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God is dead, said Nietzsche.

We weren’t there to confirm it, but if true, he had a great run.

We’re talking billions of subscribers.

The best part was the missionaries — they went and spread the word with decent conversion rates all around the world. For free!

Huge fans, what can we say.

Whether Nietzsche is right or not, the missionary strategy still works today so let’s break down how you can employ it.

Read on to:

• Learn how to turn customers into missionaries

• Know when to ignore them

• And discover new, better review platforms

Let’s build up your following.

What year did Amazon first launch reviews in the US. (Hint: The idea was considered radical at the time!)

• 1995

• 1999

• 2001

• 2004

Scroll to the bottom to find out!

• You’ve got opinions

• You’ve got charisma

• Should you get into thought leadership? 

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How to turn customers into missionaries

And turn their zeal into revenue.

Here’s the hard truth: 

Your company isn’t good enough to get people talking about it.

Customers expect a good experience — it’s a minimum business requirement. Nobody is going to get excited that you did the bare minimum. 

But put just a little extra effort in the right places, and you can create raving fans who sell you better than you could ever sell yourself.

Begin at the end

Believe it or not, the best time to sell yourself to customers is after they’ve handed over their credit card.

Their guard is down. You’ve already won. Most people think the marketing cycle is over at this point — and, for most companies, it is. 

Don’t be like most companies.

Make big moments even more momentous 

This strategy ties into the peak-end rule, which says that the most memorable moments of any experience are the peaks (and technically the valleys) and the end. 

Want to get remembered? You gotta make your peaks even peakier.

A lot of people talk about the importance of going above and beyond — you know, under-selling and over-delivering — but most of them miss that the timing matters. 

Putting a ton of extra effort into your reactivation campaigns is cool and all, but you’ll reduce churn a lot more effectively by upgrading the customer experience at these three moments.

• Right after the purchase: You did all that marketing work to create desire, and a customer is at the height of their excitement. How can you create immediate gratification in this moment?

• During delivery: They open the box, create their account, or show up for their first session. The excitement is almost as high as when they spent their money…but not quite. How can you add unexpected value to this moment?

• The first time you fulfil your promise: It’s the compliments they get on their new look or the thrill when they schedule a job interview with your resume template. How can you remind them that you helped make this moment happen?

Pack as much extra wow factor as possible into these three crucial moments.

Try to time followups to match the peaks, too. Optimize your post-purchase landing page to share more information about the company they just supported, for instance.

Don’t stop selling just because they’ve already bought

Good marketing before a sale makes a prospect think: Gosh, I really want that.

After the sale, good marketing makes your customer think: Gosh, I’m really smart for buying that.

Put it into action with post-purchase email flows:

1. Make them feel like they’re part of something special

2. Show them awesome uses of what they just bought

3. Try personalized AI “thank you and tips” videos that mention the customer by name

The thing that turns all of this into profit

You’ve built excitement, surprised and delighted your customer, and you’ve built some really solid trust with your customer.

Now, tell them what to do, and make it super easy for them to do it.

You can ask them to post on social media, send you referrals, or join your Discord community. The best asks feel simple and seamless. Reduce friction as much as possible — for instance, if you want someone to post on social, give them a link that takes them right to the post composer.

Here’s the trick: the better your post-purchase experience, the bigger your asks can be. Just make sure their excitement outweighs the inconvenience.

The customer isn’t always right

Sometimes, you can straight-up ignore them.

According to Gravity Research, 39% of companies are scaling back their Pride campaigns this year, citing political pressures and concerns about public backlash.

While we don’t advocate for rainbow-washing (i.e. once-a-year “allies”), we still hate to see companies compromise their honest values to satisfy the loudest complainers.

This raises a deeper question for founders: 

When should you actually listen to your customers?

Sarah Tavel, who helped scale Pinterest, says your loudest customers are a blessing and a curse.

They’re the people who complain or make requests on social media.

They care. They speak up. But that can be a trap.

“You have to be willing to risk angering your existing users in order to win the next big group,” says Tavel.

Your loudest customers know your business well, which creates two biases:

1. They resist change, which can stop you from evolving your services.

2. They request hyper-specific services. Great for them. Terrible for scale.

They might be loud, but they usually don’t represent your entire customer base.

And they sure don’t represent your future customer base.

So, when should you listen?

👂When their feedback represents lots of your current (or future) customers
👂When it reveals a pattern, not a personal preference
👂When it aligns with the direction you’re already taking — and sharpens it

96%

The number of Americans who read reviews before they buy (via BrightLocal’s 2025 Consumer Review Survey).

But here’s the twist: that’s actually down from 98% in 2023. 

Does that mean reviews matter less?

Not exactly.

It could mean customers aren’t shopping around as much. (That’s your cue to check in on existing customer satisfaction rather than getting new ones. Just sayin’.)

And the review platforms themselves? No longer just Google or Yelp.

Here’s where people are actually looking in 2025 (Brightlocal):

• Local news outlets (48%)

• YouTube (34%)

• Instagram (31%)

• TikTok (20%)

• Apple Maps (14%)

• Trustpilot (11%)

• ChatGPT (6%)

🧠 What now?

• Target niche platforms. Run campaigns where your audience actually scrolls (TikTok, Instagram, etc.)

• Pitch your local press. People trust it — and yes, we have a guide.

• Monetize your best reviews. Screenshot them. Put them in ads, landing pages, onboarding flows — anywhere people hesitate.

Forget volume. It’s not about collecting 500 generic reviews.

It’s about getting a few memorable ones. That’s how you earn trust when most brands are so utterly forgettable.

Written by Amy Hawthorne and edited by Catherine Solbrig.