Brand Ambassadors: The Ultimate Guide

What is a Brand Ambassador? 

Brand Ambassadors provide a core service to any brand or business looking to boost its brand awareness and drive sales. Most ambassadors are provided by a specialist agency on a flexible basis.

They usually appear at face-to-face, or direct marketing events, such as tours, promotional events, street teams, trade shows, stores or more. Crucially, ambassadors are recruited and trained with the ability to present themselves as the client’s own staff members. 

They can uphold the ethos and values of the brands that they represent and share key messages with customers and other third parties that build brand awareness and a favourable impression. 

Why does Branding Matter?

In the B2C and B2B worlds alike, your brand makes all the difference between success and failure. Great brands have a strong image with their target customer base. These brands have values, quality and brand attributes that resonate with customers.

They invest in their images and messaging to provide a consistent, ongoing experience that customers will value and feel an affinity with. This brand development requires a lot of time, strategy, and investment, and can easily go awry. 

Failing to invest in a brand will see even a strong company erode. Customers expect to experience a brand via several touchpoints – from social media to in-person experiences, face-to-face marketing at events such as trade shows, product launches and other types of events. 

Brand Ambassadors vs Influencers

Influencers operate in the online space and are typically found on social media; primarily Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok and other platforms. They partner with brands to promote shared content via a series of flexible models, such as sponsored content, paid partnerships, competition launches, product reviews and more. 

They tend to engage closely with their followers which can range from individuals with millions of followers to niche ones with small but highly loyal followers. Also, paid content appears to be the most common form of advertising they do which doesn’t always convert into an income, although some of the more professional influencers have a proven track record in delivering measurable outcomes to the clients they partner with. 

Below, we’ve provided a few examples of their main differences:

• Influencers only really operate via social media, whereas ambassadors may operate online or be present at face to face events where conversions and sales are more likely to be achieved. 
• Ambassadors are also generally paid on a time basis, akin to a contractor or an employee. 
• Influencers will be paid a fee for their promotional work and this is likely to vary greatly according to their following and clout (media attention).

Benefits of a Brand Ambassador

Sales

Brand ambassadors are crucial when it comes to your brand’s products and when they’re sold. They help to humanise your product by highlighting what the product can do for your customers both new and existing. 

They are passionate about a brand, product or service and are genuinely fond of what they are advocating. This loyalty is invaluable and with it being present customers are reassured that the brand or product they are interested in is definitely the right one for them

Brand Awareness

This may seem ironic but increasing brand awareness is essential for an ambassador. Not only do they advertise and promote your business through word-of-mouth, but they also take on your brand’s values. 

They become the face of your company and represent what your brands stand for including a great online presence too.

In addition, ambassadors use social media to review products and services to spread even more awareness. With its accessibility, social media is the perfect way to reach your audience on a regular basis.

Customer Care

Ambassadors build trust between your brand and your customers, leading to not only an increase in sales but also strengthen your customer base. Influencing and engaging people is what an ambassador is extremely good at and they understand that providing the ultimate customer experience doesn’t end with the sale process alone.

As customers themselves, ambassadors acutely understand that to keep customers returning to the brand they need to be looked after. Gaining the trust of a customer is essential for them to remain loyal to your brand.

How to get the most from a Brand Ambassador

Be sure to spend time providing the information that your ambassadors will need to do their job effectively. This means being clear about the schedule and agenda for the day, expectations and objectives, and providing clear messaging and other resources that they will need to prepare. 

Be ready to answer questions, have experienced staff on hand to provide guidance on the day and treat your ambassadors as valued flexible and additional staff – so that they feel encouraged to work for you again in the future. Remember, this experience also builds up your brand as an employer, as well as a business in a competitive market. 

At StreetPR, we understand the value of Brand Ambassadors for our clients. We expect our ambassadors to act and work like they are a part of your staff, upholding the value and ethos of the company they’re representing. We train all of our staff to ensure they spread your brand when speaking to your customers. Contact us for a quote today!