The Advocacy Channel: A Customer Marketing Podcast

Season 2 of The Advocacy Channel Podcast is here, and it’s now brought to you by impact.com, the leading partnership management platform! We’ve had a bit of a facelift, but we’re still the same customer advocacy podcast you know and love, hosted by Will Fraser, former co-founder and CEO of SaaSquatch.   In this episode, we’re tackling a key question: When is the right time to launch a referral program, and how can you make it truly effective? To help us dive in, we’re joined by Doug Lewis, an experienced growth marketer who’s led successful referral programs at companies like Trusted Health and Hired.   Key insights on building effective referral programs:   Drawing from his experience managing referral programs in different industries, Doug shares valuable insights on:   When to launch your referral program  The importance of aligning incentives with what your customers truly value How to reduce friction in the referral process Strategic ways to integrate referral opportunities into customer touchpoints Tips for testing and optimizing your program over time   Learn how Doug's team achieved remarkable success by tapping into travel nurses' communities and understanding their motivations. Whether you're just starting out or looking to enhance your existing referral program, this episode offers practical strategies you can implement today.   Connect with Doug on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-a-lewis    Connect with us:   Get more customer marketing insights and strategies at ⁠impact.com/blog/  Connect with host Will on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/wifraser/ ⁠ Have a question? Suggestion? Email us at advocacychannel@impact.com 

Join us as we explore the world of referral marketing in our final episode of the first season of The Advocacy Channel Podcast, featuring referral marketing expert Keith Posehn. Keith brings over 17 years of experience to the table, offering vast knowledge and expertise from his time leading referral programs for tech startups and tech giants, including Caviar and Uber.In this episode, Keith sheds light on the complexities of referral marketing, highlighting the common hurdles companies face and offering practical advice to overcome them. It's an episode filled with Keith's professional anecdotes and wisdom, offering tips and tricks to help you launch and run successful referral programs.In this episode, you'll discover:Strategies for overcoming resistance: Learn how to win over skeptical stakeholders by aligning referral program objectives with broader business goals, and discover why past failures shouldn't deter new efforts.Innovative approaches to incentives: Beyond mere discounts, explore creative ways to incentivize customers, focusing on what truly adds value to their experience and encourages genuine advocacy.The role of timing and promptness: Keith emphasizes the critical moments for prompting referrals, illustrating how well-timed engagement can significantly enhance program participation rates.Building a holistic marketing effort: Gain insights on seamlessly integrating referral programs into your marketing strategy, and smoothly transition from product-focused initiatives to broad market-wide campaigns as the program maturesConnect with Keith on LinkedIn for more insights on referral and affiliate marketing: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithposehn/ Connect with us: Get more customer marketing insights and strategies at ⁠impact.com/blog/ Connect with host Will on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/wifraser/⁠ Have a question? Suggestion? Email us at advocacychannel@impact.com

Welcome to 2024! In our first episode of this year, we delve into the world of executive customer advocacy with Angela Wells, Head of Customer Advocacy and Executive Programs at Splunk, and Sarah Moody, an expert in executive customer programs. With a combined experience of over four decades, Angela and Sarah share their top insights into building and nurturing C-suite connections to foster business growth. In this episode, we explore the benefits of executive customer advocacy in the B2B tech space, discussing why it's essential to create value-driven executive customer experiences. Tune in to learn more about the impact of such high-level relationships on customer loyalty, company budget, brand reputation, and competitive advantage. Key takeaways from this episode include: Five strategies for establishing authentic connections with top-level executives The importance of content in crafting impactful executive experiences Methods for leveraging executive networks to foster long-term relationships Measuring the effectiveness of executive advocacy programs through data and real-world examples Whether you're a seasoned customer marketing professional or new to customer advocacy, this episode is a treasure trove of actionable insights and strategies. Tune in to learn how executive advocacy can help you foster better customer relations and drive meaningful growth in your organization! Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahlmoody/ Connect with Angela on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-w-wells/ Connect with us: Get more customer marketing insights and strategies at ⁠impact.com/blog/ Connect with host Will on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/wifraser/⁠ Have a question? Suggestion? Email us at advocacychannel@impact.com

