Download - Advocacy: From the Backroom to the Boardroom
David Feber & Helen FeberReferential Inc.
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The Advocacy Advantage: San Francisco – July 2016
Advocacy: From the Backroom to the Boardroom
Presenters:
David FeberManaging Partner
Referential, Inc.
Abby AtkinsonSenior Manager
FireEye, Inc.
#advocacyadv
Things have changed:
• The traditional sales cycle no longer exists
• Advice is actively sought from peers and it happens much earlier on mostly via social media
• Resources are readily available to assist research
• Buyers have done the majority of their research – including talking to your customers – before they even approach you
• Gen-X’ers and Millennials are rapidly becoming very influential in the business world
• Advocacy is no longer a backroom function
#advocacyadv
What “advocacy” shouldn’t just be:
• A client success program purely designed for net-new or upsell/cross-sell initiatives
• A bug-fix/self-help program or community
• A case study program
• And most importantly….It should never be an ASK!
Sales client success program
Case study program
Support self-help program
Cost Center
#advocacyadv
Why advocacy?
Engaged customers are more loyal, trust you more, buy more…and share their success with others more
Voice of the
Customer
Sales
Marketing
Executive programsSupport
Services
Value Center
#advocacyadv
The spectrum of advocates’ engagement
• We need to appeal to multiple types of buyers with multiple buying styles
• Understand the client journey and how to seed it with customer evidence
• Programs need to be holistic – coordinated across all activities
• Webinars• CABs• Success stories• User groups• Calls with prospects• Social media• Blogs• Multi-media stories• Vlogs• Lunches/dinners• PR placements• Speaking engagements
• Awards nominations• Communities• Advocacy hubs• Conferences• User groups• Newsletters• Beta testing• Analyst discussions• Symposiums• Calls for presentations• Regional meetings
• Best practice sharing• Networking• Logo use• Sound-bite quotes• Referrals• Journalist conversations• And so on…………
#advocacyadv
How to measure impact?
Client Lifetime Value – CLTV – a true measurement of business health
CLTV = [( Revenue * Gross Margin ) / Churn] – Acquisition Costs
But there is an easier way…..
Client Lifetime Revenue
CLTR = Revenue per Month x Relationship Length (in months)
For example:
If a customer signs an annual contract for $12,000 this is equivalent to $1k per monthIf they stay a client for 2 years:
CLTR = 1,000 x 24 = $24,000
This doesn’t include variables such as margin, acquisition costs or churn……..but it is a solid proxy for gauging the health of your business….
….and is significantly easier to calculate!!
#advocacyadv
CLTR….so what?
We can now calculate the impact of being an advocate on our business:
Real life data:
Non-Program Members Advocacy Program Members
Average Revenue per Month ($s) $6,242
Average Relationship Length (months) 13.9
CLTR $86,949
#advocacyadv
CLTR….so what?
We can now calculate the impact of being an advocate on our business:
Real life data:
Non-Program Members Advocacy Program Members
Average Revenue per Month ($s) $6,242 $20,625
Average Relationship Length (months) 13.9 16.7
CLTR $86,949 $345,045
This is an illustration of using CLTR; but also it’s a stunning example of the power of advocacy and the impact of having a closer relationship with your clients!!
Over the duration of their relationship, clients actively engaged by the advocacy program generate 4x as much revenue as those that aren’t engaged!
#advocacyadv
Lighthouse Program
Kara Wilson
Chief Marketing Officer
Abby Atkinson
Senior Manager
“The purpose of a business is to create a customer who creates customers.” – Shiv Singh, SVP Global Head of Digital & Marketing Transformation, VISA
#advocacyadv
‘Think strategically and execute tactically’ Strategic:▪Metrics, metrics, metrics!▪Communicate▪Be strategic ▪Leverage the voice of the customer ▪Make your advocates feel special
Tactical:▪Ensure positive relationship-building throughout the customer lifecycle▪Provide regular customer communication, education and check-ins▪Create a co-marketing plan versus making constant asks▪Leverage the voice of the customer by:▪Placing banners, posters, video clips of customers in the Executive Briefing Center & throughout offices▪Encouraging advocates to write and comment in blogs and social media – sharing, tweeting, liking, etc.▪Asking them to refer peers and people they’ve met that might benefit from a FireEye solution▪Inviting customers to attend birds-of-a-feather / prospect dinners▪Engaging them in industry initiatives that focus on their business success, not FireEye products!▪Nominating individuals for industry awards ▪Having customers speak at events and user-groups▪Posting multi-media testimonials online in a variety of locations and formats
Folio of welcome materials
Welcome gift item
Metrics by role for relevance
Program manager’s metrics – detailed ops report:▪Workload balance▪# days to fulfill requests▪# requests open, fulfilled, no matches found▪Month-over-month request volume fluctuations and trends
VP’s metrics – mid-level report▪$ deals assisted and won▪Request volumes▪# advocates by type, region, product▪# testimonials
C-suite metrics – executive dashboards▪$ deals assisted and won▪# testimonials available
#advocacyadv
Call to action:
• Incite advocacy! [Over the next decade, the companies that succeed will be the ones that embrace the power of advocacy and give advocacy a seat at the C-suite table]
• Advocacy Programs - You need one!
• Create a client journey roadmap & begin to populate your own advocacy portfolio
• Define your own CLTR for engaged/non-engaged clients
• Plot your trajectory & see how you measure up
• Rome wasn’t built in a day…..but you need to start NOW!!! ☺