Advocacy marketing works  - Carolyn Stafford

Tom Peters in Thriving on Chaos recommends spending 75% of your marketing effort and budgets on building word-of-mouth referrals for your business. In other words, creating advocates who willingly talk about your business and refer quality customers to you.

So what is the definition of an advocate? "A person who pleads for a cause or propounds an idea or recommends a person or their services to another."

 
Take a pen and write a list of your best advocates such as other businesses in related industries, past and current clients, friends and family or your social and business connections.

 
When you have written that list, contact each of them to find out specifically why they are your advocates. It could simply be that they have used your service/product and have always experienced 'out-of-the-ordinary' customer service. It could be that they really appreciate it when you give them 'something for nothing', like a box of chocolates with every order they place with you. It could be that they perceive you to have the best reputation in a particular field or industry. Or maybe in their view, you have a remarkable and unique product or service offering that no other business can offer.

 
Once you know why people are your advocates, you can be sure to preserve and build on the things that are important to them to refer you more business.

 
Now write a list of the people you know who are not your advocates but who you would like to be. Call them and meet with them and ask them what you can do to help them become an advocate.

 
And don't forget, one turn deserves another. Why not start with being an advocate for your advocates and see the true rewards of building your business by word-of-mouth referrals.

About Carolyn Stafford

Carolyn Stafford is the director of Connect Marketing Professionals, a one-stop marketing shop just for small business. Carolyn has worked extensively in the financial services sector. She is a regular columnist in the Business Network section of The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald and a sought after speaker. She hosts regular breakfasts, workshops and events across Australia and is soon to be an author with the impending release of her first book, Small Business, Big Brand.

Visit Connect at www.connectnetwork.com.au