Are Ambassador Programs Worth It? Top 4 Reasons They Are

Social media, content marketing, email marketing, and other forms of getting a brand’s message spread out into the world have become common in businesses big or small. Companies spend a significant portion of their business earnings in these advertising and promotional efforts while leaving one other method unnoticed because most feel that it’s not worth it.

But contrary to common belief, ambassador programs can actually become your greatest weapon as you try to get your business towards a successful future of growth and innovation. Whether you’re running a successful online store and using apps for implementing an ambassador program or you are selling subscriptions offering rewards and discounts from referrals, an effective ambassador program is a sure way of promoting your business at very low costs.

A business should not only invest on acquiring new leads and attracting new customers to patronize its product or service but also make use of the untapped power of existing customers through a great ambassador program.

That hidden force can actually turn into a powerful instrument that would rev up the profit engine into nitro mode! If you think ambassador programs are not worth trying then allow us to present you these top 4 reasons that are sure to make you believe otherwise!

1. It’s a Low Cost But Efficient Way of Promoting Your Business

Take social media for instance. Running a campaign for promoting one product in this online channel costs a fortune. Multiply it to the number of products that you are trying to sell times the number of days that the advertisements for each product needs to run in order to generate enough sales. You already know the figures right? It’s really expensive!

Now, contrast that with the amount of money you’ll spend on a software or application that you can install in order to mobilize your loyal customers and turn them into brand ambassadors? You'll see a significant difference for sure! This alone should give you the idea of what an effective ambassador program is worth. It really is worth it and you’ll even get more value than what you paid for if you do it right!

Take time to study your business structure and identify the best ambassador program that will fit with it. You can either offer commissions by giving every ambassador their very own discount code which they can use in their space and use that code to track their commissions or you may also turn them into referral magnets. There’s an endless pool of options for you to choose from and don’t hesitate to look into your competitors to get the idea on what works best.

2. It’s a Way of Putting Eyes and Ears Within Your Business Sphere

Aside from the advertising and promotional value of your brand ambassadors, there is also the surveillance aspect of them that makes an ambassador program worth it. As a business owner, you have several things to do to ensure that it runs smoothly. You can’t be everywhere all the time and that’s where your ambassadors will come into play.

There’s a big chance that your loyal customers will be spread across different online channels and wherever they are, they will surely pick up the buzz about certain competitor brands that can be valuable for you as you try to improve your brand in every possible aspect. Just be sure that you’re listening and taking note of the input and feedback that your ambassadors are giving you so everything won’t go to waste.

Also give credit to whom credit is due. This means that you need to get your ambassadors rewarded as they grow with your business. Discounts and bonuses can be great and there are also some loyalty programs that you can reward to those who have been loyal to your brand for a long time.

3. You’ll Have a Great Source of User Generated Content

If those two reasons don’t suffice yet then here’s another great one to add to this list. You might have heard about UGC or User Generated Content. This may come in many forms but all of them are useful for advancing your business towards the next level. Contents such as product reviews, store feedback, product ratings, store ratings, and more can become a general voice that will help your brand known to the general public.

Acquiring these will take some time but there’s another method that you can try. Build that website or blog or establish an email list or newsletter subscription then tap into the raw talents that your ambassadors might have. You will be surprised to find out that some of them will actually feel very excited to voice out what they think about your product or brand and have those voices published to your website or blog. Some will even be willing to produce a product review video to take your promotional efforts to the next level.

User Generated Content is one great way of appealing to those prospective customers who will identify to what your ambassadors have written on the online channels that you’ve made available for your business, product, or brand.

4. They’ll Build Up and Protect Your Reputation

Another reason that makes ambassador programs worth it is the fact that brand ambassadors will actually step up and defend your brand in cases when opinions and defaming news come. As a thriving business, you will always have competition that would at times go to greater lengths just to put your reputation down.

If you have loyal customers whom you transformed into brand ambassadors with an effective loyalty program, you will be surprised to see that some of them will be more than willing to share their positive personal experiences about your brand and ensure that the message gets to the right party in an effort to protect your business from falling down to oblivion.

It’s Worth It! Give It a Try!

Whoever said that ambassador programs don’t work surely didn’t take the time to look into the deeper aspects of it that we’ve just discussed above. From being a cheap instrument of advertising and promotion down to giving you an extra layer of protection against detractors, it’s hard to ignore all the benefits that it can potentially provide so why not give it a try!

There are several ways in how you can implement an ambassador program for your business but if you’re running an online shop and need some effective agents who will help in promoting and advancing your overall business strategy in order to achieve that ultimate goal, you can start with an effective software or app that can easily integrate with the customer relationship management (CRM)system that you’re using.

Start by researching the type of program your business needs and build up your strategies from there. Plan things well because as the saying goes, “If You Fail To Plan, You Are Planning to Fail”. Definitely give ambassador programs a try and have it added to the marketing strategies you've already implemented and you’ll start to see how this underestimated tool can actually become a great asset. There’s no harm in trying right? Go ahead and prepare to be amazed by the results!