Executive support. We all know it’s important. When I hear a client or prospect say, “I’ve got executive support,” I ask, “What’s that look like?” You may know where I’m going with this. There are different flavors of “support,” and they are not equal.
To be fair, I don’t think all program managers articulate what they need in terms of executive support. When you hear an executive say, “This is important to me. Let me know how I can help.” that’s a good start, but not in and of itself the definition of executive support. You cannot expect an executive to know what you need from them to make your program successful. This is on you.
You’ll need different things at different times. Let’s separate what’s required in terms of leadership involvement (1) leading up to and including program launch, and then (2) post-launch.
Specifically, what does executive support look like?
In short, it is explicit, not passive involvement. It is visible actions to back up words (which do matter). It is sustained rather than fleeting interest.
Channels
The medium may be written (email, Slack/Teams), video (internal communications videos), or spoken (team or all-hands meetings); whatever has proven to be the most effective channel(s).
Cadence
Communication is not a one-and-done task. You know the adage: “Tell ’em what you’re going to tell ’em; then tell ’em; then tell ’em what you told ’em.” That all applies here. Work with leaders on a recurring communications plan; build a communications calendar. The cadence could be weekly to start, then bi-weekly, and ultimately monthly. But it should never stop.
Content
It’s easier to edit than to create. Some executives completely get the value of customer advocates. Some understand it intellectually, but it isn’t yet emotionally internalized. The latter group could benefit from your guidance. Write some or all of the suggested pieces for them.
Pre-Launch
Build excitement, set expectations.
Post-Launch
Strategic Planning Inclusion
“Getting a seat at the table” is the ultimate goal for many customer marketing managers. That means being invited to key planning meetings that include directors, VPs and CxOs. These meetings give program managers critical visibility into upcoming advocate needs for email campaigns, webinars, earnings calls, digital marketing, etc. You can then suggest ways in which the program can help; ways which no one would have thought of without you being in the conversation.
Executives have the influence needed to get you that seat. Once they understand the advocate expertise you have and the “assets” the program has to offer, they’ll be able to identify advocate opportunities: “That’s a great idea! Did you talk to customer marketing to get their thoughts? They have some strong advocates in that segment you should leverage.” Customer marketing is still a relatively young function and often not considered the strategic discipline that it should be. Changing this perception may take persistence and change management effort on your part. But, the benefits to the organization are worth it!
Their participation ensures they understand what’s working and what’s not, which they can help solve. They can bring big picture perspective into the conversations. Likewise, the more they know about the program the more they can infuse executive conversations with insights into how customer advocates are being used across the enterprise, which will likely spark creative customer advocate applications.
I’ve laid out how we believe executive support should work. If the version of it at your company doesn’t include the elements described above, you don’t have it—yet. If you’re not sure how to get it, read our post: How to Capture and Keep CxO Engagement. In short, you must think like an executive and talk in terms of their areas of interest, their priorities, and connect the dots to your program. Do not assume they will connect those dots on their own.
Don’t be shy about asking for genuine support from your executives. The ask alone sets an expectation: Customer reference management is a team sport, and executives are on that team.
As this infographic illustrates, a mature advocacy program is responsible for continuously identifying advocates, maintaining accurate advocacy data, protecting customer relationships, and aligning with top company goals to accelerate growth.
The infographic contains six key components. Here's a description of each for you to translate into your own talking points.
Every advocate starts as a customer.
The journey begins when account teams, customer success managers, support teams, and services organizations create positive experiences that build trust and confidence.
As customers achieve success, some become enthusiastic supporters of the company, its products, and its people. These customers are identified as potential advocates and introduced to the advocacy team.
The advocacy team interviews these individuals, learns about their experiences, captures important details about their interests and expertise, and creates a searchable advocate profile.
The result is a discoverable advocate: someone who can be found, matched, and engaged when the business needs credible customer voices.
Without this process, valuable customer relationships remain hidden inside co-workers’ heads or team spreadsheets, unavailable to the broader organization.
Great advocates are rarely discovered by the advocacy team alone. It’s really just too much to ask of any one part of the organization. Every customer touchpoint plays a part in cultivating and retaining advocates.
Customer success managers see customer enthusiasm firsthand. Account teams hear success stories during business reviews. Support teams witness customer loyalty. Product teams interact with passionate users who influence future direction.
A successful advocacy program creates a systematic way for all customer-facing teams to identify and nominate potential advocates, as well as a means for customers to self-identify..
Think of it as building a talent pipeline.
The broader the participation across the organization, the stronger and more diverse the advocate community becomes.
This collective effort ensures the advocacy database reflects the full spectrum of customer success stories across industries, products, geographies, and use cases.
The advocacy team serves as the steward of the organization's advocacy data.
Their responsibilities fall into three primary areas.
First, they recruit continuously. Advocates change jobs, priorities shift, and customer enthusiasm naturally evolves over time. Maintaining a healthy advocacy community requires constant replenishment.
Second, they keep information current. Customer stories, product deployments, business outcomes, and willingness to participate all change. Outdated advocacy data quickly becomes unreliable.
Third, they measure and report value. Advocacy programs must demonstrate their contribution to business outcomes such as customer acquisition, retention, and expansion.
Beyond maintaining records, the advocacy team actively shapes the composition of the database to align with company growth objectives. This is essential if the program is to be seen by executives as a strategic lever vs. a low-level function an intern can run.
If the company’s strategic direction includes expanding into healthcare, launching a new product, selling through a new channel, entering Asia, or targeting a specific buyer persona, the advocacy team ensures the advocate population evolves accordingly.
In many ways, they function as portfolio managers for one of the company's most valuable assets: customer credibility.
Most organizations initially think of advocacy as a sales resource.
Sales certainly benefits from customer references, but advocacy creates value far beyond the sales organization.
The common thread is credibility.
Advocates provide something no marketing budget can purchase directly: authentic proof from real customers.
Most mature advocacy programs include additional components that extend value for both advocates and the business.
These activities are connected mechanisms that strengthen relationships, increase engagement, and create additional opportunities for customers to contribute.
Together, they help transform advocacy from a transactional activity into an ongoing customer experience.
The ultimate purpose of customer advocacy is not activity.
It is business impact.
In Summary
Advocates are valuable assets. The advocacy team's job is to make sure those assets are available when needed, protected from burnout, and aligned with the organization's most important priorities.
When done well, customer advocacy transforms customer success into measurable business value. It is an enterprise capability built on trusted relationships, reliable data, and authentic customer voices.
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