For 25 years, we have been hiring Brand Ambassadors for our field marketing programs. A brand ambassador is someone who guides the customer experience and creates a positive connection between a brand and consumer. They do this by communicating the value of products and services, and embodying a brand’s values. Brand ambassadors work a variety of events and experiential marketing settings. Put simply, brand ambassadors are real people who genuinely love a brand, want to see it succeed, and can communicate their passion about a brand to others.
You might be the best brand ambassador in the making if the following characteristics sound like you. To earn a spot on one of our teams, you better have all these traits!
- The best brand ambassadors are always professional.
While brand ambassadors are mostly not hired directly by a brand, they are representative of the brand itself. The ideal brand ambassador is reliable, open to feedback, and has a high standard of conduct for themselves. There should be no last-minute cancellations, and you should show up to each event ready to go. We are human and all make mistakes – but the best brand ambassadors make sure to learn from their mistakes and constructive criticism.
2. Brand ambassadors must be team players.
The best brand ambassador doesn’t hesitate to help out a teammate if they are stuck. This fosters a sense of camaraderie that clients appreciate. It shouldn’t be about who is the most successful on a team — we all win or lose together. If everyone on the team does well, the team has done well overall. Being a team player also means that you don’t think you’re better than the rest of the team. You don’t see yourself as “above” any task, whether it is picking up trash or passing out samples.
3. Go with the flow and be flexible.
Event marketing requires flexibility and versatility to be successful. In event marketing, things change, people get moved around, and as a team you must be prepared for anything. Brand ambassadors engage in a huge variety of activities, including live events, street teams, and guerrilla marketing. You will need to be creative in managing any challenges that arise. This includes trying new strategies, and evaluating what works and what doesn’t. Make the best of every situation: as a brand ambassador, you get to travel to different places, work with different people, and promote different products and services. For this to work you have to be adaptable.
4. Passion shines through in a great brand ambassador’s personality.
Some people have a natural ability to draw others to them. We all know someone who is exciting, animated, and energetic, making every interaction feel like a great one. The best brand ambassadors have a positive energy that attracts people to them. Simply put, passion is infectious. Being passionate includes passion about the brand, the mission or values of that brand, and the product or service being promoted. Passion can’t be manufactured; it must be authentic in order for potential customers to pick up on your enthusiasm and be more likely to try a brand themselves. When ambassadors are able to connect genuinely with their audiences and show true enthusiasm, it’s easier for potential customers to trust ambassadors’ opinions.
5. Brand ambassadors should be knowledgeable.
You don’t necessarily need a marketing degree, but to be the best brand ambassador you will need a basic understanding of core marketing principles. This includes a basic understanding of a local market’s core values and culture. In addition, good brand ambassadors educate themselves on the history and values of a brand, allowing them to reflect the personality of the brand and explain the brand’s purpose to customers. This could also mean that you have niche expertise: previous experience with the product or market, like previous food industry experience or basic IT knowledge when promoting an IT brand. You can’t possibly be an expert in every field, but you should pursue knowledge about the market and the client.
6. The best brand ambassadors are proactive and demonstrate leadership skills.
Oftentimes, brand ambassadors work without a lot of supervision. They must be self-driven and take initiative in order to be effective. For example, you should be able to engage with potential customers without being told. The best brand ambassadors have the confidence and natural leadership ability to direct newer ambassadors. Part of being a leader is taking a proactive approach to your role. Collect and analyze employee feedback, and use those insights to learn from experience. The best brand ambassadors are able to think on their feet, problem solve, and take initiative
7. Being a brand ambassador requires top-notch interpersonal skills.
Brand ambassadors must be passionate about building relationships with others. An outgoing personality is a necessity. You will need to be skilled at engaging with a CEO, a janitor, a parent, a college student — you name it! And all of those people should walk away feeling important and feeling a strong connection to the brand. Talk to them about how the brand’s products will help them individually. You also must be warm and positive even when dealing with difficult people. The ability to establish and nurture authentic relationships is a critical trait of the best brand ambassador. Most importantly, brand ambassadors prioritize building solid relationships between a brand and a customer than closing a sale.
8. The best brand ambassadors understand the importance of authenticity.
We have written before about the importance of authenticity in marketing. Having personalized, one-on-one conversations with people rather than sticking to a script is what separates a brand ambassador from a promoter. Authenticity immediately establishes credibility and trust with customers. An authentic brand ambassador adds personality to the brand and makes it easier for the audience to relate to it. Think about your role as one of informing rather than pushing products. You understand the importance of recommending products based on your authentic experience, and explain why you love a product based on your personal experience with it.
9. A brand ambassador’s communication skills are top notch.
It’s a simple fact: you can’t reach people if you don’t communicate effectively. Communication is evident through appearance, voice, choice of words, body language — so everything about a brand ambassador will communicate something to a customer. You should be able to communicate all key talking points with ease, without sounding rehearsed. Show that you are adept at holding on-on-one conversations, and that you can adapt to each person and situation. Your unique voice and ability to speak to the needs of each person are essential. Importantly, communication also includes listening. Brand ambassadors should listen to what people have to say, and collect important feedback about the brand. Chances are that an event will not be well-received by every single consumer, so the role of a brand ambassador includes gathering feedback and reporting those findings.
10. The best brand ambassadors are innovative and creative in their approaches.
That ability to collect feedback from customers should be paired with insight into how to improve the event. That insight will help the brand stay one step ahead of the competition. An innovative brand ambassador never keeps a better solution to themselves. If you never say “I just do what I am told and nothing more,” you are an innovative person who would make a stellar brand ambassador. You also will need to be creative — and in this case, we’re not referring to your artistic abilities. While brand ambassadors are provided a basic brand message, they have to creatively adapt it to each audience they meet. Each person in the audience may require a unique approach. You should have strong deduction skills that allow you to connect the dots between the audience and the product or service being offered.
Combine the 10 skills above and you have a perfect recipe for brand ambassador success!
Pro Motion works with some of the best brand ambassadors in the business. To use their skills in your next campaign, give us a call at 636.489.2753.
Learn More About Steve Randazzo’s book, Brand Experiences: Building Connections in a Digitally Cluttered World. Click here to download 2 free chapters!