Step 7: Advocate

You now have a happy customer who has made several profitable purchases from you. The next stage in the Value Journey is to create marketing that encourages your most loyal customers to advocate for your business.

An advocate is someone who speaks positively about your brand.

An advocate is what you might call a “passive promoter.” They won’t necessarily promote your business in an active way, but when asked about you, they will respond favorably.

Examples of Marketing That Generates Advocates

These final two stages (Advocate and Promote) are often thought to be outside of the control of marketing, but that simply isn’t true. You can create marketing that intentionally generates more advocates and promoters.

Here are a few examples:

• A woman enters a contest to win a new lip gloss from a beauty company by shooting a video review detailing how much she loves one of their lipsticks.

• Upon request, the Warehouse Manager at a produce supplier company writes a glowing review of the local courier service she uses to transport fruits and vegetables locally.

Designer Shoe Warehouse knows the value of the Advocate stage in the Customer Journey. This email is designed to activate advocates by asking for a review:

DSW actively encourages customers to become advocates.

Digital Marketing Disciplines That Generate Advocates

Getting advocates is important because it helps generate awareness, trust, and credibility with a wider audience—which helps you to get more customers and grow your business.

To get more advocates in your company, the marketing efforts you need to work on include:

• Social Media Marketing

• Email marketing

• Search Marketing