From Feelings to Action: The Power of Advocacy

A founder recently sent me a familiar question: "Our customers love our product, but how do we transform this love into active advocacy?"

It's a common puzzle, often left unsolved.

Having a community that loves your product is a dream come true.

It feels like a reward for all the hard work.

But there's a bigger challenge: moving from mere admiration to concrete action.

How do you turn happy customers into vocal advocates who actively promote your product?

You have to make it easy for them.

The best founders, when raising money, will make it easy for their network by doing the pre-work of collecting the right contacts, and crafting a deeply personalised forwardable message.

You know this gets the best results so why not approach product advocacy in the same way?

Last year I consulted a seed-stage startup facing this exact challenge.

They had a community buzzing with enthusiasm for their product. Yet, this excitement was confined within their own circle.

The potential for advocacy was there, but it remained untapped, like a hidden treasure waiting to be discovered.

Here’s what we did.

Direct, Personal Connections:

• Implementation: Start by identifying your top 10 active customers based on their engagement levels. Reach out to them with a personalized email or direct message that highlights their specific interactions with your product. Ask open-ended questions about their experience and invite them to share their stories.

• Tools: Use your CRM software (or just a simple Notion table) to track these interactions. More importantly, use a tool like Clearword to capture the conversations and then pull together insights and patterns you’re hearing.

Involvement Beyond Feedback:

• Implementation: Create a small, exclusive group of these customers and involve them in beta testing of new features. Set up a monthly virtual roundtable discussion where they can provide feedback and share ideas.

• Tools: I’m a big fan of FigJam for async conversations that are fun and you are not dragging your customers into yet another Slack. You could easily build out a space within Figjam for easy sharing of feedback, voting on feature requests and making it fun at the same time.

Here’s a simple example that I made in like 30 seconds:

Public Recognition:

• Implementation: Develop a weekly feature on your social media where you highlight a customer’s unique use of your product. Include a brief story or quote from them and visually showcase their interaction with your product. These are super easy to create with tools like Canva these days. We have no excuse not to do this.

• Tools: Use social media management tools like Buffer to schedule these posts and track engagement. Or just post them yourself but make sure you’ve built in that time into your calendar intentionally and it becomes a habit.

Easy-to-Use Advocacy Toolkit:

• Implementation: Create a digital toolkit that includes customizable social media post templates, hashtags, and brief guidelines on how to talk about your product. Make this toolkit easily accessible through a dedicated section on your website or community platform or just a public Figjam link.

• Tools: Again, especially for planning and hosting all the assets, I’m a big fan of Figjam.

Metrics and KPIs for Success:

• Track the increase in social media mentions and hashtag usage.

• Monitor the growth in community engagement and user-generated content.

• Measure the referral rates and observe any uptick in new user sign-ups attributed to current customers.

Follow-up Strategies:

• Post-Engagement: After initial outreach, schedule quarterly check-ins with these customers to keep them engaged and informed about new developments.

• Continuous Recognition: Implement a 'Customer of the Month' program to continuously recognize and incentivize active community members.

• Exclusive Events: Host bi-annual virtual events for your most engaged customers to keep them connected and excited about your product's journey.

Deepening the Connection: The Value of Investing Time in User Engagement

Engaging with customers directly often raises questions for busy founders: Is this the best use of my time?

The answer lies in understanding the deeper value of these interactions.

It's about investing in the future of your startup and building a foundation for long-term success.

1. Building Trust and Advocacy:

• Each conversation with a customer deepens trust and loyalty, encouraging them to become long-term advocates for your product.

• Consider dedicating a fixed slot weekly for these interactions. Even an hour a week can yield significant insights and stronger connections.

2. Observing the Shift from Enthusiasm to Advocacy:

• Watch for signs like increased mentions of your product in social media posts or users initiating discussions about your product. These are tangible indicators of growing advocacy.

• Keeping track of customer feedback during these conversations leads to tangible changes in your product or strategy. This direct link between engagement and product evolution is a clear marker of the value derived from these interactions.

This approach to turning product love into advocacy is about more than just conversations.

It's about creating a community where each member feels empowered and valued, transforming them into strong advocates for your brand.

For startups, this can be a vital transformation of the community into a dynamic, vocal force. If done right.

So, if you're leading a startup with a community that loves your product but isn't advocating for it yet, remember: the key lies in personal engagement, involvement, and empowerment.

Your customers have the potential to be your most robust advocates. By giving them the platform and voice, you can turn this potential into a powerful reality.

In a world dominated by digital interactions, personal touch becomes a powerful tool.

Personalized messages, listening to the stories, and involving them in your product's journey can transform their perception of your brand.

Looking Ahead: A Roadmap for Continuous Engagement

As your community grows and evolves, so should your engagement strategies.

Keep exploring new ways to connect, recognize, and empower your customers.

Organize virtual meetups, create customer-focused events, and always keep the lines of communication open.

Your community is a living, breathing part of your startup, and nurturing it should be an ongoing process.

Turning product love into advocacy is at the heart of your startup's success.

It's a journey that requires time, effort, and genuine care.

But the rewards - a loyal, engaged community that actively supports and promotes your product - are immeasurable.

Embrace this journey, and watch your community transform into your most significant asset.

If you take away anything from this post, let it be this:

1. Personal connections create champions: The deepest advocacy emerges not from widespread appeal but from personalized interactions. It's the depth of your relationships, not their number, that ignites passionate advocacy.

2. Empowerment unleashes advocates: When customers feel they're a part of your journey, they transform from passive supporters to active advocates. Involvement breeds commitment; empower them to be more than just users of your products.

3. Recognition transforms enthusiasm: Acknowledging customers' contributions publicly isn't just appreciation; it's a moment for turning their enthusiasm into vocal, visible advocacy. Make champions out of supporters.

4. Consistency builds lasting advocacy: Advocacy isn't a one-time event but a continuous process. Regular, authentic engagement, however small, lays the groundwork for a long-term, loyal advocacy that grows stronger with time.

5. Authenticity wins hearts and voices: In an age where authenticity is rare, genuine interactions stand out. True advocacy comes from authentic relationships, not strategic interactions. Be real, and watch advocacy grow organically.

If you found yourself nodding along to this post and wondering how to take this into action, I’m creating something just for you.

It’s my 10 years of community-building experience at InVision, On Deck, Coho and others, packed into a comprehensive guide, specifically tailored for early-stage to Series A companies.

I’ll be spending my Christmas break on this project, you can pre-order it here.

Until next time,

MP