The Age of the Ambassador

A changing media consumption landscape has seen an increased importance for brands to engage with customers outside of legacy sources. A Television commercial just doesn’t have the same reach or relevance that it had, even ten short years ago.

Brand ambassadors are not a new thing. For Australian readers, think of Paul Hogan with his shrimp throwing. The notion of taking a likable public figure and having them represent your brand or product is a great way to get cut through, at least to the audience that appreciates the individual.

Not to be mistaken with an Influencer, an ambassador by definition is a representative of a country, or in this context - a brand. An influencer is someone who can influence a group of people to buy a product.

I’ve had the pleasure of engaging with some brilliant examples of each who have demonstrated how this concept can work, particularly in a startup situation where exposure is critical.

They engage with your clients and the market. They fly your flag and give your brand authenticity and credibility. All things that can affect a purchase decision.

But what makes a good Ambassador?

It’s easy to get caught up in big sexy numbers, but if the potential ambassador isn’t talking to the right people the numbers don’t matter. Think about your Brand, which as we have said before should be linked to your Vision – the combination of these two should distil into a focal target market. ?

Who are those target customers following and where are they consuming media? What are their tastes within and outside of the sphere of your product and the market it sits in? The answers to these questions are the start of your search for the right ambassador.

Does the potential ambassador’s persona align to your Brand? You can script up what you want them to say but if it’s not going to seem authentic, or if the market has tired of the individual spruiking different things, your results will suffer. This is the quality element that needs to be considered.

Ultimately reach is only one thing – alignment and quality should rank higher in priority. Remembering, that if you can ensure the promise that an ambassador is making comes true, you can be creating ambassadors out of your customers – more on this later.

I had a great example recently when picking up a Bentley to review. I went to the dealership with a pre-conception of what this premium SUV was going to be like. The individual in charge of giving me the run down of the vehicle wasn’t a Bentley employee. In fact, he was a driver trainer that services Bentley customers.

His time with me ensured that the intention of the vehicle was very clear (without “sales-y” benefit language) and ensured I understood how it was unmistakably “Bentley” by walking me through the features that I should know about.

Clearly this is close quarters stuff, but he was a tremendous example of what a Brand Ambassador should be.

Customers as ambassadors?

It’s often forgotten, but the best ambassador for your business is the one that chooses to take on your promise. Simple, right?

If your brand is making a promise, follow through on it – or change the promise. Read that again. The alignment between your operation and your brand is absolutely critical.

When the misalignment becomes evident, you lose customers or potential customers forever. Detractors, or negative ambassadors, are far more vocal than happy ones. The old adage that bad new spreads fast rings true here.

Who else can be an ambassador?

Well, the people who are selling your dream should be your best ambassadors, and you already have them on payroll!

Your employees are the shining beacons that bring your brand to life; every single day. I’m not going to go into leadership, staff engagement, training and motivation here as it’s too big a piece to cover and there is plenty of information at hand.

Ultimately, if you even have an inkling that you don’t have your staff aligned and motivated to be your best ambassadors, don’t throw any money away on an external.

Why? Because your operation simply cannot be aligned to your brand optimally if there is doubt. Remembering what we said earlier, that where your operation isn’t aligned to your brand, you’re throwing leads and consequently, revenue away.

If you’re getting it right, your conversion and retention rates will be at levels that most will think is being manipulated, and others will have to slice and dice to replicate. Ask me how I know.

If you’d like to learn how these concepts may apply in your business, I’d welcome contact for a no obligation discussion on how I may be able to assist.

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