What is Customer Advocacy and How to Unlock the Power of Loyal Customers

Did you know that 93% of consumers still trust recommendations from friends and family over any other form of advertising?

Building and scaling a successful business requires more than just a great product or service. It demands that you build deeper relationships with your customers who will become loyal advocates to your brand.

This article explores customer advocacy and how you can harness its potential to boost growth, build trust, and cultivate lasting relationships.

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What is customer advocacy

Customer advocacy is when satisfied customers actively promote your brand through recommendations, testimonials, or reviews.

Unlike traditional marketing strategies, customer advocacy stems from genuine customer loyalty and trust, making it one of the most powerful drivers of organic growth.

In essence, your customers become your strongest marketers.

The importance of customer advocacy in modern business

A customer advocacy strategy can level up your business growth, making it a cornerstone of any successful business in 2025. The superpowers of customer advocacy are:

• Driving organic growth - Advocacy generates referrals, often leading to higher-quality leads. Referred customers have a 37% higher retention rate and a 16% higher lifetime value compared to non-referred customers.
• Building trust - Recommendations from advocates hold more weight than ads, creating trust with potential customers and improving conversion rates.
• Improving your brand visibility - Customers tend to tag your brand on social media, improving your business profile visibility. Moreover, bloggers can ensure quality backlinks to your website, boosting your SEO.
• Increasing customer lifetime value - Advocates are more likely to make repeat purchases and engage with your brand long-term. Loyal customers can deliver up to 10x their initial purchase value, making your customer advocacy efforts worth every penny.

By investing in advocacy you will reduce customer acquisition costs and build lasting relationships that scale naturally over time.

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Key components of a successful customer advocacy

Successful customer advocacy is based on one essential principle: turning satisfied customers from simple buyers to brand community members. Building quality relationships depends on two-way communication, showing appreciation, and creating meaningful memories together.

Listening to customer feedback

Understanding your customers’ needs is essential to delivering value. Regularly collect and analyze feedback through surveys, social media interactions, or direct conversations to identify pain points and areas for improvement.

For instance, a software company might discover that users struggle with onboarding and subsequently create interactive tutorials to address this issue. Listening to feedback not only refines your offerings but also builds trust by showing customers that their voices matter.

Rewarding advocates (customers)

Recognize and reward customers who advocate for your brand. This can include exclusive discounts, early access to new products, or public recognition in your community. Rewarding advocates strengthens their loyalty and motivates others to join in.

If a clothing brand provides its most loyal customers with personalized discounts and highlights their stories on social media, customers will be motivated to interact more frequently. These gestures motivate advocates to continue promoting your brand while encouraging others to join in.

Alt: Organic sale instagram post collection

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Create sharable moments

Make it easy for customers to share their positive experiences. Whether through social media, branded hashtags, or interactive content, providing sharable moments helps your customers amplify your brand’s message organically.

For instance, a beauty brand could design visually appealing packaging that encourages customers to post their purchases on social media, making it a part of a popular trend such as unboxing. These sharable moments help spread your message organically and turn customers into active promoters.

Nurture a community

Building a community around your brand fosters deeper connections among your customers and advocates. A strong community provides a space for customers to exchange ideas, ask questions, and celebrate your brand.

For example, Bettermode enables businesses to create branded online communities where users can engage through discussions, idea boards, and product feedback. A thriving community not only strengthens advocacy but also creates a sense of belonging that deepens loyalty.

Customers who feel part of a community are more likely to recommend your brand and stay engaged over the long term.

Alt: Screenshot of a community forum made with Bettermode

Steps to build a customer advocacy program

Creating a strong customer advocacy program requires a strategic approach that nurtures relationships, encourages engagement, and amplifies customer voices.

A well-structured customer advocacy program not only turns satisfied customers into brand advocates but also builds a sense of community around your brand, fostering long-term loyalty.

