Bill Samuels Jr. is a 7th-generation bourbon maker and president of Maker’s Mark. His Ambassador Program is, time and again, considered the gold standard of product fan clubs.
500,000 people proudly carry a membership card to show their support for this brand.
Guess what? It ain’t about social media.
The entire program is run with email and postal mail. The blog is password-protected. And us ambassadors eagerly await every new message or gift.
The secret to creating an army of crazy-passionate fans:
1. Authenticity. Bill is Bill. When he emails the ambassadors to meet him for a drink you know he’ll be at the bar waiting to meet you. And he’ll love talking with you and he loves his bourbon.
2. Great Stuff. Maker’s is great. It’s been great for a long, long time — the distillery is a National Historic Landmark. You can’t motivate fans for an average product. For a great product, you don’t need to. They’ll come to you.
Learn how to do it:
- Turning customers into lifelong ambassadors
- Bloggers & Bourbon
- Keeping participation simple
- Thank you for the thank you
P.S. We’re all thrilled to see Bill present at the Word of Mouth Supergenius conference.
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