If you’re looking for customer advocacy examples, then you probably feel that your potential buyers don’t care about what your brand has to say.
Instead, you’re leaning on customer advocacy.
You want the peers of potential buyers – i.e., your customers – to speak for your brand, product, services, and much more.
In this post, we’ve put together 6 customer advocacy program examples that show you how to lead conversations and merit buyer trust through the voices of your most loyal customers.
6 Customer Advocacy Program Examples
1. Wiley Used Customer Voices to Drive Product Improvements
Source: Julie Black, Senior Manager, Customer Advocacy Program at Wiley
Wiley engaged its advocates (Wiley Instructors) to help the Product and UX teams drive key platform improvements and add new features.
“Advocate feedback empowers our UX and Product teams to make more platform improvements and create new features more effectively and at a faster pace. It has resulted in more proficient and satisfied customers and has built up the confidence and driven inspiration among Wiley team members.”
– Julie Black, Senior Manager, Customer Advocacy Program, Wiley
In 2022, the Wiley Instructors advocacy program achieved the following:
- Collected over 2,000 product feedback survey responses
- Saved 100s of hours in research
- Supported 10+ development projects
For more on how customer advocacy empowers your product teams, see:
2. Jamf Generated Sales Growth via Customer Advocacy
Source: Phoebe Smith, Community Engagement & Advocacy Specialist at Jamf
Back in 2022, Jamf set out to drive more sales, grow the number of third-party reviews, and collect more customer collateral for its marketing team.
The center-point of this goal was its customer advocacy program, affectionately named, “Jamf Heroes.” They called on their Jamf Heroes to help drive more references to the sales team, give video testimonials, and speak onstage at industry conferences.
“Throughout the years of Jamf Heroes, our community members have acted as references to potential prospects of Jamf, taking the time out of their day to help us grow. From quotes, testimonials, and interviews at events to case studies, they are always readily eager to help out our sales and marketing teams.”
– Phoebe Smith, Community Engagement & Advocacy Specialist, Jamf
The results? Jamf Heroes saw a:About WordPress
- 600% increase in references from existing customers
- 58% growth YoY in online reviews
- 16% jump in social media shares
3. Cisco Turbocharged its Marketing Efforts
Source: Jessica Highsmith, Head of Global Advocacy Communications & Amplification at Cisco
Cisco has a massive customer advocacy program spanning 24,000 brand advocates located all over the world. In 2022, Cristina Melluzzi and the Cisco Global Advocacy team fine-tuned its program to support its global marketing campaigns.
“When starting our Global Advocacy practice seven years ago, we knew we wanted to build an active community of customers while delivering timely, meaningful references to help drive Cisco’s business results. With more than 24,000 global members, our vision for customer advocacy is now an award-winning reality, as evidenced by the multiple industry awards we’ve earned along the way. ”
– Cristina Melluzzi, Global Director, Customer Marketing & Advocacy, Cisco
Cisco’s Global Advocacy program:
- Generated 24,000+ acts of advocacy
- Got 740 customers to attend Cisco campaign webinars
- Engaged 478 customer advocates during Cisco Live
4. Paycor Elevated its Customers into Leaders
Source: Alyssa Vorhees, Principal Customer Advocacy Marketing Manager
Paycor’s customer advocacy program – ‘The CORner’ – is more than just a hub for its most engaged customers. It’s where Paycor customers become leaders at their companies.
Using a variety of touchpoints (like newsletters, demo webinars, and knowledge-rich product content), Alyssa Vorhees at Paycor sought to engage and empower its customers. It wanted to give its users a sense that they were achieving their goals.
“We want to empower leaders to build winning teams and create great places to work, and there’s no better place to do that than through our community, The CORner.””
– Alyssa Vorhees, Principal Customer Advocacy Marketing Manager, Paycor“
The CORner achieved:
- 52% YoY increase in engaged advocates
- 323% more acts of advocacy in 2022
- 66% growth in new members compared to 2021
5. Cvent and its Customers Built a Thriving Community
Source: Ridhima Krishan, Assistant Team Lead, Customer Marketing at Cvent
Together with the 12,000 members of its Cvent Celebrity program, Cvent built a thriving brand advocate community. To keep its advocates engaged, Cvent provides exclusive ‘ask the expert’ sessions, community groups, contests, weekly polls, tips, and huddles.
“Cvent Celebrity has added value to my day and work in recent months by allowing me to become a part of an online community in a fun, interactive, and engaging way. I have learned so much from resources, articles, and webinars. It’s been a great tool for me to succeed and continue in my learning and growth with Cvent.”
– Shannon Fallon, Senior Meeting Planner, Extreme Networks (Cvent Celebrity member)
Here’s what the Cvent Celebrity program achieved:
- Generated 4,300+ shares on social media
- Saw over 160 customer referrals submitted
- Published 300+ online reviews
6. Trimble Viewpoint Saw a 30% Drop in Support Tickets
Source: Kathleen Orazio, Sr. Marketing Manager, Customer Advocacy at Trimble-Viewpoint
Trimble Viewpoint’s customer advocacy and community program – The Network – generates a lot of positive outcomes. This is just one of those, but it plays a big role in improving customer engagement and satisfaction.
“For me, helping our customers run better businesses, manage through change, and get the most out of their technology investment with Trimble Viewpoint is my driving force. I’m both honored and humbled that our community members trust me to be their voice within our organization, and I don’t take that for granted.”
– Kathleen Orazio, Senior Marketing Manager, Customer Advocacy
Using a year-end community campaign that garnered 200 questions, topics, and suggestions for 9 technical webinar topics, The Network helped cut customer support tickets by 30% in 2022.
This is a great example of how an amazing customer experience can drive long-term savings in your organization. And this is just the tip of the iceberg!
The Network also achieved:
- Supported sales with $924,000 in total pipeline
- 82,000+ acts of advocacy
- 20% community growth YoY
Learn more about Kathleen Orazio’s customer advocacy successes here:
- 6 Strategies for Building and Maintaining an Engaging Customer Community
- How to Build a Buzzing Community
