customer marketing

Praval is the VP of marketing at ZOHO. He has held several positions there over the past 10 years where the company has grown nearly 10X. He spoke about Zoho's marketing evolution, How they think of branding, his pet peeves in SaaS marketing and more in his conversation with Roshan Cariappa.

Topics:
00:00 Introduction
01:42 What changes in the 2-5-10 year journey
06:05 What sets Zoho apart from other companies
09:36 Evolution of Zoho's Marketing over the past decade
13:56 What is a typical day like for Praval
17:51 What does Praval's daily MIS look like
19:08 Bringing marketers closer to customers
23:49 Customer Marketing 
28:45 Building a community as a moat
31:48 What does the community team do 
34:13 Zoho's field marketing genius 
36:39 Branding at Zoho
40:54 Working with Sridhar Vembu
43:05 Praval's Pet Peeves in SaaS marketing
45:46 Quantitative v/s qualitative feedback
47:44 Career advice for Freshers in Marketing
50:44 Books and Podcast recommendations

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Connect with Praval :
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/praval/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Praval

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Connect with Us: 
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator
​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​

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While many growth marketers consider customer churn a barrier to success, most fail to consider just how top-of-funnel churn really is.

On this FINITE Podcast, Jesus Requena, VP Growth Marketing at Figma, shares how reducing customer churn is, yes, about recapturing the interest of waning users, but also about acquiring the right users in the first place.

Jesus' extensive background in self-serve SaaS marketing has given him incredible insights into the details of customer retention, and we're so pleased he delivered his key takeaways on this episode of the FINITE Podcast.

The FINITE Podcast is made possible by 93x, the leading digital marketing agency for B2B technology, software & SaaS businesses delivering SEO & PPC strategy that drives leads, pipeline & revenue growth.

And Terminus: the only account-based engagement platform built to deliver more pipeline and revenue through multi-channel ABM.

Aakriti Bhargava is the co-founder of Wizikey, an expert at PR & Communications, and a SaaSBOOMi volunteer. Aakriti has been into PR for 16 years, worked with Naukri.com learning the ropes of PR and has run an agency helping 300+ entrepreneurs, before starting Wizikey, a media intelligence platform.

In this episode Arvind Parthiban explores all things PR for a startup with Aakriti. 

Here are the key take aways.

2:55 How PR agencies work?

6:13 PR’s impact on Cost of Acquisition & Valuation

8:55 Directly reaching out to the media v/s working with a PR agency

10:20 The Why now & Who cares factors

12:51 Right time to start PR

17:40 Breaking down PR : Signalling

19:50 Trendjacking

20:20 How do you consistently get covered in the press?

25:17 PR for Organic Lead generation

27:30 Levers of PR

31:32 How do you measure PR

37:55 How to work with PR agencies the best way?

42:22 Biggest peeve in PR

42:38 Favourite PR agency

43:31 Favourite PR hack

43:41 Top 3 media information sources

44:10 One advice to startup founders

Happy listening! 

In this episode of the State of Customer Storytelling podcast, the Founder of grwth.co, Mosheh Poltorak, joins to talk about what is needed when starting a customer marketing program. 

Customer marketing is not a one-size-fits-all thing. As Mosheh points out, testimonials and customer videos can be used in every part of the marketing funnel. He talks about what marketers need to consider when starting their customer marketing programs, like what you plan to use customer stories for and whether you want a customer story from each group of your customer base.

By doing these things, you will make it easier for the sales team to identify the best customers to ask for a story from. And if you are a person who hates to ask customers for favors, Mosheh recommends making customer marketing part of the onboarding process, so they are aware from the beginning. 

Join us for this episode to hear all that and more.

To learn more about Testimonial Hero and the importance of customer storytelling, go to testimonialhero.com.

In this episode of the State of Customer Storytelling podcast, Mike Jeffs, Customer Marketing Director at Mavenlink (which is now part of Kantata), talks about cross-functional customer marketing and case deflection.

Mike explains that information gathered from customer marketing benefits everyone in a company. As such, the customer marketing and customer support teams can do a lot to add value to the initiatives of other departments, like sending out NPS surveys. By getting other departments involved in customer advocacy interactions, companies can produce better products and services that the customer wants.

Mike also details how he worked to build a search engine to answer all customer questions as quickly as possible. Doing this meant his customers didn’t need to wait for an answer and could find it quickly and easily directly from the company, building trust in the process. Mike emphasizes that trust and speed are the keys to creating lasting customer relationships. 

