David Rabjohns has spent a career digging deep into discovering why consumers have developed passion around brands. Today, as the ceo of MotiveQuest, he helps companies understand the online passion conversation consumers are having about brands they love (and hate).

For the WOMMA Measurement & Metrics Guidebook, David shares insights into how to measure consumer advocacy. It’s a smart read and WOMMA members can download a (.pdf) copy of this guide. (A bound copy is also available.)

To learn more about David’s angle into consumer advocacy, I asked him a few questions… his responses are below.

What constitutes “advocacy” as it relates to marketing?
“When a conversation about a brand results in a personal recommendation for the brand, advocacy happens. Our research and client experience clearly shows a direct correlation exists between advocacy and sales. Greater advocacy leads to more personal recommendations that result in higher sales. At MotiveQuest, we’ve been able to track 72% of sales of a major liquor brand back to advocacy. In other words, marketing can spark conversations but advocacy can deliver sales.”

When measuring advocacy, what’s the most important consideration?
“It’s important to first distinguish between ‘participants’ and ‘advocates.’ Participants will talk about a brand while advocates will go a step or two further and recommend a brand. With that explained, the most important consideration when measuring advocacy is tracking the total number of advocates for a brand. Successful brands clearly have more advocates tomorrow than they did yesterday.”

Recently, the Edelman Trust Barometer revealed a significant decline in people believing their friends are a credible source of information… what’s your take on Edelman’s findings?
“Marketing people are abusing social media and thus reducing trust. Too many marketers are measuring social media success by the number of friends, fans, and followers a brand has. The term “friend” no longer has the same personal meaning it once did. Influencer marketing strategies have helped to also erode trust. Trust amongst friends and consumers depends on people having real, organic, honest conversations with each other on the web and in person.”

*** Learn more about WOMMA’s MEASUREMENT & METRICS GUIDEBOOK ***