How Brand Evangelism Can Fuel Industrial Growth, With HubSpot’s Kyle Jepson

In the industrial sector, where high-value deals and long sales cycles are the norm, buyers don’t wake up one morning and head straight to your website. They’re doing online research, asking around, and — most important — gauging which brands they can trust.

That’s where brand evangelism comes in.

What’s an evangelist? These are the customers and employees who so genuinely love what you do that they can’t help but talk about it. Not in marketing-speak, but in real, human conversations that cut through the noise and clutter, and actually help buyers make confident, informed decisions.

I recently sat down with Kyle Jepson, HubSpot’s first-ever Evangelist, on The ChangeOver Podcast to dig into this topic. Kyle shared some eye-opening insights about letting go of the marketing script and letting your biggest fans tell your story from their perspective.

We invited Kyle to share his journey, the unique role of a HubSpot Evangelist, and ways industrial marketers can foster brand advocacy among their own employees and customers, to drive greater awareness and trust — and, over the long term, fuel growth in sales and customer retention.

Read on for my key takeaways, or go ahead and watch the podcast in full:

Check out episode 14 of The ChangeOver now, then subscribe on Apple, YouTube, Spotify, Weidert.com, or your favorite podcast app.

What Is Brand Evangelism?

An evangelist isn’t the same as a satisfied or repeat customer. It’s someone who amplifies your brand’s value by sharing stories of how you’ve helped solve customer pain and deliver real results. 

At its core, brand evangelism is about cultivating advocates — people who are so enthusiastic about your brand that they proactively share their positive experiences with others. 

In industrial markets, this type of brand advocacy has especially powerful potential because it comes from a place of technical expertise, firsthand experience, and authentic human empathy for the challenges they face. These factors add up to online content that at once mirrors and addresses the concerns prospects bring to their buyer journeys.

“You have to, deep in your bones, love the brand to be an evangelist, to be an authentic evangelist.” 

This genuine excitement resonates with others, building trust and sparking meaningful conversations around your offerings.

What is Brand Evangelism’s Role in Industrial Sales & Marketing?

Industrial markets are uniquely positioned to benefit from brand evangelism, as Kyle highlighted. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Complex buying cycles: Industrial buyers often face rigorous evaluations and technical criteria. A positive referral from a trusted peer can make the difference in getting on a shortlist of approved suppliers.
2. Relationship-driven sales: Trust is paramount in industrial markets, where solutions can be mission-critical and failure carries a high cost. A satisfied customer’s endorsement, or a knowledgeable service rep’s empathetic response to a product question, can serve as a powerful third-party validation.
3. Niche communities: Many industrial sectors revolve around tight-knit communities — trade organizations, forums, and user groups. Evangelists who share success stories in these spaces can boost your visibility among the audiences you’re trying to reach.

But here’s the foundation that makes it all work: your offerings must genuinely solve your customers’ problems and align with their needs and preferences.

Effective evangelism springs from that perfect match between solution and need. When you find someone whose eyes light up talking about your manufacturing process or product capabilities, you’ve struck brand advocate gold. These natural brand champions — whether employees or customers — are genuinely excited about what you’re doing and can’t wait to share it with others.

Brand Evangelists Aren’t Made; They’re Nurtured

Creating brand evangelists doesn’t happen by accident. It requires intentional efforts to deliver value, build trust, and foster meaningful relationships — both within your organization and with prospects and customers outside it. Kyle emphasized the role leaders play in making this possible:

“If you’re good to your employees and if they love your product, encourage them to tell the internet about it. That’s only going to bring good results.” — Kyle Jepson, HubSpot Evangelist

Deliver Exceptional Value

The foundation of brand evangelism lies in a product or service that truly solves customer problems. When your customers and employees see measurable improvements with their own eyes, they’ll naturally want to share the experience with others. That demands:

• Continuous innovation to anticipate and stay ahead of customer needs
• Exceptional quality and reliability in every offering
• Outstanding customer support at every touchpoint to create memorable interactions

With value as your foundation, you can begin to…

Leverage Employee Advocacy

Your employees can be some of your most effective brand evangelists. Encourage their advocacy by:

• Fostering a strong company culture that makes employees proud to represent your brand
• Giving enthusiastic employees the go-ahead to say nice things about your brand online
• Providing training and resources to empower employees to share on social media or at events — not only brand content, but also their own experiences
• Recognizing and rewarding employees who actively promote your brand

It’s all about harnessing the energy of the most genuinely enthusiastic fans of your solutions and encouraging them to get out there and…

Build Emotional Connections

As much as any buyer would like to believe they’re acting solely on logic, B2B decisions are not purely rational. But an emotional connection with an industrial brand that drives long-term loyalty and advocacy often begins with a connection between two humans.

