Episode #8: Trust in B2B is on Life Support

Let’s face it: The golden age of customer references is fading. Sure, once upon a time, a glowing review from a company kind of like yours was all it took to seal a deal. But today? Buyers are smarter, more skeptical, and honestly, tired of the same old formula. Why? Because no one trusts perfect anymore. (Just like ideal–is there really an “ideal” customer anymore? But that’s for another day.)

We’ve spent countless hours creating these beautifully polished advocacy programs, but now genuine recommendations are starting to feel more like carefully scripted ads. Customers see through the facade, and the cracks in the system are starting to show. The truth is, customer references—those tried-and-true endorsements we’ve relied on for decades—are no longer the unquestionable beacon of trust we think they are. People want real, raw feedback, and more and more, they’re wanting it from their own internal colleagues. And that’s the sweet spot; that’s where I think the future of advocacy lies.

Here’s why I think so:

• Trust isn’t built on perfection: Overly polished customer references risk coming across as inauthentic. Imperfections in feedback create a sense of realism and help build deeper trust.
• Internal voices carry more weight: Buyers increasingly want to hear from colleagues within their own organizations, not just external industry peers. Why? They bring an understanding of the company’s internal politics, infrastructure, and workflows. They know exactly how to break through the barriers of change management because they’ve lived it.
• Incentives can backfire: Over-reliance on incentives to drive advocacy can make endorsements feel transactional, causing skepticism.

So, what do we do about it?

My team and I began to lean into what we are calling Advocate Account-Based Marketing (or AABM for the cool kids). With AABM, we create targeted content specifically for–and more importantly, built with–advocates for the sole purpose of sharing it with their own, internal colleagues, driving expansion from within, not just externally. Since starting this approach, we’ve seen a ~30% increase in account expansion! We’ve even utilized AABM tactics (which you can read about in my blog) six months prior to renewal periods, which in turn improved our Net Revenue Retention (NRR). If you want to hear more, read my latest blog on what I’m calling the Trust Revolution and learn how AABM is changing the game for us.

Trust is evolving–don’t you think your strategy should too? It’s time to start aligning your advocacy efforts to emphasize transparency and real-world results, not just the same old vanity metrics we’ve come to love/hate so much.

Oh, and if you want to discuss this topic with a small group of practitioners, sign up for the CAP Roundtable I'm leading with my friends at Captivate next month.

We announced our 2024 CAP Awards finalists last week and we've been ridin' the wave of excitement ever since. This year's applications took it a notch up; so much goodness happening in the customer advocacy space these days. The good news: our winners have been selected! We feel like Santa on Christmas Eve, bursting with excitement to see everyone's faces light up when they open their gifts!?

We'll be presenting each winner live during CAP Awards Week, taking place next week. More info on that below. But for now, we wanted to highlight all our incredible finalists. It was TOUGH this year; some winners were separated by mere tenths of point. Let's just say we are glad we didn't have the hard task of judging our finalists (shoutout to our judges who did the heavy lifting ??).

Here are your 2024 CAP Awards finalists:

CAP Awards Week 2024

Sept. 16 - 20 | 11am CT each day [get your invites]

This is not your average awards show. It's a week-long celebration that gives you a front-row seat to innovation, excellence, and inspiration. We'll be unveiling the best of the best in customer advocacy, with 1-2 winners announced each day across our seven categories.

And you don't have to watch them all (though you can). You get to decide which categories excite you the most and we'll make sure you don't miss a beat. Just visit our awards week page and choose the categories you want to watch. You'll get calendar holds sent to you so you're ready to tune in and celebrate with your peers! Want to know when your favorite categories are happening? Here's the scoop:?

Lifecycle Advocacy Workshop

October 21, 2024 | 1pm - 4pm ET | Boston, MA?[Register]

We're hosting a Lifecycle Advocacy workshop with our friends at SlapFive, focusing on the evolution of B2B advocacy, lifecycle advocacy design, and providing hands-on exercises to facilitate your learning. If you're a CMA practitioner, CMA software or advocacy-minded leader who is ready for innovation, this workshop offers you the knowledge, concepts and methodology for expanding the world of customer collaboration at your organization.

Use this link to save your spot and get 30% off! Or, if you'll be at CustomerX Con, grab a combo ticket on their registration page.

CAP Roundtable w/Luis Gonzalez

October 10, 2024 | 12pm CT [Zoom Meeting]

Topic: Why Trust in Advocates is Declining & What You Can Do About It. ?

?Come hang out with us and Luis Gonzalez! Join us next month for an engaging session where we'll explore the evolving landscape of customer advocacy and trust in the B2B world. Featuring expert insights from Luis Gonzalez, Head of Global Customer Advocacy at Alteryx, this interactive 1-hour roundtable will dive into how internal references are becoming the new gold standard for building trust and driving business success. Register today.

Q: How do I create a survey for collecting customer evidence?

A: Use these plug-and-play templates from UserEvidence!?

To close deals in today’s market, you need customer evidence — and a lot of it. But collecting evidence takes time, effort, and survey-design skills many B2B marketers don’t have. These templates from our friends at UserEvidence are ready to go, backed by 10+ years of survey design experience. Put them to use!

Templates | UserEvidence

Q: I've got thoughts about the current CMA tech landscape–where can I share them?

A: Participate in Forrester's survey.

Forrester's upcoming Tech Tide? will explore the maturity and business value of several technology categories in the space and they want to hear from you! Now's your chance to share what's working for you and how you'd advise peers to invest (or divest). Take the short survey!

Survey | Forrester

Q: What makes up the right team for customer content creation?

A: Take a listen to our latest TATM episode for a hint.

Sam Shepler (CEO) & Dan Kalmar (Creative Director) of Testimonial Hero weigh in on all that goes into creating high quality customer content - and how you can start designing customer stories that stand out.

Podcast| Captivate Collective | Spotify | Vimeo

Flash Fiction

Let's practice our creative writing this month, shall we? Write a very short story (50 words or less) that includes the following words. It can be somewhat true, all true, or completely made up. If you have a good one, share it with us!

Words to include: Advocacy, Debate, Customer, Movement

Here's ours to help get your creative juices flowing:

The debate raged on about trust in B2B relationships. Our customer argued, "Trust isn’t built overnight; it’s our internal advocates who lead the way." The room got quiet and heads nodded in agreement. Trust wasn’t just a goal—it was a movement, and internal advocacy was the key to unlocking it.

Know some CMA badasses who would love the newsletter? Share it with them. Subscribe on LinkedIn or get the email newsletter delivered to your inbox a few days early.