Recruiting customer advocates

Recruiting customer advocates means matching a customer's reason for helping with the activity you need. Finding willing customers and running the advocacy work after they agree are separate tasks.¹ Learn why a customer would say yes before choosing the route and request.^{2, 3}

Set the recruiting brief

Start with the customer activity you need, then build the recruiting approach around it. A clear brief gives the person making the invitation something concrete to offer.

If the goal is referenceability, define success as logos or testimonials that attract more customers.⁴ Customer advocacy programs commonly seek case studies or customer testimonials.⁵ Other useful activities include reference calls, guest blogging, site visits, and advisory boards.⁶

Write down what participation would involve, who would be involved, and what the customer would receive. Use the activity to shape the invitation instead of asking for a general commitment to advocacy.

A survey can test both willingness and fit with the activity. Ask: "Would you be willing to act as a reference, and in which of the following ways (e.g., reference calls, guest blogging, site visits, advisory boards, and so on) would you be willing to participate?".⁶

Build the candidate routes

Use the people and conversations that already carry customer context. Direct outreach still belongs in the process when the relationship route leaves suitable customers undiscovered.

There are two routes: work through colleagues who own customer relationships, or contact customers directly.⁷ Start with the person managing the relationship, since that person can directly ask the customer to become an advocate.⁸

Make the invitation during a catch-up call, a site visit, or personal outreach when the conversation has room for it.⁹ The person who owns the relationship often starts promoting the advocacy program,¹⁰ so give that person a simple description of the activity and the customer fit you want.

Run both routes together. Ask relationship owners to surface customers whose experience they know well, then use direct outreach to cover customers who fit the brief but have not appeared through internal contacts.

Qualify the reason to participate

A customer name alone tells you little about willingness. Find the reason behind a possible yes, because it determines how to frame the invitation.

Customers choose to be references for three basic reasons.¹¹

• They have experienced service excellence or built strong chemistry with their main contact.¹²
• They love the product or solution.¹³
• They want to be professionally associated with the brand because it makes them look cutting edge.¹⁴

Ask what has made the relationship worth talking about, what the customer is proud of, and what kind of participation would feel worthwhile. Listen for the motive before choosing the activity.

When service excellence or chemistry with the main contact drives the relationship, the people closest to the account are best positioned to identify and invite the customer.¹⁵ If the product is the source of enthusiasm, make the invitation about sharing that experience. If professional association is the draw, explain how the customer will be presented and where their contribution will appear.

Make the invitation specific

The invitation should help the customer picture the work and decide whether it fits. Keep the request bounded, explain the exchange, and give the customer room to choose the activity.

Invite the customer to participate in a specific project, such as a case study, referral program, or testimonial.¹⁶ Say what you need from them, how the conversation or contribution will happen, and what the next decision will be.

For a case study, explain that participation can also positively profile the customer's business.¹⁷ For any activity, explain the program's value, the customer's part in creating that value, and what the customer personally gets from taking part.¹⁸

The program needs backing from the customer and the internal team before it can work well.¹⁹ Prepare the internal contact before the ask so they understand the activity, why this customer fits, and what they need to do after the customer agrees.

Move on when the customer has chosen an activity and understands the exchange. If they show interest without choosing a format, ask which participation would suit them and leave the decision there until they answer.

Turn agreement into a working process

A yes creates a handoff. Capture what the customer agreed to while the context is fresh, then make the follow-through easy for everyone involved.

Create structure for identifying, developing, and incentivizing advocates, and set internal expectations and processes around the work.²⁰ Record the chosen activity, the relationship owner, the agreed next action, and any internal approval still needed. Keep the original reason for participation with the record so later outreach still fits the customer's motive.

Use defined criteria for what qualifies someone as an advocate and a system to flag customers who meet those criteria.²¹ Review the list with the people who know the relationships, then keep the advocacy activity separate from general customer account work so a completed invitation does not disappear into routine follow-up.

What not to do

Recruiting breaks down when the team treats advocacy as a collection of lucky requests. Use these checks before adding another customer to the list.

• Do not rely on passive management for reviews, references, and referrals. A company may obtain some reviews and references without a dedicated effort,²² but as it acquires more customers, it can no longer passively manage these lead and brand-building sources.²³
• Do not keep qualifying criteria in someone's head. Identifying advocates requires defined criteria and a system for flagging customers who qualify.²¹
• Do not discard customers after their first referral. Customers who have already referred you, whether the referral is complete or in progress, are strong candidates to refer you again.²⁴