Brand advocacy is on my mind this week.
Years ago waiting around in an airport, I flipped through a book called Word of Mouth Marketing… or something close. The author talked about word-of-mouth recommendations being the ultimate form of marketing.
Because it is an ad. It is social proof. It is targeted. And it is free.
Good stuff, no doubt. But it is also random… it’s not a lever, like advertising, that can be pulled to scale things up.
But could it be?
Influencers or ambassadors or whatever you want to call them have been around for years. They attempt to recreate word-of-mouth, and can be good for brands, but it usually feels manufactured. Inauthentic. Paid.
This week, though, two people got me thinking more about brand advocacy and what it really is…
Courtney and her little gardener…
We invited Courtney to be on the podcast because me and my wife thought the Lettuce Grow Farmstand was cool.
We had a great conversation about growing veggies and how she found out about the Farmstand.
She loves it. For many reasons. She gets fresh salads whenever she wants. Her daughter doesn’t like bitter greens yet, but she is learning about fresh foods and gardening. She calls them “plant babies” and even makes it a point to say good morning to them.
It is a great episode if you want to hear about her customer journey, but what got me thinking about brand advocates was what happened after our conversation.
We chatted for a bit after the recording as I like to do. At some point I mentioned my wife wants to get a Farmstand for our house. Just a passing comment.
Then a couple hours after we hung up, she sent me an email…
(Hope you don’t mind Courtney!)
Thanks again for the chat today! I wanted to let you know that if you or your wife have any more questions about the Farmstand feel free to reach out. As you can tell, I'm always happy to talk about it.
I included a screenshot of the app that also has a fun little indicator of your stats like how much water and plastic you've saved. It really is such a great product.
And in case there isn't a sale when you're ready to buy, this code will get you $50 off - FRIEND-3TXO
Now that is true brand advocacy.
Not only did she endorse the product, but she highlighted a cool feature. She is willing to answer questions my wife might have. She even passed along a discount code.
Then I remembered something from the interview…
At her daughter’s birthday party, Courtney’s friend was talking about her new veggie grower and showed her a photo on her phone. Lo and behold, it was the Farmstand that she was already considering.
…and her friend passed along her referral code.
Like dominos, one referral turned into another, and into another…
And then Colin McIntosh…
Colin is the CEO of Sheets & Giggles.
If you are not familiar with the brand, they make sustainable bedsheets and mattresses.
Their first shipment was only 4 years ago. So when he mentioned having 100k+ customers during our conversation, it was clear they were doing something different.
Here is a brief clip from the show…
// there's a audio here — listen on substack
It makes a difference in terms of how people perceive you and your brand, and the way that they are willing to go to bat your you, and advocate for you…
There is was again. Advocate.
No doubt they have dialed in their messaging, ads, affiliate, PR, social, and all the other marketing goodies…. but so have tons of other brands.
What they did differently was to go out of their way to spend time on the phone with customer. Engage with them on Twitter. On a personal level. Not a customer survey. Not an NPS score.
These types interactions are not exactly scalable in the long run, but it was these interactions that built true brand advocates that helped scale the brand.
They connected with people. And those people are connected with more people… it’s like they are “viral” in the real world.
Anyway, there was a lot more we talked about…
…and then right there at the end, Colin mentions a vegetable grower tower thingy…
The referrals keep coming
Again we chatted for a bit after the recording as I like to do, and I asked what type of veggie tower he had. Was it the Farmstand like Courtney?
No it wasn’t the Farmstand, he said, as I could see him leaning closer to his computer to type.
He was sending a message on chat… with his referral link for the Tower Garden!
Either it is clear to everyone that I need to eat more veggies, or these veggie tower companies have cracked the code in how to build brand advocates.
The Point Is…
Brand advocates are not as random as they seem.
Those vegetable tower companies have given something to their community that makes them want to share. And share they do.
Colin and his team talk with customers, not to answer customer service tickets, but to listen and connect. And share they do.
When a company creates such an experience with their product and their brand, they create brand advocates. And nothing in marketing is better than that.
Listen to Courtney’s episode about the Farmstand
Hear what Colin has to say about Sheets & Giggles