In this Q&A, we delve into insights shared by Referential's Advocacy Consultants, Kristian Gallego and Rob Lisama, on the challenges and strategies involved in customer recruitment for advocacy programs. They discuss overcoming common hurdles like database management and client engagement, emphasizing the importance of trust-building and leveraging technology effectively to drive successful recruitment outcomes.

It has been evident in 2023 that customer advocacy has encountered many ups and downs. Within a year where program cutbacks, re-orgs, budget reviews and department shifts have featured heavily, the age-old question has come up time and time again: “can we do more for less?”

To get over the hump between starting your program and seeing results, you need to communicate Why the program is important, What results you expect to see, and How to ensure the program’s success.

Recently, our partners at Crowdvocate initiated a nomination process and subsequent vote to establish within the customer advocacy community a list of the who’s who, or the more influential among us in the advocacy community. It’s with great pleasure that we at Referential are able to report: we have two of our own voted in to share the spotlight!

Though each of our consultants dedicate their time and focus to the programs of specific clients, our team regularly exchanges tips and best practices with one another. As a result, we’re constantly building on our collective knowledge and enhancing our ability to serve the needs of different clients.

As Advocacy Consultants a lot of our time is spent reaching out to and learning about customers, either via email, phone, at events or through the internal support and sales teams associated with a customer. Each time we make a connection, we find out new information; customer insights that need to be added to our reference management systems (RMS) to ensure the most up-to-date details are available to use. Of course, over time, this information can become old and incorrect, or gaps may appear, but inaccurate data is of little use to its users!

As customer advocacy professionals, we’re all deeply cognizant of one simple fact: we trust our peers, the lessons they’ve learned and the advice they’re willing to share.

Whenever things are uncertain, marketing budgets are constantly the first to be slashed, and the customer advocacy program is frequently a prime target.