Transforming your customers into champions

Let’s face it, there are thousands of brands out there for customers to choose from. So how do you ensure that your brand remains top of mind? That’s where customer reference programmes come in, because there’s no better way to boost a brand’s credibility than to have others speak for you. 

But how do you turn your customers into your brand advocates? 

To answer this, on 30 June, distillery held a Customer Reference Masterclass. We invited three customer reference experts in the tech space to share valuable tips and insights on building a successful customer reference programme from industry experts: 

• Neema Okal, Customer Reference Lead at Google Cloud APAC

• Margi Lynn, Marketing Director at Sprinklr APAC

• Debra Tong, Customer Success Manager at Affable.ai 

Building trust inside and outside

Treat everyone like customers. Internal and external stakeholders are just as important when it comes to a brand’s success. To instil trust, you must be transparent.nd have  an open mind when it comes to listening to and respecting clients and colleagues too. 

“When the client trusts us enough to ask questions and provide honest feedback, they feel empowered and confident in the way they use our platform. Likewise, managing internal stakeholders by communicating messages accurately can pave a healthy feedback loop, which in the long run creates a strong working relationship,” says Debra.

In other words, happy customers and happy employees naturally lead to happy revenues.

Every channel is  a tool for customer reference

The sky's the limit when it comes to amplifying your customers’ stories. Social media makes it easy for us to become self-publishers. When  it comes to telling our customers’ stories,the only limit is our own creativity .

“At Google Cloud, we use everything from TikTok videos to Facebook live events and Twitter Q&As to highlight the different things our customers are doing in the cloud space. We also go big on videos, and amplify our brand through more traditional methods like case studies. There really is no limit to how you can amplify your stories, so be creative,” adds Neema.

Don’t underestimate the power of going local

Who is your audience? The Asia Pacific region is very diverse, always pay attention to what appeals to your intended audience. What works in one country may not work in another. 

“We are fortunate to have the powerhouse of the global team behind us, and, at the same time, we have the autonomy to work and evolve a programme that makes sense for our markets. Our  customers are part of our advisory boards, which helps us inform our roadmap, and we’re building a product that is serving their needs, which ultimately, is what we aspire to do at Sprinklr,” says Margi.

As much as possible, think about how your products serve customers where you are. When customers feel heard, they become engaged and the relationship evolves from a transactional one to a partnership.

“If we tell customer stories in Japan, we do it in Japanese. If it’s a story about a Korean brand, we tell it in Korean. Likewise for Chinese, we make sure to differentiate between traditional and simplified Chinese. It’s really important to think about these things because it shows that we understand our customers and reach them where it’s easiest for them to consume our content,” adds Neema.

When customers are comfortable with your content, they are more receptive to the message. Remove unnecessary barriers by relating to audiences in ways that are familiar to them. Localisation also shows your brand’s understanding in the different markets, boosting brand reliability. 

Be genuine, build strong relationships

At the end of the day, having mutual trust and good relationships with customers matters most. From the internal sales teams to customers, the only way to truly succeed is to build strong rapport among stakeholders.

No one size fits all

Remember that every business is different. Every brand has its own story. There is no template for a successful customer reference programme, do what works for you. 

Are you ready to turn your customers into champions?

If you’re keen to get started or want to improve your customer success storytelling journey, get in touch with us! Whether it’s building an end-to-end strategy or amplifying your capabilities through content, we’re here to help.

Or let’s just grab a coffee and start a conversation. Drop a note for Miko, our Customer Reference Director at czarina@wearedistillery.co