Are you a customer marketer looking to develop more effective case studies in 2024? Don't miss out on our latest episode, packed with helpful insights! The anatomy of successful SaaS case studies Emily Amos, CEO of Uplift Content, a B2B SaaS content marketing agency, joins us to share her insights on creating successful customer case studies. Emily's expertise in storytelling, data analysis, and market trends provides a comprehensive guide for anyone eager to learn about this essential customer marketing tool. She also shares insights on the latest data from her report on B2B SaaS case studies to help you craft more informed and effective customer case studies. Tune in to learn from a seasoned professional and enhance your marketing strategy in the upcoming year! Connect with Emily Amos on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyamos/ Connect with us: Get more customer marketing insights and strategies at ⁠impact.com/blog/ Connect with host Will on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/wifraser/⁠ Have a question? Suggestion? Email us at advocacychannel@impact.com

Get ready for another engaging episode of The Advocacy Channel! In this episode, we welcomed Cece Lee, Chief Marketing Officer, and Lynn Pietryga, Chief Customer Officer from Enable Us onto the show. In this episode, they shared valuable insights on how marketing and customer success teams can work together to enhance customer marketing initiatives. In this episode, we explore: The inner workings of the Enable Us team and how they collaborate on customer marketing programs. The role of OKRs in fostering alignment between marketing and customer success teams. The importance of internal buy-in and how to nurture it. The signs that indicate it's time for tighter collaboration. Connect with Cece Lee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cecelee Connect with Lynn Pietryga on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynnp Connect with us: Get more customer marketing insights and strategies at ⁠impact.com/blog/ Connect with host Will on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/wifraser/⁠ Have a question? Suggestion? Email us at advocacychannel@impact.com

Welcome to another insightful episode of The Advocacy Channel! We're thrilled to have Joel Klettke, founder of Case Study Buddy and a renowned specialist in case study development, join us for today’s episode. With years of experience under his belt, Joel is an expert in harnessing the power of storytelling, customer reviews, and case studies to drive business growth. In today's rapidly evolving marketing landscape, it's crucial to understand how to create persuasive stories and maximize the impact of customer advocacy. Joel's expertise sheds light on the best practices for leveraging these key components in your marketing and sales efforts. Listen in as we dive into a range of engaging topics, such as: The critical aspects of crafting captivating case studies How to make the most of customer reviews in your marketing strategy The role storytelling plays in fostering trust and credibility with your audience Proven methods to uncover and highlight your best customer success stories Overcoming common hurdles in collecting and managing valuable customer feedback Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn from a seasoned industry expert and elevate your marketing game by embracing the full potential of storytelling and customer advocacy. Connect with Joel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelklettke/ Check out the resource Joel mentioned to help you measure the ROI of your customer marketing and advocacy efforts: https://cmasoulmate.gumroad.com/l/cma-course Check out Case Study Buddy blog posts to learn how to write effective case studies: https://casestudybuddy.com/blog Connect with us: Get more customer marketing insights and strategies at ⁠impact.com/blog/ Connect with host Will on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/wifraser/⁠ Have a question? Suggestion? Email us at advocacychannel@impact.com

Are you looking to build a successful customer education program but not sure where to start? This episode has got you covered! For Episode 18 of The Advocacy Channel, we had the pleasure of speaking with Shannon Howard, the Director of Customer and Content Marketing at Intellum - a leading customer education platform. Shannon is a customer marketing expert with years of experience building education programs for companies like The Predictive Index, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and Litmus. Her expertise spans from marketing to curriculum development to SaaS product management, making her the perfect person to guide us through the process of creating a successful customer education program. She helps us answer questions about customer education programs like: When is the best time to start one? What are the top mistakes to avoid? How do you use data to make better program decisions? Tune in to learn from one of 2023's Top 100 CMA Influencers & Strategists and start developing more power users and advocates of your product. Connect with us: Get more customer marketing insights and strategies at ⁠impact.com/blog/ Connect with host Will on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/wifraser/⁠ Have a question? Suggestion? Email us at advocacychannel@impact.com