Here’s how to build a successful customer advocacy program:

1. Identify and segment your advocates

Not all customers are natural advocates. Start by analyzing customer data to identify your most engaged and loyal users. Look for repeat buyers, frequent referrers, and those who actively participate in discussions or provide positive feedback. By segmenting these customers, you can tailor your advocacy efforts for maximum impact.

Let's say a SaaS company analyzes its Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey results and identifies users who consistently rate them 9 or 10. They invite these customers to an exclusive beta-testing program where they get early access to new features.

Alt: High-angle hands holding a yellow sticky note for product or service testing

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2. Create personalized experiences

Customers advocate for brands they feel personally connected to. Strengthen these relationships by delivering personalized experiences based on their preferences and past interactions. This can include exclusive perks, early product access, or even personal thank-you messages to make them feel valued.

A good example of this practice could be a skincare brand sending a handwritten thank-you note and a custom skincare routine guide to long-time customers, making these customer advocates feel special and more likely to share their positive experiences with others.

3. Build a strong community

A thriving brand community is the backbone of a successful advocacy program. Create an interactive space to implement your customer advocacy program - a space where customers can share ideas, ask questions, and grow together with your brand. When advocates engage with others in a dedicated community, their enthusiasm becomes contagious, leading to a thriving customer experience and more organic brand promotion.

For example, a dedicated online community for a fitness brand can be used for members to share workout progress, ask for advice, and participate in brand-hosted fitness challenges. Seeing others engage inspires new customers to join the conversation and advocate for the brand.

Alt: Group of smiling young people looking at cellphone in fitness club

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4. Encourage and reward advocacy

Give customers a reason to promote your brand by offering incentives such as referral bonuses, loyalty rewards, or recognition in your community. However, ensure that advocacy remains authentic — focus on rewarding engagement rather than transactional promotions (leave something for your sales team).

You probably know of at least one food delivery app that offers a referral program where customers get a discount for every friend they refer. However, they also highlight and celebrate top customer advocates in their monthly newsletter, adding an emotional incentive beyond discounts.

5. Leverage technology to track engagement

Boost your customer advocacy program with the power of tech. Leverage contemporary tools to monitor advocacy efforts, track engagement levels, and measure the impact of referrals and user-generated content.

Moreover, data-driven insights will help you refine your strategy and optimize engagement over time.

An e-learning platform tracks which students are most active in discussion forums and how often they refer new students. They use this data to refine their rewards program and tailor engagement strategies to keep top advocates involved.

Alt: Screenshot of a Bettermode template for e-learning platforms

6. Foster authentic relationships

Advocacy should be built on trust, not just incentives. If your customer advocacy program is just a part of your sales strategy, the customers will see right through it. This type of customer advocacy strategy is worse than no strategy at all - it can potentially harm your brand long-term.

Engage with your customers genuinely by responding to feedback, spotlighting their success stories, and maintaining open communication. A brand that listens and interacts authentically creates lifelong customer advocates.

For example, feature customer success stories on your SaaS blog, showcasing real users who have benefited from your product. Invite these customers to exclusive Q&A sessions with the product team, making them feel like valued contributors.

Customer advocacy vs. other Marketing Strategies

While traditional marketing strategies focus on acquiring new customers through paid campaigns, customer advocacy leverages the power of existing customers to drive organic growth.

Let’s explore how customer advocacy compares to other common marketing approaches and why it offers long-term benefits that traditional strategies often lack.

Customer advocacy vs. traditional advertising

Traditional advertising relies on paid media — such as TV commercials, online ads, and billboards — to capture attention and generate interest. While it can create brand awareness, it lacks the trust factor that personal recommendations provide.

Customer advocacy, on the other hand, thrives on authentic word-of-mouth marketing. Since 81% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family over branded content, advocacy leads to higher conversion rates. Additionally, advocacy-driven referrals cost significantly less than paid ad campaigns, making it a more cost-effective and sustainable strategy.

A company spending thousands on Facebook ads may gain short-term traction, but a competitor with a strong advocacy program sees a steady stream of new customers from loyal users who actively refer friends — at zero acquisition cost.

