Just Getting Started: Foundation, Quick Wins & Advocacy Lauren LeRoy Director of Customer Marketing, Kespry March 2018 Introduction and announce that I’m speaking at a session at 2:30 on strategic reference program.

What is a Successful Advocacy Program? Build a pool of customer contacts and customer assets to fill reference needs for sales, marketing & executive leadership. Starting a reference or advocacy program – level set. Day 1. Agree on expectations.

Goals Short term: Long term: Inventory of what already exists Repeatable process to collect fresh references Communicate customer stories and deliver assets Long term: Robust library of reference customers – build a grid Strong relationships with go-to customers Self-service system Goals – long term and short term Inventory – next slide Process – talk about current work with NPS Communicate stories and assets – talk to sales Grid – add example later in the deck relationships

Getting Started – Taking Inventory Where to find customer advocates: Customer Case Studies Net Promoter Score (NPS) CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) Past Event & Webinar Speakers Past Press Interviews Analyst Surveys Online Reviews Advisory Boards Community User Groups Slack Channel Mentions Ask Sales Getting started – audience participation here. References scattered – how to collect what already exists – NPS (Net Promoter Score - remember comment on approaching customers who want to be references) or CSAT (Customer Satisfaction), past speakers, past webinars, past analyst surveys, ask sales, Image: tornado or funnel with words User Groups Advisory Boards Community Slack Channel Mentions Ask Sales Net Promoter Score (NPS) CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) Past Event & Webinar Speakers Past Press Interviews Analyst Surveys

Quick Wins Ask sales: Upcycle existing content What do you use today? What have you used at past companies? What assets and content do you need to be successful? Upcycle existing content Quick Wins Reuse as much content as possible. If the reference job was only partly done before you were hired, there is probably opportunity to reuse materials. For example – use webinars to create case studies. Use case studies to create slides. Talk to the sales team about the assets that they find helpful. Create a format and a template and start writing – if you are new to a company, that’s also a fantastic way to learn the products and the customers. Image: Content types Webinars or Presentations Case Studies Blog Posts Slides Quotes

Webinars or Presentations Reusing Content Webinars or Presentations Case Studies Blog Posts Slides Quotes Example of reusing content – and why I am not a graphic designer.

Reference Grid Determine attributes and develop references to fill those needs Industry x Department Product x Geography Feature x Company Size Banking Travel Industrial Software Finance Customer 1 Marketing Customer 2 Operations Customer 3 Human Resources Grid example – identify and fill the gaps.

Selling Customer Advocacy Customers want to be advocates Social media and self-promotion changed individual motivation Consider your customer’s motivation Change how you invite It’s an offer, not a favor.

Systems and Scalability Use the appropriate tool for the job Get buy in from management across org Make sure that the system works with current business processes or have a plan to change the processes to work with your system Resources - a system only works if you have people to manage it Adoption & Education – only effective if the team uses it Systems and Scalability Thinking forward – how I think forward to set up a program. Use the appropriate tools for the job. Think about scalability for the future and the features that you need right now. There are many excellent tools and systems to apply for different (and some overlapping) needs. Don’t put in too much infrastructure that you don’t need and don’t have time to manage, but think about growth. Not a 1-size-fits-all approach to tools and systems. Share story about IBM system, Alteryx interview and needing a system and how that is different than current job. Tips: 1. Set up Salesforce with actions and yes/no/blank – ‘no’ is different from ‘blank’. 2. Get buy in and make sure that the system you set up works with current business process, or have a plan to change the process to work with your system and 3. Educate – the system only works if you can manage it and if the team will use it. Image: SFDC screenshot Consider Current Infrastructure for Long Term Success

Simple Contact Tracking Tip: Track customer participation data: yes/no/’null’ because ‘no’ is different than ‘unknown’

Questions?

5 Actions for Success Take Inventory – find out what you are starting with Establish relationships to get introductions for new reference customers Quick Wins – reuse content to deliver assets for sales & marketing Customer Motivation – change the way that you invite customers Systems – implement the right system and processes for your infrastructure and culture for today and planning ahead

Thank You! Lauren LeRoy *lauren.leroy@gmail.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenleroy/