It's time for brands to go beyond the idea that a satisfied customer is enough. We need to start thinking about what it would look like if we could make our customers into true brand advocates.
We've all heard of raving fans: people with such an extreme level of loyalty to your brand that they're willing to tell everyone about how much they love it. These people will go out of their way to buy and use your products, even if there are cheaper or more convenient options available—and they'll do it again and again because they love your brand so much. That kind of loyalty is invaluable in any business situation, especially when it comes to building relationships with customers.
Brands have been stuck in a rut for far too long. They've been focused on simply having satisfied customers, but that's not enough. It's not even close.
It's time to get serious about creating raving fans. A brand that can create raving fans does not just please its customers; it inspires them to tell their friends about their experiences, and then those friends tell their friends about their experiences… and so forth. In other words: A brand that creates raving fans has created an army of people who love what they do so much that they want everyone else to feel that way too!
The problem is that most brands don't even try to reach the point where they've created raving fans. They just want to make satisfied customers who will buy from them again, but not tell anyone else about what a great experience they've had.
The conventional wisdom is that customers are satisfied when they've received what they were promised, and that's enough for them to keep coming back. That is not ideal for any serious brand. Brands should go past that and create raving fans who will tell everyone else about how much the brand has changed their lives for the better.
Raving fans aren't just satisfied customers—they're people who would do anything for you because of how much you mean to them. They're willing to fight for your brand because they believe in it with all their hearts and souls, and they'll keep fighting until their last dying breath if necessary. Their loyalty is unconditional, and they'll do anything—anything!—to help spread the word about how great your product or service is.
The possibilities of growth and profit are endless if brands can just focus on nurturing raving fans as opposed to having just satisfied customers.
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