Welcome to a brand new year of The Advocacy Channel! Our first guest of 2023 is Dana Alvarenga. As the VP of Customer Experience at SlapFive, a customer marketing and advocacy software platform, Dana has plenty of experience developing customer marketing programs and knows how to make an impact. How to prove the impact of customer marketing on revenue While it’s now more important than ever to demonstrate the value of your marketing initiatives and get buy-in from your leadership team, Dana helps us understand how you can prove your value as a customer marketer, and show what customer marketing can do for your organization. Tune in to learn her keys to success in customer marketing, how to show that your programs are influencing revenue, and her four-step approach to building a customer program. Connect with Dana on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/danaalvarenga/ Connect with us: Get more customer marketing insights and strategies at ⁠impact.com/blog/ Connect with host Will on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/wifraser/⁠ Have a question? Suggestion? Email us at advocacychannel@impact.com

After so many incredible discussions with customer marketing experts from all over the world, we’re delighted to welcome back special guest Scott K. Wilder to The Advocacy Channel to round out the year. As the VP of Customer, Partner and Community Engagement at Base, Scott has over 20 years of experience delivering customer advocacy programs for companies like Hubspot, Google, Marketo, Coursera, and Apple. Customer Marketing in 2023 Scott joined us in Episode 8 to help us understand several important lessons in customer advocacy and is back to discuss what's new in customer marketing and what to expect in the new year. Happy holidays from everyone at The Advocacy Channel! We can’t wait to share more with you in 2023. Connect with Scott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wilder/ Visit the CLG Campus: https://clgcampus.base.ai/ Connect with us: Get more customer marketing insights and strategies at ⁠impact.com/blog/ Connect with host Will on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/wifraser/⁠ Have a question? Suggestion? Email us at advocacychannel@impact.com

What do you do when a hot prospect asks for a customer reference? Is it a last-minute dash on Slack with everyone trying to find a happy customer? Or do you have an organized way of finding the best match? No matter where you are between these two extremes, a customer reference program might be just what you need. What you need to know about customer reference programs To help you get started, David Sroka has joined us on The Advocacy Channel to provide his expertise. As the CEO of Point of Reference, David has years of experience helping large enterprise companies like Benevity and Amplitude run successful customer reference programs. Tune in as David and Will discuss when you need a customer reference program, how to get started, what to avoid, and the importance of training your sales team. Get prepared for 2023 with new strategies to leverage the power of your advocates. Connect with David on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pointofreference/ Read David’s blog article: https://www.point-of-reference.com/blog/capturing-and-keeping-cxo-engagement/ Connect with us: Get more customer marketing insights and strategies at ⁠impact.com/blog/ Connect with host Will on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/wifraser/⁠ Have a question? Suggestion? Email us at advocacychannel@impact.com

With an increasing number of businesses offering services purely online, trying to make genuine connections with customers is only getting harder. How do you build loyalty when you’ve never even met your customers? Building customer loyalty To help us fill in the gap of human connection for internet businesses, we’re excited to welcome Matt Barnett to Episode 14 of The Advocacy Channel. Matt is the CEO of Bonjoro, a platform that lets you send personalized videos at the perfect time to convert more leads, onboard customers, and build customer love and loyalty. Drawing on Matt’s experience helping companies develop customer loyalty with human connection, Matt and Will discuss what true customer loyalty is, how to score your advocates at each lifecycle stage and properly engage them, plus the secret sauce required to delight any customer. Grab your coffee, get comfortable, and take out your notebook as there are plenty of golden nuggets from Matt that you’ll want to jot down! Connect with Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbjbarnett/ Connect with us: Get more customer marketing insights and strategies at ⁠impact.com/blog/ Connect with host Will on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/wifraser/⁠ Have a question? Suggestion? Email us at advocacychannel@impact.com

