This article comes from Meenakshi Lakhwani’s insightful talk at our 2023 Customer Marketing Summit in London, check out her full presentation.
Building a strong customer advocacy program is essential for driving brand awareness and revenue growth.
I'm Meenakshi Lakhwani, Senior Customer Advocacy Manager at Workday, and I've had the privilege of overseeing the development of our customer advocacy initiatives.
My experience at Workday has shown me how a well-structured advocacy program can transform satisfied customers into powerful brand advocates, creating a ripple effect that impacts every stage of the sales cycle.
In this article, I'll walk you through the strategies and components that make up our customer advocacy program, from defining goals and understanding personas to aligning with sales and measuring success.
The importance of aligning with revenue goals
Everything revolves around numbers. It's essential for us, as customer marketers, to align ourselves with revenue generation.
In a world where economic conditions are volatile, and every decision ties back to financial outcomes, we must be closely connected to sales numbers and the overall sales cycle.
Knowing our revenue goals and pipeline targets is crucial. This understanding is directly linked to the success metrics I'll discuss later. Our role as customer marketers isn't just about promoting a product; it's about understanding how our efforts contribute to the bottom line.
The power of customer trust and loyalty
Customers hold the power to make or break a company's reputation with something as simple as an online review. Earning their trust and loyalty is more critical than ever.
Regardless of whether we're engaged in product marketing, social media marketing, or customer marketing, our customers remain at the center of everything we do.
Converting happy customers into brand advocates
At Workday, our customer advocacy program is strategically designed to turn satisfied and loyal customers into brand advocates. These advocates speak on our behalf, sharing their success stories with our products to a wider audience.
However, the focus of these stories isn't on Workday but on the customers themselves.
For instance, if a healthcare company uses Workday products, we emphasize the impact they're creating within their organization and their industry. Whether they're improving patient care or making strides in the healthcare sector at large, we highlight their success.
This approach not only promotes Workday but also positions our customers as leaders in their fields, which, in turn, strengthens their loyalty to our brand.
By centering our advocacy on the customer's achievements rather than our own, we build deeper connections and create a more authentic narrative. This priority ultimately helps us foster a community of passionate brand advocates.
