Your consignment store: it’s your blood, guts, and tears embodied, right? You’ve worked hard to get it off the ground, so of course, you want it to succeed. As it turns out, though, that’s easier said than done.
If you want to rise to the top of your industry, you have to start with your customers. After all, your customers know everything about your brand, your people, and your product. If you can get them to share this information with other people, you’ll have a real shot at creating momentum around your store, and growing rapidly.
The question, then is how?
How do you take your happy customers and turn them into brand evangelists? Here’s what you need to know:
Why Brand Evangelists?
A brand evangelist is someone who will shout the perks of your product from the rooftops. Looking for a real-life example? Think of the millions of people who buy Apple products and only Apple products.
They know what they love about the brand, and they go there first when they need anything tech-related. They recommend the products to their friends and provide plenty of passive advertising by merely using the wares out and about in the world.
How to Create Brand Ambassadors for Your Consignment Store: 3 Actionable Tips
Wondering how to bring “The Apple Effect” to your consignment store? Here are a few smart tips to help you turn happy customers into brand ambassadors:
1. Create a Private Facebook Group and “Pick” Customers
If you want to create brand ambassadors among your current customers, the first step is to gather the best ones into a single place. Do this by building a private Facebook group. The Facebook group serves as a platform for interaction between you and your customers. It also allows you to centralize your conversations and interactions with your customers.
Once you’ve built the Facebook group, use it to interact with your supporters and identify the customers who are the most engaged and dedicated. “Pick” these people as your would-be brand ambassadors, and nurture the relationship by offering them special deals or incentives.
When you make customers feel seen and appreciated in this way, it increases their willingness to support your brand for the long-term.
2. Deliver on Your Brand Promise
Now that you’ve hooked your highest-value customers through some special offers and VIP perks, it’s time to build the relationship another step. Do this by creating loyalty and commitment to your customers, and giving it right back to them.
Think of it this way: if customers are going to feel loyal to your brand, they’ve got to see that you’re willing to be loyal to them, as well. A large part of this is demonstrating that you can make brand promises and follow up on them, every time. While there are dozens of ways to do this, you’ll have to come up with a unique approach that works for your brand.
Consider offering a points-based shopping system, providing insider access to hot new merchandise, or providing discounts for word-of-mouth advertising or referrals. When customers see you’re serious about investing in them, they’re willing to do the same for you.
3. Prioritize User-Generated Content
The next step is to get the customers who have already chosen your brand to encourage their friends and family members to do the same. This is where customers cross the road and become brand evangelists. This is also the hardest step of the whole process. While it’s one thing for customers to decide they want to shop with you, getting them to encourage others to do the same can be tricky.
Here’s a slick trick that can help, though: user-generated content.
User-generated content is material generated by your customers, which you can then share on social media. In addition to decreasing the time and energy you have to spend on social media content creation, user-generated content is also a great way to grab the attention of new customers and help them feel confident in your band.
According to recent research, 84% of people trust online reviews of a product as much as personal recommendations from a friend. With this in mind, it’s easy to see how having your current customers repping your products could go a long way to help new customers feel confident and excited.
Better Brand Ambassadors Are Within Reach
If you want your consignment store to grow, you’ve got to stop creating everyday customers and start building lifelong brand evangelists. By following the three tips laid out in this post, it’s easy to do that and to enjoy the upward mobility it will create for your store.
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