Welcome to The Advocacy Channel's very first bonus episode! Today marks the one-year anniversary of the show, and what better way to mark this special occasion than to welcome back our very first guest? Rachel Gershon is the assistant professor of marketing at the Rady School of Management at the University of California, and has been uncovering fascinating insights from her research on referral programs. Uncover the true value of a referred customer In Episode 1, Rachel shared with us her game-changing research on the psychology of referrals and rewards, and what encourages customers to participate in your referral program. If you haven’t checked out that episode, now is a perfect time! To learn even more, tune in to this bonus episode with Will and Rachel where she shares a few teaser tidbits from her not-yet published research around the value of a referred customer, and the role of rewards in social commitment. We’d like to send a big thank you to our listeners for supporting The Advocacy Channel this year! We can’t wait to share even more customer marketing insights with you. Connect with Rachel and find past research and keep your eyes out for this new research that will be getting published soon: https://www.rachelgershon.com/ Connect with us: Get more customer marketing insights and strategies at ⁠impact.com/blog/ Connect with host Will on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/wifraser/⁠ Have a question? Suggestion? Email us at advocacychannel@impact.com

As customer marketing and advocacy initiatives gain more attention and discussion across industries, you might be wondering - What’s next in customer advocacy? To help us dig into the past, present, and future of customer marketing, we’re thrilled to welcome two very special guests to Episode 13 of The Advocacy Channel. Deena and Liz are the founders of Captivate Collective, an advocacy agency that works with large companies like Adobe, Sage, and Amplitude to build their customer advocacy programs and strategies. Their goal is to help companies maximize success by capturing customers with relevant and remarkable experiences, and activating them with meaningful opportunities. Tune in as Deena, Liz, and host Will Fraser share advice on how to get started with your own advocacy program, how to evolve your strategy after you’ve launched your first program, and what’s next in customer advocacy. Hint: It’s about unlocking advocacy for your entire customer base! Connect with Deena on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dzenyk/ Connect with Liz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizrichardson2/ Connect with us: Get more customer marketing insights and strategies at ⁠impact.com/blog/ Connect with host Will on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/wifraser/⁠ Have a question? Suggestion? Email us at advocacychannel@impact.com

How does a customer marketer at a leading multimedia software company build brand advocates, and drive loyalty, retention, and ongoing demand? Hear it straight from the source as we welcome Kevin Lau, Global Head of Customer Advocacy at Adobe to episode 12 of The Advocacy Channel. Growing customer communities through a merger and acquisition With over 12 years of experience as an industry thought leader in customer advocacy and lifecycle marketing, Kevin is a well-known expert in the customer marketing space with a wealth of knowledge, experience, and tactical insights to share. Hear host Will Fraser and Kevin discuss his journey as a customer marketer, how he maintained and even grew the Marketo community through a merger and acquisition, his top tips for marketers building advocacy programs, and much more. Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinkennethlau/ Connect with us: Get more customer marketing insights and strategies at ⁠impact.com/blog/ Connect with host Will on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/wifraser/⁠ Have a question? Suggestion? Email us at advocacychannel@impact.com

Are you itching for more real-world advice from experts in customer marketing who continue to innovate and educate? So were we! Welcome to Episode 11 of The Advocacy Channel with special guest Leslie Barrett from Sendoso. How to turn customers into advocates from the beginning of the customer journey As the Director of Customer Marketing and Advocacy at Sendoso, the leading sending platform for personalized gifts, branded swag, eGifts, and more, Leslie is passionate about the power of customer advocacy. In this episode, learn about her journey to becoming an award-winning customer marketer, her approach to developing advocates from the beginning of the customer journey, and the important lessons she’s learned along the way. Tune in to hear Leslie’s invaluable knowledge, experience, and tactical insights to boost your own success in customer marketing. Connect with Leslie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliebarrett0821/ Find Leslie on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cmasoulmate Connect with us: Get more customer marketing insights and strategies at ⁠impact.com/blog/ Connect with host Will on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/wifraser/⁠ Have a question? Suggestion? Email us at advocacychannel@impact.com

How do you know it’s the right time to start a customer advocacy program? How can you tell if a customer is ready to participate? What can you learn when asking them to join your program? To help answer these questions, we welcome a seasoned customer advocacy expert to The Advocacy Channel for our 10th episode. How to identify when to start your customer advocacy program Pablo Fernandes is the Product Manager and Head of Consulting Services for Customer Advocacy at Wings4U, an organization that helps B2B tech companies close more deals faster by leveraging the voice of their customers. Host Will Fraser chats with Pablo about identifying your advocates and how to measure the impact and success of your program. Connect with Pablo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pablofernandesbr/ Connect with us: Get more customer marketing insights and strategies at ⁠impact.com/blog/ Connect with host Will on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/wifraser/⁠ Have a question? Suggestion? Email us at advocacychannel@impact.com

