When I hear the word touchpoints, I cringe a little. It feels clinical, transactional—not what customer marketing should be about. Instead, I like to talk about moments. Moments are personal, memorable, and human.
In my role as Customer Marketing Manager at 6sense, transforming these touchpoints into meaningful moments has been at the core of building effective customer advocacy programs.
During my time at 6sense, I’ve realized that the key to scaling customer advocacy and creating experiences that last longer than eight seconds (spoiler: goldfish attention spans are fake news) starts with reducing internal friction.
If we can streamline processes, personalize journeys, and focus on relationships, we’ll not only improve advocacy but also build connections that stick.
Here are my six strategies for removing friction and transforming customer touchpoints into moments of real value.
1. Simplify program enrollment for seamless customer advocacy
Let’s be honest: managing advocacy programs manually can be exhausting. Think of spreadsheets, constant follow-ups, and disconnected systems. This was a major friction point for us at 6sense. We needed a way to scale our advocacy efforts without sacrificing human connection. Enter Ditto.
We launched Ditto in May to streamline our advocacy program, and the results have been phenomenal. It allows us to:
- Effortlessly enroll customers into advocacy programs, like reference calls or success stories.
- Collect approved quotes, customer stories, and even video testimonials—all through a simple onboarding process.
- Minimize customer “asks” while maximizing impact.
The biggest win? We doubled our customer story growth in one quarter. For context, our team typically creates 30 customer stories annually. With Ditto, we achieved 15 stories in just three months. It’s proof that simplifying enrollment helps scale advocacy and makes life easier for both customers and teams.
Eve Chatfield
2. Leverage intent data to personalize customer touchpoints
Intent data is often underutilized in customer marketing. We’re used to seeing it in pre-sale journeys, but it’s just as powerful post-sale for strengthening advocacy.
At 6sense, we have the luxury of drinking our own champagne. Our platform helps us:
- Segment customers based on their behavior and intent signals.
- Personalize messaging and content based on where customers are in their journey.
- Identify competitor risks and prioritize outreach.
For example, our tool Conversational Email allows us to scale personalization without losing the human touch. It sends bulk messages as specific personas—like our CRO—while enabling genuine two-way conversations.
I lead our executive experience at customer events, and this tool has allowed me to step in, respond personally, and build trust at scale. It’s about using technology to enhance, not replace, those critical customer touchpoints.
3. Make your mops team your best friend
If you’re in customer marketing, your Marketing Operations (MOPS) team is your secret weapon. They’re the wizards behind the curtain, and building a strong relationship with them can remove massive internal friction.
At 6sense, MOPS helped us automate workflows that improved customer data flow. For example, when a customer contact moves to a new company, traditional systems create a new contact record—meaning all historical data gets lost. MOPS automated this for us so that customer data seamlessly moves with the person.
We can now see:
- Past advocacy participation, events attended, or gifts accepted.
- Conversations they’ve had with our teams.
This kind of automation ensures we don’t lose valuable context, allowing us to focus on nurturing relationships and building advocacy.
4. Build impactful events and thriving communities
Events and communities are where customer advocacy comes alive. At 6sense, we’ve found creative ways to bring customers together, foster deeper relationships, and make every interaction count.
Events: Creating moments, not just meetings
Our events are all about creating a memorable oasis for customers amidst the chaos of conferences. For example:
- At large industry events like Dreamforce, we host Club Six. It’s a branded, immersive space where customers can relax, get permanent jewelry, enjoy hair and makeup touch-ups, and connect with peers. No pitches, just moments.
- At our annual customer conference Breakthrough, we created a Texas-inspired experience by bringing in a custom cowboy hat maker. Customers loved it, and it reinforced our commitment to tailoring experiences to the location.
Communities: Connecting beyond the product
Our customer community, Rev City, is home to nearly 10,000 members. But we don’t stop there. We also sponsor industry-neutral communities like:
- BDR Leader Coffee Talk
- CMO Coffee Talk
These pitch-free spaces allow people to connect, share challenges, and build relationships. Communities provide opportunities for advocacy to flourish naturally—without constantly talking about products.
5. Listen to your customers with social listening tools
Social listening is one of the most underutilized tools in customer advocacy. At 6sense, we use a tool called Digimind to gain a cohesive view of customer chatter across platforms.
Here’s how it works:
- If someone posts about earning a 6sense certification on LinkedIn, I get an alert and can personally congratulate them. A small gesture like this goes a long way.
- Social listening helps us identify potential advocates and monitor sentiment about our programs.
Another tip? Put your sales cap on and leverage LinkedIn Sales Navigator to track key milestones:
- Promotions, job changes, and company announcements.
- Moments that matter for building one-to-one connections.
Social listening isn’t just about gathering insights; it’s about engaging meaningfully and finding advocates where they already are.
Eve Chatfield
6. Never underestimate the power of one-on-one connections
No matter how much technology or automation you use, one-on-one connections will always be irreplaceable. Human interaction is the foundation of great customer advocacy.
By building the right processes and leveraging the right tools, we can scale these personal interactions without losing the magic. It’s about:
- Taking the time to have real conversations.
- Showing up for customers as people, not just accounts.
- Balancing efficiency with authenticity.
At the end of the day, our customers aren’t just logos or revenue numbers. They’re people who want to feel seen, heard, and valued. The relationships we build one-on-one are what drive advocacy and loyalty in the long term.
Key takeaways for transforming customer touchpoints into advocacy moments
If you’re looking to reduce friction and turn touchpoints into meaningful moments, here’s what I’ve learned:
- Simplify internal processes. Friction starts from within, so focus on streamlining program enrollment and workflows.
- Personalization at scale is possible. Leverage intent data and tools to tailor customer touchpoints without losing the human element.
- MOPS is your MVP. Work closely with your MOPS team to automate and optimize customer data flow.
- Create memorable events and communities. Invest in experiences that build connections beyond the product.
- Listen and engage through social listening. Meet customers where they are and celebrate their milestones.
- Human connections still matter most. Use technology to enhance, not replace, the power of personal interactions.
Final thoughts
Creating memorable customer moments doesn’t happen overnight. At 6sense, we’ve spent years building and refining our advocacy programs, and we’re still learning every day. The key is to start small, reduce internal friction, and focus on building relationships that are human and authentic.
Remember: advocacy cannot be forced; it must be earned. When you invest in simplifying processes, listening to customers, and creating experiences that matter, you’ll turn touchpoints into moments that last.
And that’s where the magic happens.
