Q: I am a big believer in measurement and how they drive behavior. You mention over 30 potential measurements of evangelism. Where would you tell a company to start as they try measuring their current level of customer evangelism?

A: Excellent question. Here’s how we suggest an organization approach customer evangelism measurement:

Task 1: Strive to ask 100 percent of your customers “How did you hear about us/our product/our service?” An excellent response rate is at least 90 percent. Here’s why it matters: Build-A-Bear Workshop knows that 50 percent of its business comes from word of mouth, 40 percent from walk-ins at store locations and 10 percent from a aggregate group of various sources. As a result, the company smartly focuses its marketing on word-of-mouth.

Task 2: Cull the following measures from your most loyal and enthusiastic customer evangelists:
* What do they say, specifically, about your company/product/service? (Knowing their specific, word-for-word pitches should help you adjust your own marketing)

* How many networks do they belong to? (They can help you find more people like them inside their networks)

* Who are your top 10 evangelists in terms of generated referrals? (Think about developing a special “insiders” program for them)

* Who are your top evangelists for purchased products/new business?

Task 3: Ask as many customers possible if they have referred you — yes or no. Forget measures such as purchase intent or brand awareness; they’re useless because they don’t measure action. Ask customers if they have actually referred you to others. Whether the answer is yes or no, develop a series of follow-up questions to understand why.