Did you know that 78% of people trust online product reviews just as much as a recommendation from a friend or a family member? So how do you go about capturing and sharing customer testimonials in a way that helps you reach new prospects and convert more leads?How to collect authentic customer storiesTo help, we’re excited to welcome Lauren Locke-Paddon to The Advocacy Channel. Lauren is a customer advocacy expert with over 12 years experience, and is the VP of customer success and marketing at Vocal Video - a video marketing platform that lets you easily capture and share video testimonials from your customers, partners, and employees.Join host Will Fraser as he and Lauren dig into the importance of authentic customer stories, how customer success and marketing can work together on customer advocacy initiatives, how to get started on building your library of customer stories, and much more!Connect with Lauren on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenlockepaddon/Check out Vocal Video: https://vocalvideo.com/ Connect with us: Get more customer marketing insights and strategies at ⁠impact.com/blog/ Connect with host Will on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/wifraser/⁠ Have a question? Suggestion? Email us at advocacychannel@impact.comData source: https://review42.com/resources/online-reviews-statistics/

Welcome to Episode 8 of The Advocacy Channel! Today we’re joined by Scott K. Wilder - an advisor to global technology companies with over 20 years of experience developing customer advocacy programs for brands like HubSpot, Google, Marketo, and Coursera. Scott’s extensive experience in customer marketing has inspired him to develop and share ways that marketing and product teams can work together and learn from each other to help customers find more value and more success with a company’s products. Expert advice on customer marketing Tune in as Will and Scott discuss the importance of coordination between teams to drive customer centricity, how to leverage a product approach to customer marketing, and how customer advocacy doesn't only include the customer but also involves your employees. Connect with Scott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wilder/ Connect with us: Get more customer marketing insights and strategies at ⁠impact.com/blog/ Connect with host Will on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/wifraser/⁠ Have a question? Suggestion? Email us at advocacychannel@impact.com

As marketing technology continues to evolve, there’s a bigger shift towards more customer-centric products and platforms. Companies are focusing on engaging their customers, and listening to and prioritizing their feedback to create better product experiences and stronger relationships. Learn how to build an engaging customer feedback program To help us understand what this looks like in practice, we’re excited to welcome guest Ozkan Demir to The Advocacy Channel. As the CEO and Co-Founder of Pisano, an all-in-one customer experience management platform, Ozkan helps us uncover what feedback loops are, how to collect the best feedback from your customers, and how to actually use that feedback to build stronger, more profitable relationships with them. If you’re wondering how to start collecting and using customer feedback in your organization, this is one episode you don’t want to miss! Connect with Ozkan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ozkanaykutdemir/ Check out the Pisano Academy here: https://www.pisano.com/academy/ Connect with us: Get more customer marketing insights and strategies at ⁠impact.com/blog/ Connect with host Will on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/wifraser/⁠ Have a question? Suggestion? Email us at advocacychannel@impact.com

Welcome to our first episode of 2022! We’re excited to kick-off the new year with special guest Trisha Diamond, Director of Customer Success at Fiverr. With over 15 years of experience developing resources and support programs for customers to drive client satisfaction and retention, Trisha shares her unique approach to building genuine customer connections in a double-sided marketplace. How to connect with customers: Plus, we get an inside look at how she helped build the customer success department at Fiverr from the ground up. If you’re trying to drive a customer success department in your organization or just improve your customer relationships, tune in as Trisha and host Will Fraser discuss how customer success can best work with other departments and build long-term relationships with your brand’s top users. Connect with Trisha on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trishadiamond/ Connect with us: Get more customer marketing insights and strategies at ⁠impact.com/blog/ Connect with host Will on LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/wifraser/⁠ Have a question? Suggestion? Email us at advocacychannel@impact.com