Episode #4: There's no such thing as unbiased.

During a recent research presentation for a new customer advocacy program, one of our clients asked “How do we know if the results of our surveys are biased? What if customers are answering based on what they think we want to hear?” Those are great questions, but the truth is: we don’t know. We can’t control how people answer questions. Humans are inherently biased. We all experience things from unique perspectives, and no two people answer a question in quite the same way.?

There are ways to minimize the effects of our customers’ biases, but I think it’s even more important to examine the effects of our own biases as researchers (even when we are doing the good work of capturing the voice of our customers at scale). Confront our own confirmation bias. We’ve all experienced it: you hear something that aligns with your beliefs, so you accept it. You hear something that doesn’t feel true, so you assume it isn’t. But just because you expect something to be true or false doesn’t mean it is. (Mini hot take: leaning into bias and designing research, to favor a convenient, predetermined outcome is not research. It’s just bad practice.)?

Data is never going to be perfect, but bad data is worse than no data. If you’re not aware of the biases that relate to your research, you could see some negative consequences such as making bad decisions based on skewed data, continuing to make the same decisions (since you only accept ideas you already agree with), and possibly even damaging reputations of individuals, organizations or entire industries. Like I said, bad data is worse than no data.

So what do we do? We know we can’t eliminate bias completely, but can we reduce bias from our research? I think yes! Here’s my tips on how we attempt to eliminate bias when we conduct customer research for our clients here at Captivate Collective.

When designing your research:

• Get a good sample size. The more people you survey, the lower the margin of error.

• Don’t skew your results by skewing your pool. While you might focus on happy customers when sourcing a testimonial, your research pool needs to represent your entire customer base—or at least your target audience.?

• Consider multiple types of research. We recommend pairing quantitative research (e.g., reviewing metrics) with qualitative research (e.g., interviews).?

• Ask clear, specific questions. The more ambiguous your questions, the more you’ll have to interpret the answer later.

• Avoid leading questions. Don’t write a question to get a specific answer. (For example, “Why does our company have the best advocacy program you’ve ever seen?”)

• Allow for anonymity. People are more honest when they’re not worried about being judged for their answers.

When analyzing your research:?

• Document your hypothesis and be prepared to be wrong. This is a good best practice and provides you with something to compare your results against. Just remember: if your hypothesis is proven incorrect, that doesn’t mean the research is inaccurate.?

• Don’t allow a few loud voices to control the conversation. When reviewing long-form survey questions or interview answers, it’s easy to put more stock in the more verbose responses. Avoid this trap, or you’ll find yourself catering your program to a smaller audience than you intended.??

• Don’t focus on a single metric, especially if it proves your hypothesis. Base your findings on a wide range of evidence, not a single data point.

• If results are inconclusive, keep researching. Don’t extrapolate a conclusion from unclear data.

• Be transparent. When sharing your results, be clear about your methodology. Don’t contort the research to make a point that suits you.?

You can’t control every variable when it comes to conducting research, but you can undertake practices to limit your bias and become a better researcher. After all, if you only accept research that validates your point, why even bother with research in the first place?

Maybe dreams really do come true.

Ever wish you could have a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but not have to pay like a crazy amount to do it? Well apparently now you can! Airbnb introduces Icons, a new category of amazing experiences hosted by the greatest names in music, film, television, art, sports, and more. Icons let you step into worlds you’ve only ever dreamed of. Drift off in the Up house. Spend the night in the Ferrari Museum. Hang out with Kevin Hart. They'll have new experiences dropping around the world throughout the year. What would you do if you could?! Check it out.

?? What kind of experience would you create for your customers if money wasn't an issue??

Advocacy Vendor Speed Dating is right around the corner, and the timing for our fourth edition of the most unique B2B advocacy event out there couldn’t be better.

With more players than ever offering products and solutions to help you engage and activate your customer, now is the perfect time to evaluate your AdvoStack and take a closer look at how recognized players are evolving their products and the new ones entering the scene.

?This year, vendors will be bringing their own hot date (aka real customers - see above!) to tell their side of things, including the skinny on what they’ve actually gotten out of the relationship (like real business impact). It's our Customers Tell All edition and it's going to be ??!

You could win the Ultimate Date Experience just by registering! We're talking a $250 airline gift card, a $200 Ticketmaster gift card, and personalized Away travel bags for you and your plus one!

This is one date you won't want to miss.?

Talk Advocacy to Me w/Maureen Rice

May 14 | 11am CT | [Captivate Collective | TATM Live]

As the CMA landscape undergoes significant shakeup, are we ignoring powerful engagement tools already within reach? Customer success platforms can do a lot more than host health scores and retention playbooks. They offer ready access to a wealth of customer data points, a holistic view of customer touch points and the ability to design customer engagement journeys. So, why haven’t customer marketers tapped into this CS staple before? Maureen's trailblazing approach to customer marketing has significantly bolstered product adoption, expansion, satisfaction, and retention across ChurnZero's diverse customer base. She'll walk us through why she believes CSPs are an overlooked game-changer for identifying, nurturing and activating customer advocates for customer marketers. See you there.

CAP Certification: Summer Session

June 18 & 20 | All Day Virtual Event [Captivate Collective | Education]

Sharpen your competitive edge in customer advocacy alongside your peers with the CAP Certification series this summer. Class is in session with this special, two-day comprehensive course, featuring Captivate’s proven customer advocacy methodologies and best practices, from creating measurable business impacts to executing world-class advocacy programs. It's perfect for both the AdvoCurious and industry professionals looking to elevate their customer advocacy practices . And, because we know schedules are busy, you can opt to take one or both! Learn more.?

Q: Would you send all the customers in your contact list the same email?

A: As Amanda Natividad (VP of Marketing at SparkToro) says, "The people in your marketing list are all different. So why would we send them the same email?"

Check out her LinkedIn post about the simplest way to segment your campaigns based on the type of customer.

LinkedIn Post | Amanda Natividad

Q: How can I run a successful webinar?

A: Data! Knowing the numbers can help you make the right decisions.

Maxim Poulsen , Growth Manager at Contrast, spent 30+ hours analyzing Contrast's webinar data....talk about commitment. He shared a little webinar cheat sheet for you filled with some data around webinar setup, promotion, viewer engagement, and marketer's behaviors. Save yourself a copy. Maybe it'll help you with your next webinar! You can also find his guide to running B2B webinars that don't suck here.

Webinar Cheat Sheet | Maxim Poulsen

Q: Should I encourage comparisons in our reviews??

A: Science says, yes!

Read this 3-minute summary of a scientific study all about comparison reviews from Ariyh.

Study | Ariyh

Q: How can I prove the business value of community?

A: Check out this fun workbook from Rebecca Marshburn from her CMX Summit workshop all about doing just that!?

We especially like the self-evaluation activity on pages 28-34!?

Workbook?| Rebecca Marshburn

Rebel Words

We've provided some sentences related to customer advocacy. Fill in the blanks with the most unconventional words you can think of! If you come up with some good ones, share them with us in the comments!

1. Repeat after me: __________ before software.
2. In the world of customer advocacy, we always keep our eyes peeled for the most __________ opportunities.
3. When customers need help, our support team swoops in like a pack of __________ to save the day.
4. Customer advocacy is as important as __________.

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