Brand ambassadors are the not-so-secret key to a successful experiential marketing event. Think about it, these are the people promoting your brand to your target audience. Consumers feel most connected to a brand when engaging in human interaction. Hiring quality brand ambassadors is one of the most important things to consider when preparing for your XM event.
Start the hiring process early
Experiential marketing is becoming increasingly popular for brands to promote their products. That being said, hiring brand ambassadors early in the planning process is essential. Because there is more of a market for XM events, there is a higher demand for brand reps. Waiting until the last minute to solidify ambassadors will likely leave you with inexperienced representatives or none at all.
Why cause extra stress for yourself and your brand if you don’t have to? Securing your ambassadors early on will give your brand one less thing to worry about as you prepare for the event. This also encourages high performance. Ambassadors will feel a sense of security, giving them a stronger desire to put their best foot forward for your brand and activation.
ALWAYS interview
Hiring brand ambassadors is not something your brand can do by studying resumes alone. The majority of responsibilities for a rep rely on their personality and relatability. While it is beneficial to review resumes so you can weed out those who are obviously not the right fit for your brand, you must go a step further.
Interviewing candidates is essential. The interview process is where they’ll show their personality. They could have tremendous qualifications, but if they’re quiet and timid, they won’t be beneficial in promoting your brand. In addition to finding reps that best fit your brand’s personality, you want to ensure they’re relatable. If they can’t connect with your target market, your event won’t reach its full potential.
When interviewing, there are several tactics you can use to see if the applicant is a good fit for your desired role. Start by asking them generic questions about your brand. Bonus points if they’ve done their research! Observe their confidence level, knowledge, and quality of answers. You’ll also want to give them different scenarios to see how they’d handle different situations that could arise. Use positive and negative cases to understand how the rep would act best. Ideally, they will be quick learners as they have to immerse themselves in your brand.
Train train train!
From the moment you hire your brand ambassadors, you should begin training. To have the most success with your event, the ambassadors must be well prepared. Nothing too crazy and extensive…remember they’re not full-time employees for your company! However, you DO want them to be able to handle whatever questions are thrown their way. Consistent training will best prepare the reps. You want to create a deep understanding of your brand, giving them a sense of passion! Brand Representatives must believe in the product they’re selling to best fulfill their duties! It’s also essential that they understand your company’s mission, your target audience, your brand feel and voice, and the goals your brand has set for the event. Do the work and put in the time and effort to train your ambassadors from the beginning. The better setup they will be, the more successful they will be, and the easier your life will be in return. So take the time to train, and train well.
Be transparent
For brand ambassadors to be effective in their role, your brand needs to be as straightforward as possible about their responsibilities. Thoroughly explain their expectations and be as detailed as possible about the job. Make sure they’re aware of what to do in various circumstances. You want your brand ambassadors to be prepared to put their best foot forward, at all times, throughout the entire event.
Value their contributions! Brand ambassadors may not be full-time employees of your company. Still, they can make or break your experiential marketing event. One bad interaction, and you’ll have lost a consumer. Make sure you don’t settle when hiring brand representatives! Hire the right fit for your brand and prepare them for success. Brand ambassadors are a huge part of planning an XM event; give them the time and resources they need to excel!