Customer advocacy vs. influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is focused on paid partnerships with social media personalities to promote products. While influencers can reach large audiences, their endorsements often feel transactional, especially when they promote multiple brands.

In contrast, customer advocacy is built on genuine loyalty. Advocates promote a brand not because they’re paid to, but because they truly believe in its value. This authenticity makes advocacy-driven recommendations far more impactful than influencer promotions. Additionally, advocacy provides long-term benefits, while influencer partnerships often generate short-lived spikes in engagement.

If a skincare brand collaborates with an influencer for a one-time Instagram post, it generates a temporary buzz. Meanwhile, another skincare brand nurtures an engaged customer community that consistently shares experiences and drives ongoing referrals.

Customer advocacy vs. customer loyalty programs

Loyalty programs reward repeat customers with discounts, points, or perks. While these programs encourage continued purchases, they don’t necessarily create strong emotional connections with the brand.

Customer advocacy goes beyond transactions — it builds a relationship between the brand and its customers. Advocates aren’t just returning buyers; they actively promote the brand and engage with its community. A well-managed advocacy program nurtures these relationships, leading to long-term brand ambassadors rather than just repeat buyers.

For example, a coffee shop with a standard rewards program sees frequent purchases but little organic promotion. However, if they build a community around their brand, featuring loyal customers in social content and hosting exclusive meet-ups — they would turn customers into vocal advocates.

From a bird's viewpoint, customer advocacy delivers brand loyalty and therefore customer retention.

Customer advocacy vs. referral programs

Referral programs incentivize customers to bring in new users, typically through discounts or rewards. While effective, these programs can sometimes feel transactional, with customers referring others purely for the incentive rather than genuine enthusiasm.

Advocacy, however, is driven by emotion and trust. Customers advocate for brands because they love the experience, not because they’re promised a discount. Advocacy can lead to referrals, but it also fosters deeper brand relationships and long-term brand loyalty.

Let's say that a software company offers users $10 off for every referral but notices participation drops when incentives decrease. Meanwhile, another software brand focuses on advocacy by creating an exclusive customer community platform — users naturally recommend the product without needing constant incentives.

Real life examples of customer advocacy in action

Let's review some cases of customer advocacy that were done right, with the help of customer advocacy tools.

1. ConvertKit: Turning users into advocates through community engagement

ConvertKit, an email marketing platform for creators, has built a thriving community where customers actively engage, support one another, and advocate for the brand. Instead of relying solely on traditional marketing, ConvertKit fosters relationships through its dedicated online community, powered by Bettermode.

Alt: ConvertKit community user dashboard

Strategy:

• ConvertKit created a branded online community where creators can exchange ideas, share successes, and seek guidance.
• They provide exclusive resources and educational content within the community to help users succeed.
• Customer success stories and user-generated content are highlighted, reinforcing trust and credibility.

Outcome:

• The community became a hub for organic discussions and peer-to-peer learning, reducing reliance on direct customer support.
• Satisfied users frequently recommend ConvertKit to fellow creators, driving word-of-mouth referrals.
• The platform benefits from increased retention rates as engaged users stay for the long haul.

Lesson:
Providing a space for customers to engage, learn, and connect with like-minded users fosters loyalty and advocacy. A strong community can naturally amplify a brand’s reach through organic recommendations.

2. WebinarNinja: Rewarding advocates and amplifying word-of-mouth marketing

WebinarNinja, an all-in-one webinar platform, understands the power of rewarding its advocates. By recognizing and incentivizing customers who actively promote the brand, WebinarNinja has built a network of engaged users who continuously spread the word.

Strategy:

• WebinarNinja implemented a referral program that rewards users for bringing in new customers.
• They celebrate their top advocates by featuring them in community success stories and interviews.
• Engaged users get early access to new features, making them feel valued and more likely to promote the platform.

Outcome:

• The referral program became a significant acquisition channel, with a large percentage of new users coming from existing customer recommendations.
• Featured advocates feel appreciated and are more motivated to continue promoting the brand.
• WebinarNinja strengthened customer loyalty and retention by creating a sense of belonging and exclusivity.

