image source afka bob | flickr
From a distance, it might look like your brand advocates are shouting your message. Try moving in on their bumper for a closer read. What you might find is the small print revealing what drives their brand support.
Not long ago I profiled some peer-nominated influencers thought to evangelize on my client's behalf. We soon learned that they were also talking up the other options (like the competition). So to get to where the rubber hits the road, we added a few likert scale questions to the profiling questionnaire to distinguish those who were influential, from those who were influential and evangelists.
From this insight the client could focus their efforts on the really top tier. But equally important, they could now recruit the other influencers into advocacy influence research. The kind of research that gets to the "tipping points" for ordering up more of the client's bumper stickers.
Only when you inch closer to the chrome do you see which way it's truly reflecting.
