefully scrutinizing how they spend their money, purchasing from brands they know will meet their expectations is critical.

So, how can businesses win that trust? And, if they have it, how will they use it to expand their firm sustainably?

Turn Your Customers Into Brand Advocates

The answer is simple: through existing clients.

Consumers trust referrals from friends and family more than any other form of promotion. They are far more inclined to listen to – and act on – a friend’s excellent recommendation than an influencer or targeted search ad.

It’s not merely the right thing to do to put clients at the center of your business. It is critical for corporate growth. Customers are likely to be talking about you if you’ve developed a fantastic brand by providing high-quality products and services. Engaging these brand lovers effectively will result in a powerful group of supporters who will sell your company better than you could.

Amplify Your Go-To Marketing Channels

An excellent customer advocacy platform will amplify your marketing technology stack rather than complicate it.

A compelling example of this is social media. Despite being one of the most heavily funded channels for modern marketers, the demise of third-party cookies has resulted in this channel delivering unpredictable returns that can be nearly difficult to forecast.

However, using first-party referral data, organizations can target referrer lookalike audiences who are highly likely to convert and have a high lifetime value, allowing them to scale their businesses without raising spending. Menswear trouser SPOKE is one example of a brand that does this effectively. It achieves a 30% greater return on ad spend (ROAS) and a 12% cheaper cost per acquisition (CPA) by using referral data to create audiences on paid social:

Overlooking Your Most Powerful Growth Driver

Speaking at Advocacy Engineered 2022, the former CEO of Amazon UK and previous Chairman of ASOS emphasized the necessity of having customers at the forefront of every business decision. It may appear straightforward, but the temptation to be pulled to flashy new things, to look for data in the wrong places, may consign a developing tech stack to failure.

The statistics speak for themselves. Despite the fact that referral is the most trusted source of advertising for customers, only 4% of senior marketers polled by Mention Me in its first Customer Advocacy Gap research invest the most in this marketing channel, resulting in a considerable opportunity for growth.

Becoming A Winning Business In The Times Ahead

Marketing teams cannot continue using the same tactics in the upcoming difficult times and expect to survive.

Instead, companies need to adopt a customer-love-focused strategy that puts advocacy first. If this is done well, customers will spend more, visit more frequently, and refer friends. It will provide worn-out channels a much-needed boost. In the end, it will gain the confidence of your clients. And that’s what will keep people returning, long after this trying time has passed.

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