Are you looking to build a database of active customer references but don’t know where to start? Are you having trouble determining the ‘what, which and how’ of metrics you should track? Are there more questions than answers? …Or are you looking for a real, in-depth refresher course to help polish your resume and knowledge base?

With video meetings being our new normal, we want to present at least our top halves in the best way possible. So here are some tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your video conferencing!

Have you ever dived into fulfilling an urgent reference request only to spend the next precious minutes hopping back and forth between your CRM and reference management systems, verifying that you’re using the most up-to-date customer data to identify the best-matching reference? Having easy, seamless access to current, real-time data – like account ownership, product usage, customer location and contact titles – can make a world of difference in how efficiently you can hone in on an ideal match for a reference request.

Though each of our consultants dedicate their time and focus to the programs of specific clients, our team regularly exchanges tips and best practices with one another. As a result, we’re constantly building on our collective knowledge and enhancing our ability to serve the needs of different clients.

Everyone has their own methods for working remotely but it’s easy to slip into bad habits. There are, however, simple things you can do to make working at home as productive and healthy as possible.

As the US slowly starts to get back on its feet from the Covid-19 quarantine, businesses just like ours are starting to look at how we can adapt and overcome new social etiquettes. As the head of our video production team, it has been a challenge for me to develop new ways in which we are able to continue to create customer testimonial videos, but I have developed some strategies for navigating our new normal.

Although most advocacy professionals wouldn’t mind an extra pair of hands to help with the countless responsibilities in a day, not everyone is lucky enough to have personal assistance with general daily tasks. If you are in a position where you are constantly scheduling meetings with customers, you may find that the task is very time-consuming. Going back and forth in email to find a time to meet can be tedious and reduce productivity. In addition, it can be a hassle to determine the correct time zone and the appropriate meeting time when contacts are located in different regions.

Customer advocacy – the process of identifying and sharing the stories of success and delight from satisfied customers to educate prospective buyers about the value a company offers – has enormous potential to meet B2B buyer demand for peer references, and positively impact company revenue. To realize this potential, however, customer advocacy programs must be strategically designed to ensure advocacy efforts support the needs and interests of customers and align to broader business goals.

We all know that every company has a different view and investment in their customer advocacy program (if they even have a program at all). When going through a merger and acquisition (M&A), these are some helpful considerations to keep in mind while adapting your customer advocacy program to the new business.

As Advocacy Consultants a lot of our time is spent reaching out to and learning about customers, either via email, phone, at events or through the internal support and sales teams associated with a customer. Each time we make a connection, we find out new information; customer insights that need to be added to our reference management systems (RMS) to ensure the most up-to-date details are available to use. Of course, over time, this information can become old and incorrect, or gaps may appear, but inaccurate data is of little use to its users!