Converting Customers into Influential Advocates
Case Studies: See how customer advocates are developed into sales assets.
Authenticity wins: a small site drives big-market momentum
Challenge: Interest was fading for a long‑promised next‑gen robot. The strongest reference site had real proof but was rural, low‑visibility, and outside industry circles.
Opportunity: When the original champion left, the assistant and operations team stepped up. Their authenticity, values, and commitment to the technology became the foundation for rebuilding advocacy strength.
Activation:
- Rapid relationship building through focused, high-value meetings to reinforce confidence, clarify proof points, and align on messaging.
- Hosted on-site visits, virtual tours, and reference calls.
- Created a case study, conference presentation, webcasts, trade-press articles, blogs, and multiple videos.
Outcomes:
- 75% of closed deals in years 1-2 included a site visit to this advocate
- Featured in demand-gen campaigns that rebuilt the replacement pipeline to 70%
Savvy advocate claims market advantage
Challenge: A new, strategic automation solution delivered solid ROI, but wasn’t breaking through to a change-resistant audience.
Opportunity: A reference-site president loved their automation results. He positioned the automation as a competitive differentiator and opened the door to more storytelling and advocacy activities.
Activation:
- Hosted reference calls and on-site visits that showcased real-world outcomes.
- Developed a case study, trade-press articles, blog content, multiple videos, podcast and webcast to amplify the advocate story.
Outcomes:
- Multiple million-dollar closed deals
- Faster pipeline momentum
- Stronger demand-generation performance
First-person storytelling breaks through policy barriers
Challenge: A key advocate saw major ROI gains and wanted to share their story. But the site’s legal team enforced a strict “no‑marketing” policy for all vendors.
Opportunity: The advocate’s enthusiasm created an opening: a first‑person, advocate‑led narrative that complied with policy while still telling the story.
Activation:
- Shifted to an advocate‑told narrative using non‑branded references to the automation and services
- Hosted site visits, virtual tours, and reference calls
- Produced a conference presentation, academic article, thought leadership webcast
Outcomes:
- 100% closed rate for all site visits
- A two-month waitlist for pipeline deals seeking site visits
- Thought leadership content that boosted automation visibility and credibility
The advocate everyone wants — and how we scaled his time
Challenge: Kevin, a power user of advanced automation, quickly became a buyer favorite. His innovative workflows and practical insights made him one of the most sought‑after advocates in the network.
Opportunity: Demand surged. Buyers — and even internal development teams — wanted time with Kevin. Then an organizational merger added new responsibilities, threatening his ability to support advocacy activities.
Activation:
- Prioritized Kevin’s advocacy commitments to protect his time and maximize impact.
- Shifted to one‑to‑many virtual site visits to scale his reach.
- Supported sales with hosted visits, virtual tours, and reference calls.
- Amplified Kevin’s expertise through conference content, webcasts, a case study, video, blog, and an academic article.
Outcomes:
- Balanced Kevin’s workload so he could continue advocating through the merger
- Multiple million-dollar closed deals
- Maintained satisfaction among buyers waiting in queue
- Publicity around Kevin’s insights drove new attention to the automation, resulting in a fully loaded demand pipeline
