________________________________________________________________________________________________ Brand strategy
Some of the world ’ s biggest and most influential brands including lululemon and Patagonia have grown in this way . They are community-powered brands that do not pump huge sums into online advertising to promote their product , but instead trust their customers to do it for them , and to great effect .
And we are seeing more and more brands including Abercrombie & Fitch and Victoria ’ s Secret follow suit with the launch of their own programs dedicated to turning their own customers into an army of salespeople .
Invest in UGC
Consumers find user-generated content ( UGC ) 9.8 times more impactful than influencer content and 79 percent of consumers say UGC highly impacts their purchasing decision , according to Stackla . That ’ s because regardless of age , we are increasingly looking for real content , created by real people who we can relate to and trust to make better and more informed buying decisions .
The best way for brands to take advantage of UGC is to build a loyal network of brand fans and then make it easy for them and incentivize them to create and share content with their own followers . Companies including Charlotte Tilbury and Gymshark do this - they trust their customers to share their own content with their own followers - and have all grown as a result .
Redefine the influencer
Brands have historically got their influencer marketing strategy wrong because they focus on paying micro-influencers that they find through third party networks and marketplaces , rather than incentivizing existing customers . These external microinfluencers are random members of the public who don ’ t know anything about the brand and would happily promote a competitor if the price was right .
Yet the concept of influencer marketing is a great one and done correctly it is all about authentic storytelling for brands that want their message to not only be heard , but trusted and actioned .
And so brands need to redefine who their real ‘ influencers ’ are . And this starts closer to home - by identifying superfans from within their own customer base . These people may not buy the most , but they have the most influence because they literally tell everyone they know about their favored brands . This makes them the most powerful engine of word of mouth and free customer acquisition available to brands and every business has them .
What next ?
For brands to reduce acquisition costs and grow organically , it is all about turning their own customer base into a revenue-driving community in and of themselves . Only by focusing on growing this army of superfans and incentivizing them to promote the brand to their own networks , with their own content , can brands truly expect to do this . ■
Jaclyn Crocker www . duel . tech
Jaclyn Crocker is COO & GM North America , Duel ( former GM , Retail & Community , lululemon ). Duel is a SaaS company that provides both the methodology and technology to help fashion and beauty brands drive organic growth through brand advocacy , the act of supporting and recommending a brand . Launched in 2020 , Duel helps brands turn their own customer base into a sales channel , scaling reach and revenue through brand advocacy . It helps companies build communities of advocates ( happy customers , employees , partners , industry professionals etc .) who trust their brand and promote it to their friends , family and peers - thereby accelerating true , authentic , organic growth .
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