Scaling Customer Advocacy with the Right Support

Customer advocacy program launch and scalability concept with rocket and team support.

With so many customer marketing-focused conferences just around the corner, we thought it would be a perfect time to share a conversation we had at a recent gathering with a client of ours! At a recent customer marketing conference, advocacy leaders addressed one of the biggest challenges in the field: scaling programs without simply adding more headcount. One advocacy manager shared how their team managed 70–80 reference requests per month and why bringing in outside expertise was a turning point.

What challenges led you to seek customer marketing support?

"Our team was handling a high volume of reference requests, and we needed a way to scale efficiently. We couldn’t just keep adding people to manage demand—we needed a smarter way to structure our program."

How did external customer marketing support from Referential help?

"Expert guidance provided a roadmap for sustainable growth, helping us implement processes that reduced our operational burden while improving efficiency. The additional resources also allowed us to focus on more strategic initiatives."

What improvements have you seen?

"We reduced our workload by 15%, which freed up time for proactive customer engagement. The program also became more scalable and data-driven."

What advice would you give to others considering a customer marketing agency?

"Define success metrics upfront. Even a short-term engagement can provide the data you need to justify long-term investment in advocacy."

Final Thoughts

This story is a reminder that scaling advocacy isn’t just about doing more, but instead is about doing it smarter. With the right strategy, even a high-demand program can be optimized for long-term growth.


Ryan Quackenbush, Principal

If you were to rewind the clock on Ryan Quackenbush you’d find him jumping off stages at rock concerts and singing loudly in equally loud bands. Go back a bit further, and you’ll find a young – Keanu Reeves-looking – man aspiring to write the next great American novel while studying beatniks and black mountain poets and earning a degree in literature and creative writing from an Upstate New York (NY) college. Fast forward to today, and you’ll find an established Advocacy Consultant with a proven track record of results in the high-tech industry and experience that he draws on to guide his clients to success. Ryan was awarded the title of CMA Top 100 Influence and Strategist in 2024.

Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn

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