Customer Marketing and Advocacy: Why We Keep Going

In Customer Marketing and Advocacy

The last two years have seen a lot of corporate change that doesn’t always feel like progress. This seems especially true for customer marketing and advocacy. One minute, Customer Marketing & Advocacy (CMA) was the corporate darling of the early 2020s; the next, it was on the chopping block. By the end of 2024, company leaders seemed to wake up again to its strategic value. If you’ve felt like you’ve been riding a corporate yo-yo, you’re not alone.

In all this chaos, it’s easy to lose sight of why we do what we do. As a history buff (especially WWII), I think of an episode from Band of Brothers called Why We Fight. By April 1945, morale was low—soldiers had endured brutal losses, and the end still wasn’t in sight. Then came a moment that made it painfully, undeniably clear why they kept going.

Of course, CMA isn’t life and death. But reconnecting with why we chose this path—and why we evangelize and champion it every day—matters.

Customer Marketing and Advocacy Headwinds

Let’s be honest: plenty of executives like the idea of CMA but don’t fully grasp their role in making it successful. Sales teams beg for better advocate data but resist changing old freeform advocate hunting habits. IT is essential to scalable, efficient programs but the process of gaining their help often seems like an outtake from the movie Office Space. And sure, every function has its challenges, but let’s focus on our world for a moment.

So why do we stick with CMA? What keeps us coming back, even when it’s tough? Maybe one (or all) of these resonate with you:

1. You’re a Believer, Can’t Help It
   You’ve been that buyer, leaning on recommendations from friends, colleagues, or even strangers. These experiences provide confidence in your decision, and act as the final gate to action—buying! As a sales and marketing tool, there isn’t much better. You know firsthand how powerful advocacy is in decision-making. If you’ve been in CMA for even six months, you’ve seen your work’s direct impact—and it’s exhilarating.

1. Gratification from Cultivating Genuine Customer Relationships
   You thrive on connection. CMA isn’t about one-off transactions—it’s about fostering long-term relationships. You get to know customers, celebrate their wins, and help them navigate challenges. Customer-centric work is meaningful work.
2. Pride in Driving Meaningful Business Impact
   Your efforts fuel revenue growth, strengthen brand reputation, and boost customer retention. When you see customer marketing and advocacy move the needle—accelerating pipeline, increasing win rates, deepening loyalty—you know you’re making a real difference. But it’s not just about the business; you’re also making your co-workers’ jobs easier. Your work helps sales close deals faster, customer success drive stronger engagement, and marketing craft more compelling campaigns. When your colleagues succeed, they get noticed—leading to promotions, career growth, and new opportunities. You’re not just driving business impact; you’re helping build co-workers’ careers.
3. Joy Through Celebrating Customer Success
   You help customers shine. Whether it’s through customer videos, case studies, reference calls, events, or online communities, you’re elevating their voices and careers. When they credit your program as a factor in their success, it’s a reminder of just how important your work is.
4. Challenge from Multifaceted & Creative Work
   If you love variety, wearing multiple hats, you’re in the right place. Customer marketing and advocacy, in it’s best form, blends strategy, relationship management, storytelling, and data analysis (In fact, you likely have the best, cleanest data on your company’s most valuable customers). No two days are the same—and that keeps things exciting.
5. Satisfaction from Orchestrating Teamwork
   CMA is inherently cross-functional. You work across sales, marketing, customer success, product, and—if you’re smashing it—leadership. You have the unique ability to shape company-wide alignment around the customer. Whether noticed or not, this is a big deal and puts you in rarified air.
6. Pioneer in a Movement
   Yes, customer marketing and advocacy has its ups and downs—but the long-term trajectory is going up. Plenty of companies realize that customer advocacy isn’t just a “nice-to-have” but a strategic advantage that drives revenue, retention, and brand trust. Even though the concept of marketing and sales centered on customer advocates has been around for a while, it is still in its adolescent phase. There’s plenty of room to leave your mark.

1. Beyond that, this role is a gateway to marketing leadership. It sharpens skills in storytelling, community-building, cross-functional collaboration, and data-driven decision-making—all essential for CMOs and marketing executives. If you want to lead in marketing, understanding customers at this level gives you an undeniable edge.
2. And let’s be real—this is as customer-obsessed as it gets. If you’re in a culture that truly values its customers, your work will be at the heart of everything. If your company talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk, that’s on them, not you. Find the culture where you can thrive.
3. At its best, this job is just plain fun. You get to celebrate customer success daily, share the stories that any founder would dream of, and create programs that make customers feel seen, valued, and empowered. Yes, it can be challenging, but few roles are this gratifying and meaningful. If you embrace the ride, the opportunities are endless.

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