College brand ambassadors provide a great way to encourage customers on the edge about making a purchase to buy your product or service. College campuses include huge groups of students, and the best way to reach them is through creating a brand ambassador program. Word of mouth and recommendations from friends, peers and classmates are a powerful way to spread the message about your brand. Here are some surprising facts about referral marketing that solidify the crucial need for brand ambassadors:
- Consumers are four times more likely to make a purchase when referred from a friend
Valuable brand ambassadors convert more customers, close faster, and maintain a higher lifetime value than others, according to the Wharton School of Business.
- Lifetime value for customers referred by brand ambassadors is 16% higher than those who weren’t referred
With digital channels being all the rage, word of mouth and brand ambassador strategies have become easier to adopt. When college students like a product, they will talk about it repeatedly with their friends, who in turn will be interested in the product. Therefore, expect higher brand loyalty, higher conversions and increased engagement from brand ambassador programs.
- 92% of respondents trusted referrals from the people they know and care about
Today’s marketplace is constantly buzzing on all channels, with all brands competing for consumers’ time and money. Therefore, we turn to our close social network to see which brands they use and love. The Internet makes it easy for consumers to look up products and brands, which makes having social media influencers and positive online reviews a key part of attracting new customers.
- 83% of consumers are willing to refer a friend after a positive brand experience, yet only 27% actually do
This shows that it is more important than you think to incentive students to become brand ambassadors. They have positive thoughts and opinions about your brand, but not everyone shares these thoughts. Create a perks program to encourage your brand ambassadors to really sell your product. Offering a reward of some sort to brand ambassadors increases product and brand referral, and it doesn’t matter the size of the reward.
- Companies with brand ambassador programs experience higher revenue growth in comparison to other companies, yet only 30% of those surveyed employ a brand ambassador program
The stats show that brand ambassador programs work for increasing revenue, attracting loyal customers and creating a base of people who will vouch for your brand at any given time.
Not only does a brand ambassador program establish a brand presence on campus, but it helps reinforce brand loyalty to keep current customers and obtain new ones.
