The use of Internal Brand Ambassadors is not new and yet so few have used this strategy well. One company that has embraced their employees to be Brand Ambassadors is Salesforce. Our guest is Ludo Ulrich who is the chief in charge of developing deeper awareness in the startup community about the company, products and services offered by Salesforce. Ludo shares how he has developed this role and the importance for the organization.
Target Audience: Salesforce engages business founders developers in a way that helps them grow through effective marketing.
Speaking at Conferences
We had a few questions for Ludo regarding conferences: Do you book yourself? Or are you invited? Ludo shared that it’s a combination of both. One thing for Ludo is for sure: as an evangelist, it’s important to go to places where people don’t really know about the products.
Being an evangelist is about being a storyteller – you want to surprise people. You want to deliver the message in a concise and compelling way.
Be the Trailblazer
Ludo shares that Salesforce hired someone like him to grow the ecosystem. Specifically, he focuses on the measurement and tracking of growth and innovation. These innovations are being presented at large conferences like Dreamforce. At these conferences highlight some case studies whom we call “Trailblazers” and we use those innovations (and the people who created them) to influence the rest of the market.
Measurement Tied to Your Personal goals
If what you’re seeking to cultivate is Hypergrowth, then tracking the impact and trajectory of companies is essential. One of the ways they are getting team members involved is conducting measurement that’s connected to each member’s goals. While it can be complicated to manufacture a passion, efforts are being made in this area.
Scaling and the Future
Ludo believes that developer marketing is leading the way. Microsoft and Google did a lot of Ambassador Evangelism. There is a lot of technology that is being developed that will help to scale. So, the future is very much about SCALE.
Any Examples of Success for your brand of Being a Trailblazer?
A great example could be a person who is still in university – someone who is building the technology. He or she would start building the technology and turn that into a business opportunity – maybe even start building a team. They would then start fundraising and then be featured at a conference.
What do you Wish you Would Have Been Taught from the Beginning?
Ludo says, “Make sure when you put your passion at the service of an employer, be sure the company is ready to absorb that passion. It’s a way of making sure the whole journey is under control.”
Practical and Actionable:
What skills do Brand Ambassadors need to make themselves great?
- Make sure you are not just a talker- but a really effective storyteller.
- Make sure you’ve got a Call to Action that is meant to inspire and make sure they have somewhere to go to be helped and to grow. Be reliable when people reach out to you.
- Choose an audience that is brand new to your product.
