Customer advocacy is often measured like demand gen, but what if it’s closer to brand?
Lauren Turner, CEO and Founder of CustomerCentrx, explains why advocacy is a long-term play, how communities can unlock retention rates as high as 99%, and why even unhappy customers can become your strongest allies when they feel heard. She also zooms into the importance of breaking down silos between marketing, success, sales, and product so customers experience one cohesive brand, not a fragmented one.
Lauren shares practical strategies for proving advocacy’s impact without relying on vanity metrics, plus how to embed advocacy into company culture from day one. And, in a fun twist, she draws lessons from improv comedy on active listening, iteration, and silencing your inner critic, which are skills every customer marketer can use.
What you’ll learn:
Episode Outline:
(00:00) Community as advocacy at scale
(00:32) Introducing Lauren Turner and CustomerCentrx
(01:27) From product to marketing to advocacy
(03:11) Why advocacy is more like brand than demand gen
(04:34) Long-term relationship plays vs. short-term revenue goals
(07:43) Turning unhappy customers into loyal allies
(09:36) Where to start when building a customer marketing function
(13:12) Breaking silos: aligning CS, marketing, sales, and product
(18:08) Measuring advocacy’s impact without vanity metrics
(24:25) How AI can support, but not replace, human connection
(29:56) Improv, balance, and lessons outside of work