Advocate Value Model
Value every supporter by the customers and reach they influence
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 92%
The Advocate Value Model evaluates a person by more than the revenue they pay directly. A low-paying customer, a prospect who never buys, or a follower with no budget may still become a valuable advocate by sharing content, referring friends, introducing the business, and repeatedly validating it in public. Because each person has a network, one excellent experience can create reach and revenue through other people. The practical shift is to track advocacy behaviours alongside purchases and continue serving supporters who genuinely value the work. The mechanism converts goodwill into distributed trust: an advocate's endorsement reaches people the seller may never contact directly, making the original person's indirect contribution potentially larger than their own lifetime spend.
Origin
Moore learned this from a low-subscription Taekwondo customer whose enthusiastic referrals generated substantial indirect income.
Core principles
- 01A customer's value extends beyond direct spend
- 02A non-buyer can still distribute and endorse useful work
- 03Every supporter brings access to a network
- 04Consistently helping people creates advocates
How to run it
- 1
Look beyond spend
Identify customers, prospects, and followers who engage deeply even if their direct purchase value is low or zero.
Pro tip Include repeat sharers and introducers in customer reviews.
Watch out Do not equate low spend with low enthusiasm.
- 2
Deliver an advocate-worthy experience
Help the person enough that they naturally want others in their network to know about the business.
Pro tip Specific useful outcomes are easier to recommend than vague positive feelings.
Watch out Do not demand referrals before creating value.
- 3
Enable distribution
Create useful, shareable material and straightforward ways for advocates to introduce or mention the business.
Pro tip Thank advocates and make their continued participation feel valued.
Watch out Do not turn genuine advocacy into a spam programme.
- 4
Measure indirect value
Track referrals, shares, introductions, and influenced sales in addition to direct customer revenue.
Pro tip Record the path by which new customers first heard about the business.
Watch out Do not claim attribution that the evidence cannot support.
In the wild
A mother paid for a lower subscription level at Moore's Taekwondo academy and was unlikely to attend more classes. She loved the experience, told her friends, and generated business indirectly even though her own spending stayed limited.
→ Her network advocacy made her more valuable than her subscription alone suggested.
Common mistakes
Writing off non-buyers
Treating every non-conversion as a lost cause ignores future referrals, sharing, and influenced sales.
Measuring revenue only
Direct spend alone hides the distribution and trust an advocate contributes through their network.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for community-led businesses, subscriptions, events, and creator products with network effects.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal as an excuse to ignore whether the business ultimately converts enough paying customers.
From the transcript
“a customer is no longer a single entity it really isn't and someone who doesn't buy is not a lost cause”
“if you do something good for a single person they might share your stuff amongst loads in their network”
“building those advocates are essential”
From the episode
Richard Moore on The Laws of Selling