For years, even decades people have sought after what they thought was the Holy Grail with their customers, CUSTOMER LOYALTY. I can’t tell you how many conversations I have had with business leaders saying, “If we just had more customer loyalty the world would be great.” Think again…
Don’t get me wrong…Customer Loyalty is incredibly important and every company should strive to achieve as much as possible. In reality, you can’t have enough of it because no one has 100% so we are always striving for more. That is a good thing.
But it’s not enough today. We now live in a super-connected world called the Internet. And if you want to know anything about anything, in just a few simple clicks you can jump on over 350 Social Media channels and ask your friends, connections, colleagues, and others what product/service you should buy and from whom. It’s that easy…and getting easier every day.
There is a new bar, a higher bar, that needs to be on your radar if you truly want to lead and eclipse the competition.
ADVOCATES
An Advocate is someone who “proactively tells others about your product or service.” The key word here is PROACTIVELY. They don’t wait around to be asked. They don’t get their name on the archaic “recommendation list” and wait to be called. They don’t just give a testimonial for your website (which no one believes anymore anyway). Nope…they are active, vocal, and can’t wait to tell others about you. And thanks to social media…they can tell thousands!
Getting your company to a state where most of your customers are Advocates is the new Holy Grail. So while your competition is struggling to just get more loyal customers, pushing your organization over the top to getting more Advocates will leave them in the dust. This is going “all the way” and what creates Word-of-Mouth on Steroids for Customer Centric organizations. It is the new bar. How high is your bar?