To learn more about Testimonial Hero and the importance of customer storytelling, go to testimonialhero.com. 

In this episode of the State of Customer Storytelling podcast, Ari Hoffman, Global Director of Customer Advocacy at Crowdvocate, talks about the art of making friends for a living.

Not originally from a marketing background, Ari offers a fresh perspective on customer advocacy as he shares how he gets his customers to be enthusiastic about telling their stories. Ari is all about building relationships with customers and warns against making customer marketing feel too transactional.

Ari divulges his best practices for customer advocacy, the biggest of which is doing something for your customer first to show that you are on their side and are willing to do for them what you want them to do for you. And when it comes down to getting stories from customers, he emphasizes the importance of video. Video can easily be turned into podcasts, reviews, and so on, but it can’t be done the other way around. 

This is an insightful conversation that shouldn’t be missed.

To learn more about Testimonial Hero and the importance of customer storytelling, go to testimonialhero.com.

In this episode of the State of Customer Storytelling podcast, the Head of Marketing at GetAccept, Tara Pawlak, breaks down what she thinks is wrong with the generally-accepted definition of customer marketing.

Tara takes issue with the definition of customer marketing as essentially having customers do marketing for a company. She finds a lot of approaches to customer marketing to be more about the business and less about the customer and she thinks that’s wrong. As she points out, companies only stay in business because of their customers, so they should always be put first, even in marketing. 

Tara’s approach to customer marketing goes against the grain and she details how she built a customer marketing program from the ground up at GetAccept. She emphasizes the importance of listening to customer feedback, good and bad, and making changes for each customer to improve their experience before asking them for their stories.

You create a much more enthusiastic and supportive customer marketing program by going above and beyond for your customers and getting to know them more personally. 

To learn more about Testimonial Hero and the importance of customer storytelling, go to testimonialhero.com.

In this episode of the State of Customer Storytelling podcast, Emma Miller-Crimm, Head of Customer Marketing at Snapdocs, breaks down the process of how she built a customer marketing strategy from the ground up. Originally, she used traditional channel marketing but then she saw the potential in customer marketing and changed her whole strategy.

Emma’s approach to customer marketing is incredibly thorough. She carries out research on the entire industry as well as the individual customers. This enables her to deliver the most personalized experience possible to every customer. She puts effort into creating reviews for her clients so that all they need to do is approve and post them. By doing this she makes the customer experience effortless.

Emma also goes above and beyond by making sure the sales team is armed with plenty of ideas and gifts that suit each customer. She created her own gold standard for customer marketing at Snapdocs. She makes sure that everyone involved has access to all the necessary information and resources needed to deliver the best and easiest experience possible to the customers. 

To learn more about Testimonial Hero and the importance of customer storytelling, go to testimonialhero.com. 

In this episode of the State of Customer Storytelling podcast, Scott Grimes, Founder, and Andru Creighton, Head of Sales at Orca sit down to talk about the benefits of having customer advocacy software. 

Scott and Andru share Orca’s origin story and tell us how they were able to build a whole business around customer advocacy. They go into detail about their software and share ways customer advocacy software can streamline the process and track relevant data.

Scott and Andru also divulge their own customer advocacy philosophies and strategies, including how customer marketing helps sales in the long run. They also take special care to emphasize the importance of doing your homework as a customer advocate because if you don’t, you can’t build a successful customer marketing program for your company.

They delve into the importance of knowing your customers. Knowing them is key, not only for giving them incentives in exchange for stories but also for being able to recognize if they are beginning to feel burnt out. Knowing your customers keeps them happy. 

To learn more about Testimonial Hero and the importance of customer storytelling, go to testimonialhero.com.

In this episode of the Customer Storytelling podcast, Lifecycle Marketing Manager at Permutive, Robbert van der Pluijm, sits down to talk about the best practices for interacting with customers and getting great stories from them. 

Robbert emphasizes the importance of thought leadership when it comes to sharing a business’s message. He details the importance of customer stories and what he and his team do to get the best customer stories possible.

Robbert and his team keep customers involved and informed through customer advisory boards and a global customer newsletter. Both are tools to help gather customers in person, make them feel special, get customer story videos, and keep them informed of any changes in the company or its products. Robbert also explains how to handle customers that are “frenemies” and avoid stepping on any toes.

Join us for this episode to hear all that and more.

To learn more about Testimonial Hero and the importance of customer storytelling, go to testimonialhero.com. 

