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There’s no amount of advertising that compares to someone who genuinely loves your brand and shares that excitement publicly. Most marketing leaders understand this, yet very few know how to design customer experiences that naturally inspire advocacy. It’s not about just throwing referral links around or offering a 10% discount for a share—real brand advocacy comes from emotional connection, shared values, and experiences that make people want to talk about your company without being asked.
What’s missing for many large brands isn’t a bigger budget or better product. It’s a system for turning great customers into loyal advocates.
Most loyalty programs are shallow. They’re focused on rewarding spend, which overlooks the much broader picture of how people actually support a brand. Liking a post, attending an event, leaving a thoughtful review, referring a friend without being prompted—these all signal genuine affinity.
Brands that grow advocates treat these behaviors like currency. Patagonia, for example, rewards community members for repairing gear instead of buying new items. The action fits their values and reinforces the bond customers have with the brand.
With platforms like Rediem, businesses can customize what kinds of actions they want to reward—sustainable choices, social sharing, feedback, or even local event participation. This flexibility helps create a brand identity that’s lived out by your community, not just told through ads.
Brand loyalty shouldn’t live in marketing. It needs to be part of your company’s DNA, from product design to customer service. If support teams are solving issues quickly but failing to close the loop with gratitude or recognition, they’re missing out on turning a potential promoter into a champion.
The same goes for product development—if a user suggests a feature and it gets built but they never hear back, that’s a lost opportunity to build advocacy.
Create an internal loop where customer stories and contributions are celebrated across departments. Make it part of onboarding for new team members. Use Slack or Teams channels to share customer wins and memorable feedback. Brand advocacy is often rooted in small moments of being seen and appreciated.
User-generated content, testimonials, referrals—these are the outcomes of good advocacy, not strategies on their own. If you chase them directly without building the conditions for them to occur, they’ll always feel forced.
Instead, ask: “What experience are we giving our customers that’s truly worth talking about?” If the answer is convenience, that’s not enough. Convenience is table stakes. Emotional connection is what drives storytelling.
A good exercise is to take your top 10 most loyal customers and interview them. Ask why they’ve stuck around. Look for patterns in values, product experiences, and moments of surprise or delight. Then double down on those moments across your customer journey.
People advocate for brands when they feel like they’re part of something bigger than a product. This is why companies with strong missions often enjoy a more passionate customer base. Think about Allbirds and its climate goals, or Liquid Death and its anti-plastic message. Customers don’t just buy from them; they defend them.
This doesn’t mean you need to be a sustainability brand. But you do need to stand for something that connects emotionally with your audience. That could be empowering creators, supporting local businesses, or rethinking wellness. Whatever it is, build content, campaigns, and community actions around that idea.
Customers want to belong to brands that feel like movements, not just stores.
Too many brand stories center the company as the protagonist. The better strategy? Frame the customer as the main character and your brand as the enabler of their success.
That shift changes your content. Instead of “Our product helps you save time,” it becomes “Here’s how Sarah used our platform to double her productivity and spend more time with her kids.”
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Advocates emerge when people see themselves reflected in the brand’s storytelling. It makes them feel seen—and it gives them a story to retell.
Build case studies and social content around your customers’ victories, not your product’s features. Let their story do the work.
There’s a subtle but critical difference between asking customers for feedback and inviting them to co-create. Feedback is often transactional—it ends up in a spreadsheet. But when you bring people into beta programs, co-design sessions, or naming contests, you turn them into insiders.
This insider feeling is key to advocacy. People love to promote what they helped shape. It creates a sense of ownership and pride.
Build ways for your most engaged customers to influence product, content, or community initiatives. Give them early access. Ask their opinion before a launch. Create private Slack or Discord groups just for your core community members.
When people feel like they’re part of the brand, not just buyers of it, they advocate naturally.
Every customer complaint is a chance to earn a promoter. Research by Bain & Co. shows that customers whose problems get resolved quickly and generously are more likely to recommend than customers who never had a problem at all.
This is one of the most overlooked opportunities in brand building. Instead of just fixing the issue, thank them publicly. Send a gift. Ask for input on how to improve. Then close the loop when the change is made.
What would it look like to build a team that sees complaints not as threats, but as opportunities for advocacy?
Most companies communicate to customers, but few build spaces where customers can talk to each other. Advocacy grows when there’s a sense of belonging—and belonging happens in community.
Think about how Nike’s Run Club, Glossier’s Slack group, or LEGO Ideas became launchpads for brand advocacy. These aren’t just social spaces; they’re shared missions and creative labs.
Your community doesn’t need to be massive—it just needs to be intentional. Start with your best customers and build a place where they can connect, collaborate, and celebrate wins together.
From discussion boards to private events to social challenges, invest in spaces where your customers can meet each other under the umbrella of your brand. Those relationships will become the backbone of your advocacy engine.
You can retain a customer without inspiring them. But if you want advocates, you need to build something people care about—not just use.
Brand advocacy is a long game. It’s not about viral moments or loyalty points. It’s about cultivating emotional alignment, contribution, and community. It’s about seeing your customers not just as revenue sources, but as future storytellers, defenders, and creators of your brand.
If you want to turn more customers into advocates, start by treating them like people you want to keep around—not just data points on a dashboard.
And when you’re ready to track those meaningful actions and recognize more than just spend, platforms like Rediem offer a way to align your loyalty efforts with real-world impact, social values, and community engagement.
Let the marketing team design the strategy—but let your customers write the story.
