In the current consumer-driven economy, it is vital for a brand’s survival to connect with prospective customers, constantly engage existing ones, and remain at the top of all their minds. This will be especially true in the weeks and possibly months of economic contraction after COVID-19. Our government has acted swiftly and decisively, instituting a lockdown that has saved millions of lives, if other nations’ responses are anything to go by. However, while necessary, this lockdown will have a significant impact on the economy and potentially change consumer spending habits. In the aftermath of CODIV-19, we will begin to truly see the value of brand ambassadors.
As brands compete for the attention of fickle and often unforgiving consumers, there is one weapon in every brand’s arsenal that can turn the tide in their favor – the brand ambassador. Brand ambassadors facilitate brand interactions on a level no other tool or resource can, making them indispensable in any post-COVID-19 marketing efforts. They serve multiple purposes which we explore here:
Brand Ambassadors Are Brand Avatars
Humans are social creatures and we thrive on interacting with other people. Our minds are wired to respond positively to live interactions with other people. Brand ambassadors function as the human extensions of your brand, giving it a warm smile, reassuring voice, and confident handshake. This humanizing quality of brand ambassadors will enable consumers to form positive associations with your brand and be more willing to either try using your products or reinforce their loyalty if they already use your products.
Brand Ambassadors Instill Confidence In Your Brand
Effective ambassadors understand enough about the brand to answer almost any product-related questions that customers may have. Their knowledge of the product gives them a position of subject authority in the minds of the consumers. That authority instills a sense of confidence in the consumer, who will associate a knowledgeable retail ambassador with a product’s reliability and worth. These associations may potentially have a positive impact on the consumer’s purchasing choice when the pandemic eventually lifts. At the very least, brand ambassadors encourage existing and prospective consumers to propagate positive sentiments about your brand in their respective communities.
Brand Ambassadors Propagate Social Validation
In marketing, a product is not good until the market says it is. Human beings are wired to put more trust in recommendations from people they know, which is why they’re more likely to keep using a brand their parents and grandparents used as opposed to experimenting with different brands to find the objectively superior product. Brand ambassadors shortcut this need to have an idea validated by another person, which reinforces existing customer loyalty and increases the likelihood that a prospective customer will try the product. In a post-COVID marketplace throbbing with competition and saturated in advertising, brand ambassadors will amplify your brand’s distinction.
Brand Ambassadors Are Your Business Intelligence Network
For any marketing efforts to succeed, a brand needs to get accurate and real-time information about the market, from the market. Brand ambassadors are excellent resources for gathering market intelligence as they interact directly with the market and can often get very candid feedback from prospective and existing customers. In the post-COVID period, consolidating brand recognition and loyalty will depend heavily on a brand’s ability to gather market intelligence and respond directly to the market’s needs.
Conclusion
Sooner or later, the COVID-19 pandemic will peter out and life will go back to normal. There will be some changes in consumer behaviour, skewing to more conservative patterns, and a brand’s ability to capture an audience’s attention and influence their purchasing decisions will be crucial to its survival. Brand ambassadors will prove invaluable in helping brands recover from the lockdown period and will be the springboard for new brands to potentially rise to the top.