Samenvatting

This advice report seeks to improve brand advocacy for Roetz-Bikes in order to increase brand visibility and drive sales. Currently, the main communication issue is the post-purchase
phase of the customer journey, during which the customer is not sufficiently engaged with the brand and the corporate story is not optimally included. An increase in brand advocacy among
customers is urgent, because brand advocacy is a strong driver of sales and brand awareness among customers with similar interests. As the bicycle market currently expands considerably,
Roetz-Bikes needs to find new customers to maintain growth and remain competitive. Desk and field research was conducted to analyze the problem. The leading advice question central to this
research was: ‘’How can we improve Roetz-Bikes’ customer journey to increase brand advocacy?’’, and the research provided several insights.

Prospective Roetz-Bikes customers are most likely to recommend a brand which has a memorable, credible corporate story. The key drivers of advocacy for this consumer group are
satisfaction with the product, brand trust, brand love, and an emotional connection with the brand. Brand advocacy is generated in two key phases; the pre-purchase and post-purchase customer journey phases. Thus, two primary target audiences are determined: the post-purchase Roetz Bikes owner (TA1) and the pre-purchase prospective Roetz-Bikes customer (TA2). For TA1, the objective is to increase brand advocacy by 30% by July 2022 whilst maintaining and strenghtening the brand relationship. For TA2, the objective is to increase brand awareness by 10% by July 2022, as a first step towards the final destination of brand advocacy. The proposed approach is engaging in direct, two-way and proactive communications with
both TAs.The memorable and credible narration of the corporate story and value proposition is central to the communication approach. The Roetz-Bikes brand story should be consistent and
recognizable across platforms and across purchase phases, building a bond with the customer from the moment they discover the brand until they ride the bike every day.The one-year strategy
follows a €9000 overall budget, covering one year until the 2022 biking season. It includes advice for team augmentation strategies, including the proposed hiring of two interns. The communication and advertising scheduling and full budget are provided to demonstrate the feasibility and practical BUILDING BRAND ADVOCACY THROUGH CORPORATE STORYTELLING
8 readiness of the strategy. By enhancing and streamlining its corporate communications, therein highlighting its unique and sought-after value proposition, Roetz-Bikes can build strong
relationships with its customers and expect stronger brand advocacy among them.