How to Instate Brand Ambassadors With Email

As a rule of thumb, only 20% of customers make 80% of their sales. Sometimes the supporting segment is smaller - Coke Zero's is 3%, according to marketing strategist Joseph Jaffe.

Your brand has it's own ambassadors. They purchase loyally and refer their friends to you. You're part of their lifesty

le.

Those ambassadors are your best bet for growing your business. But how do you find out who they are? And once you do, how can you encourage their support?

With email, of course!

Find Your Ambassadors

Many marketing emails contain social share buttons. Readers can click to automatically share the message with their networks.

(To make your own social share buttons, follow these instructions. The URL should be the direct link to your archived message.)

By tracking clicks on those buttons, you can see who's hyping you on social sites. AWeber users, you can see this in your QuickStats. Start by clicking on a recently sent broadcast.

On the left, choose the option to display click stats.

Then scroll down and find the data for your social share links. (Design - replace image with example)

See that number? Those are the subscribers who are so excited about your brand, they're already converting others.

Sharing one email isn't necessarily an indication of deep loyalty. To get a clearer picture, use your Subscriber Search page to find people who shared not just one, but several of your emails

.

These people have already taken it upon themselves to advocate your business. Imagine what you could accomplish if you..

Team Up To Grow Your Brand Together

Your next step is to contact these people. (You can do this by creating a broadcast for them, then selecting the segment you created above to send to.) Let them know they're your top customers and ask if they might be interested in participating in some special initiatives.

Give them five minutes of fame

Buy them lunch and ask for their thoughts in return. How do they feel about your service? How do they use your products? How is their life better because of your brand?

Then put together an email featuring their story. Send out a broadcast with inspirational ideas from these customers. Present them as the valued commodity they are.

You'll have creative content. Your readers' interest will be sparked. And the featured customers will feel more invested in your brand than ever.

Bring them on board

When designing a new offer or product, ask these your brand ambassadors for their reaction. If you can, use Nikon's strategy and let them try it out.

If not, email them an exclusive sneak-peek and ask them for their reactions. To really get ideas flowing, link to a forum where invitees can build off each other's ideas.

Thank them for their feedback with a fun token and sincere gratitude. Figure out which suggestions are feasible and wise and implement them. Then send another thank-you email for each idea you used.

When your customers see their ideas in action, they'll gain a sense of ownership, increasing their loyalty to your brand. And the improvements that appealed to them are likely to attract similar consumers, growing your customer base.

Customers: Your Best Investment

Michael LeBoeuf, author of How to Win Customers & Keep Them for Life, agrees with the idea that customers can have a powerful impact on a brand's reputation:

"Smart companies go the extra mile for the customer and show them just how dedicated they are to making sure that they feel good about doing business with them," he says.

How can you invest in your customers in ways that will convert them to ambassadors?

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Origin: Inbox Ideas