Lesson:
Recognizing and rewarding advocates makes them feel valued, increasing their willingness to promote your brand. Whether through incentives, early access, or public recognition, advocacy programs can significantly impact growth.

3. Condo Control: Leveraging advocacy for product improvement

Condo Control, a property management software provider, leverages customer advocacy not just for marketing but also to refine its product. By actively listening to its user base and incorporating feedback, Condo Control turns customers into collaborators and long-term advocates.

Strategy:

• They built a customer-driven community where property managers discuss challenges and suggest improvements.
• User feedback is actively collected and prioritized in product updates, ensuring the software evolves based on real customer needs.
• Success stories from satisfied customers are showcased, providing social proof and reinforcing brand trust.

Outcome:

• Customers feel heard and involved in the product’s growth, increasing loyalty and engagement.
• By addressing real user pain points, Condo Control has improved customer satisfaction and advocacy.
• The platform benefits from a constant flow of organic recommendations, as customers appreciate a brand that listens and responds to their needs.

Lesson:
Empowering customers to participate in shaping a product strengthens their emotional connection with the brand. When users feel like they have a voice, they’re more likely to become long-term advocates.

Common challenges and how to overcome them

Building a successful customer advocacy program isn’t always easy. Businesses often struggle with engagement, tracking results, or maintaining authenticity.

Here are some common challenges and how to solve them effectively.

1. Low customer engagement

Customers won’t advocate for a brand if they don’t feel connected to it. The key is to create an interactive community where they can engage, share, and feel valued. Bettermode helps brands foster engagement by providing a dedicated space for discussions, feedback, and peer-to-peer interaction.

2. Difficulty tracking advocacy efforts

Without proper tracking, you can’t measure advocacy success. Using platforms like Bettermode, which offer built-in analytics, helps track discussions, referrals, and customer contributions, making it easier to assess the impact of advocacy.

3. Lack of authenticity in advocacy

Customers trust genuine recommendations, not forced promotions. Instead of over-relying on incentives, brands should focus on building organic engagement through storytelling, real success stories, and community-driven interactions.

4. Advocates losing interest over time

Even engaged advocates may lose motivation if they don’t see ongoing value. Keeping engagement fresh with new discussions, exclusive content, and early access to features helps sustain long-term advocacy.

Conclusion

Customer advocacy is a game-changer for growth, trust, and long-term loyalty. Engaged customers spread the word, bring in new users, and strengthen your brand. The key is to listen, reward, and create spaces where customers can connect and share their experiences.

A thriving community makes advocacy natural. Bettermode gives you the tools to build that space, track engagement, and turn customers into vocal champions.

Ready to see the impact of customer advocacy? Get started today – it’s free!

FAQs

What is the meaning of customer advocacy?

Customer advocacy occurs when satisfied customers actively endorse a brand by sharing referrals, writing reviews, or providing testimonials, helping to enhance its reputation and drive growth.

What is the role of the Customer Advocate?

A customer advocate is a loyal customer who actively promotes a brand or product because of their positive experiences. These individuals are not paid or hired by the company, but they voluntarily share their enthusiasm and support for the brand through word-of-mouth, social media, reviews, or recommendations to others. Their advocacy helps to build brand trust and can influence potential customers' decisions.

What does a consumer advocate do?

A consumer advocate represents the customer’s needs within a company, ensuring their concerns and feedback are addressed. He/she is a vital part of the customer satisfaction strategy, optimizing customer journey and ensuring customer success.

A consumer advocate supports and protects the interests of consumers, often by resolving complaints or promoting fair business practices. He/she ensures a smooth customer experience from the initial purchase of the product or service throughout the entire customer's lifetime.

What is an example of advocacy?

An example of advocacy is a customer sharing a positive review online, encouraging others to try the product or service; or the most loyal customers posting about your product on Instagram or TikTok, sharing your brand with their social media followers.

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