There’s no amount of advertising that compares to someone who genuinely loves your brand and shares that excitement publicly. Most marketing leaders understand this, yet very few know how to design customer experiences that naturally inspire advocacy. It’s not about just throwing referral links around or offering a 10% discount for a share—real brand advocacy comes from emotional connection, shared values, and experiences that make people want to talk about your company without being asked.
What’s missing for many large brands isn’t a bigger budget or better product. It’s a system for turning great customers into loyal advocates.
Most loyalty programs are shallow. They’re focused on rewarding spend, which overlooks the much broader picture of how people actually support a brand. Liking a post, attending an event, leaving a thoughtful review, referring a friend without being prompted—these all signal genuine affinity.
Brands that grow advocates treat these behaviors like currency. Patagonia, for example, rewards community members for repairing gear instead of buying new items. The action fits their values and reinforces the bond customers have with the brand.
With platforms like Rediem, businesses can customize what kinds of actions they want to reward—sustainable choices, social sharing, feedback, or even local event participation. This flexibility helps create a brand identity that’s lived out by your community, not just told through ads.
Brand loyalty shouldn’t live in marketing. It needs to be part of your company’s DNA, from product design to customer service. If support teams are solving issues quickly but failing to close the loop with gratitude or recognition, they’re missing out on turning a potential promoter into a champion.
The same goes for product development—if a user suggests a feature and it gets built but they never hear back, that’s a lost opportunity to build advocacy.
Create an internal loop where customer stories and contributions are celebrated across departments. Make it part of onboarding for new team members. Use Slack or Teams channels to share customer wins and memorable feedback. Brand advocacy is often rooted in small moments of being seen and appreciated.
User-generated content, testimonials, referrals—these are the outcomes of good advocacy, not strategies on their own. If you chase them directly without building the conditions for them to occur, they’ll always feel forced.
Instead, ask: “What experience are we giving our customers that’s truly worth talking about?” If the answer is convenience, that’s not enough. Convenience is table stakes. Emotional connection is what drives storytelling.
A good exercise is to take your top 10 most loyal customers and interview them. Ask why they’ve stuck around. Look for patterns in values, product experiences, and moments of surprise or delight. Then double down on those moments across your customer journey.
People advocate for brands when they feel like they’re part of something bigger than a product. This is why companies with strong missions often enjoy a more passionate customer base. Think about Allbirds and its climate goals, or Liquid Death and its anti-plastic message. Customers don’t just buy from them; they defend them.
This doesn’t mean you need to be a sustainability brand. But you do need to stand for something that connects emotionally with your audience. That could be empowering creators, supporting local businesses, or rethinking wellness. Whatever it is, build content, campaigns, and community actions around that idea.
Customers want to belong to brands that feel like movements, not just stores.
Too many brand stories center the company as the protagonist. The better strategy? Frame the customer as the main character and your brand as the enabler of their success.
That shift changes your content. Instead of “Our product helps you save time,” it becomes “Here’s how Sarah used our platform to double her productivity and spend more time with her kids.”
Advocates emerge when people see themselves reflected in the brand’s storytelling. It makes them feel seen—and it gives them a story to retell.
Build case studies and social content around your customers’ victories, not your product’s features. Let their story do the work.
There’s a subtle but critical difference between asking customers for feedback and inviting them to co-create. Feedback is often transactional—it ends up in a spreadsheet. But when you bring people into beta programs, co-design sessions, or naming contests, you turn them into insiders.
This insider feeling is key to advocacy. People love to promote what they helped shape. It creates a sense of ownership and pride.
Build ways for your most engaged customers to influence product, content, or community initiatives. Give them early access. Ask their opinion before a launch. Create private Slack or Discord groups just for your core community members.
When people feel like they’re part of the brand, not just buyers of it, they advocate naturally.
Every customer complaint is a chance to earn a promoter. Research by Bain & Co. shows that customers whose problems get resolved quickly and generously are more likely to recommend than customers who never had a problem at all.
This is one of the most overlooked opportunities in brand building. Instead of just fixing the issue, thank them publicly. Send a gift. Ask for input on how to improve. Then close the loop when the change is made.
What would it look like to build a team that sees complaints not as threats, but as opportunities for advocacy?
Most companies communicate to customers, but few build spaces where customers can talk to each other. Advocacy grows when there’s a sense of belonging—and belonging happens in community.
Think about how Nike’s Run Club, Glossier’s Slack group, or LEGO Ideas became launchpads for brand advocacy. These aren’t just social spaces; they’re shared missions and creative labs.
Your community doesn’t need to be massive—it just needs to be intentional. Start with your best customers and build a place where they can connect, collaborate, and celebrate wins together.
From discussion boards to private events to social challenges, invest in spaces where your customers can meet each other under the umbrella of your brand. Those relationships will become the backbone of your advocacy engine.
You can retain a customer without inspiring them. But if you want advocates, you need to build something people care about—not just use.
Brand advocacy is a long game. It’s not about viral moments or loyalty points. It’s about cultivating emotional alignment, contribution, and community. It’s about seeing your customers not just as revenue sources, but as future storytellers, defenders, and creators of your brand.
If you want to turn more customers into advocates, start by treating them like people you want to keep around—not just data points on a dashboard.
And when you’re ready to track those meaningful actions and recognize more than just spend, platforms like Rediem offer a way to align your loyalty efforts with real-world impact, social values, and community engagement.
Let the marketing team design the strategy—but let your customers write the story.
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