Those emotional connections can drive long-term loyalty and advocacy. You can foster these by:

• Ensuring your brand aligns with customers’ values and aspirations
• Sharing your mission and vision to connect on a deeper level
• Highlighting human stories behind your brand, such as how your team or solutions positively impact people’s lives

Keeping these goals in mind, unleash your brand evangelists to…

Create Valuable Content

Positioning your brand as a thought leader depends in part on your evangelists’ ability to develop and share content that speaks directly to customer needs.

When we say “content,” we’re not always talking about high polish and slick design. On the contrary, authenticity, value, and timeliness are often higher priorities. So is speaking the language of your audience, and few people know how your customers sound — and how they prefer to be spoken to — than your frontline, customer-facing employees.

As for the purpose of the content they create, this is where the content is an extension of your solution. Think about what customers need to know to best achieve their goals with your product or service. This could include:

• Educational content that addresses common pain points and offers advice to make using the product easier, more enjoyable, and more effective
• Customer success stories that showcase real-world outcomes
• Answering questions or engaging in conversations on social media and relevant industry forums to build trust and authority

But what can you do if, for example, your target audience isn’t very active on social media, or an industry association or trade pub doesn’t already host a user forum?

Nurture Customer Communities

By creating your own branded spaces for customers to connect and share experiences, you can harness some of the passion of your most satisfied users — your true brand fans — transforming them into advocates, too. No trade pubs or associations with forums? Not much chatter on Reddit or Quora? That could indicate a need for an online forum or user group where customers can exchange ideas, ask questions, and offer been-there-done-that advice.

Spark a sense of community with a virtual “Ask Me Anything” event on a targeted social media platform or an in-person event. Encourage interaction among community members, not just between your employee-evangelists and customers. The idea is to facilitate knowledge sharing in all directions, build a sense of camaraderie and loyalty, and cultivate a network of passionate supporters who actively promote your brand to others.

See it in action! If you're a HubSpot user, be sure to follow Kyle's HubSpot Tips & Tricks community on LinkedIn and join his HubSpot Admin User Group. 

Measuring the Impact of Brand Evangelism

To gauge whether your efforts are driving results, track key performance indicators like:

• Referral leads: Are you seeing increasing leads coming from existing customers or word-of-mouth?
• Customer lifetime value (CLV): Do accounts with vocal advocates show higher retention or spend?
• Social and community engagement: Are mentions, shares, and discussions about your brand increasing?

Kyle underscored the value of monitoring brand advocate activity and identifying trends: “Look for things that are already happening and figure out how to encourage those things.”

Final Thoughts from the Podcast

In an era of information overload, copycat content, and a preference for one-to-one human connection over branded outreach communications, evangelism offers a fresh opportunity to drive growth in industrial markets, but it requires authenticity, patience, and a commitment to listening to your customers.

By delivering clear value in your products and services, fostering an advocacy culture, and encouraging personal engagement with your audience, you can create an ecosystem of passionate supporters who can’t help but spread positive word of mouth. As Kyle reminded podcast listeners: 

“Don't over-engineer it. Just look for things that are working and do more of them.”

Remember, brand evangelism isn't built overnight. It requires a long-term commitment to excellence and a genuine desire to make a positive impact on your customers' lives and businesses. Start small, be consistent, and watch as your most satisfied customers become your most powerful marketing asset.

For more insights from Kyle, listen to the full episode of The Changeover Podcast. And if you’re ready to explore the power of brand evangelism for your organization, start by listening to your customers, sharing their successes, and celebrating the advocates you already have in your corner.