Intersection of Quality in Relationships & Data | CMA Podcast

About this Episode

Featured Guest: Maria Sturgeon

On this episode of The CustomerX Files, Alison is joined by Maria Sturgeon, the Head of Customer Reference Programs at Stripe for a deep dive into how quality relationships and data intersect to drive success in customer advocacy ad reference programs.

Maria is well known in the CMA industry for her collaborative approach to customer advocacy and sales acceleration. She and Alison chat about the ways to best establish a foundation of trust with stakeholders when new to a role or organization and just how critical the data within an organization is to getting a program off the ground. Maria shares insights on how to simultaneously drive qualitative and quantitative results for any program, new or existing. And, how to take those results to keep nurturing a reference program into a full-blown advocacy initiative.

The conversation centers on the vital role of data quality in launching and scaling effective customer initiatives. Maria shares concrete insights on balancing both qualitative (relationship insights, storytelling, stakeholder feedback) and quantitative (metrics, usage data, performance indicators) elements to inform decisions and demonstrate program value.

Key Takeaways for Listeners

• Building trust quickly: Maria offers perspectives on how to establish credibility early in a new role by listening, learning organizational priorities, and aligning advocacy metrics with broader business goals.

• Data-informed advocacy: The conversation highlights how good data practices enable customer reference teams to go beyond gut feelings—using meaningful metrics to prove impact, refine strategies, and prioritize high-value advocates.

• Balancing qualitative + quantitative outcomes: Listeners learn how leaning into both data-driven insights and relationship intelligence creates deeper engagement, stronger advocacy pipelines, and more strategic storytelling.

• Nurturing advocacy into strategy: Maria discusses ways to evolve a customer reference initiative into a fully integrated advocacy program that fuels customer marketing, product storytelling, and revenue acceleration.

Listen in to discover how customer marketers can balance relationship building and data quality to scale advocacy programs and prove business value.