In this episode of the Customer Storytelling podcast, Leslie Barrett, Director of Customer Marketing and Advocacy at Sendoso, chats with us about why customer stories matter for businesses and gives us her best tips for getting great customer stories.

Leslie discusses the many methods she uses not only to get great customer stories but also to motivate customers to want to send in their stories. Gone are the days when a simple anonymous online review was enough to entice customers. Leslie explores why this is and what businesses need to do now in order to attract people.

As a customer advocate at Sendoso, Leslie needs to be there for customers from a wide variety of industries, some with more regulations on gifts than others. As a result, she has a whole arsenal of tricks up her sleeve to get the most out of customer stories. She shares the most successful ones in this episode as part of her three pillars of customer advocacy. In addition, Leslie goes beyond how to just get customer stories as she dives into the best formats for them in today’s market. 

Join us for this episode to hear all that and more.

To learn more about Testimonial Hero and the importance of customer storytelling, go to https://www.testimonialhero.com/. 

Our guest today is Gabi Contreras, Customer Marketing Manager at Observe.AI.

Observe.AI is an Intelligent Workforce Platform that transforms contact centers by embedding AI into 100% of customer conversations, optimizing agent performance, and automating repeatable processes that drive revenue and retention.

Gabi and I talk about building great relationships with your customers and the one thing keeping many of us from making more sales. We also talk about customer exchange sessions, how to build value quickly, repackaging existing content, and arming your sales team with tools to get more sales faster.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Tips for getting quick wins when starting your customer advocacy program
• Tools that make your sales team’s job much easier
• How to create win-win advocate scenarios for you and your customers
• How to quickly overcome common sales roadblocks

Links & Resources

• Trustpilot
• Capterra
• G2
• Testimonial Hero
• Follow Testimonial Hero on Twitter
• Follow Sam on Twitter
• Email Sam at Testimonial Hero

Gabi Contreras’ Links

• Observe.AI’s website
• Gabi’s LinkedIn page

Today on the show we’re talking with Evan Jacobs, Head of Customer Marketing at Chainalysis.

Prior to working at Chainalysis he was the Director of Customer Marketing at Catchpoint, the Senior Manager of Global Customer Advocacy at Akamai Technologies, and the Senior Manager of Customer Marketing & Advocacy at Rapid7. Evan has a lot of experience in the customer marketing and customer advocacy space.

Evan shares tips on partnering with your customer success team and being a bridge between marketing and customer success. We talk about capturing customer stories in traditionally challenging industries, the power of video, creating atomized, snackable content, and much more.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The one thing your competitors can’t copy
• Three things successful customer marketers do
• How to capture customer stories in challenging industries
• Why you need different mediums for sharing customer stories

Links & Resources

• Testimonial Hero
• Follow Testimonial Hero on Twitter
• Follow Sam on Twitter
• Email Sam at Testimonial Hero

Evan Jacobs’ Links

• Evan’s LinkedIn page
• Chainalysis’ website

Our guest on Today’s show is Scott K. Wilder, Global head of Customer Engagement and Community at HubSpot.

Scott advises early stage companies on customer advocacy and community, and has over 15 years of experience in building programs, platforms, and products from scratch.

In today’s episode Scott and I talk about the idea of customer-led growth, and why humanizing a brand is so powerful. We also talk about co-designing your advocacy program with your customers, how to get started with advocacy—particularly with smaller companies—and much more.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Three things you need to understand about your customer
• Scott’s holistic approach to effective advocate marketing
• Customer advocacy tips for early-stage companies
• Why co-designing an advocacy program with your customer is so useful

Links & Resources

• Shawn Callahan: Putting Stories to Work: Mastering Business Storytelling
• Testimonial Hero
• Follow Testimonial Hero on Twitter
• Follow Sam on Twitter
• Email Sam at Testimonial Hero

Scott K. Wilder’s Links

• HubSpot
• Scott’s LinkedIn page
• Email Scott

Today on the show we have a fantastic guest. Virginia Bryant is Director of Customer Marketing at GitHub.

Virginia and I talk about turning your marketing assets into content across multiple formats, and how to deliver the most value through that content. We talk about the importance of video as a marketing tool and its powerful ability to resonate emotionally with your customers.

We also talk about the advantages of building a customer media company in your business. Virginia shares her strategies on setting and achieving your goals, how to align your marketing strategy around those goals, and much more.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to start creating great customer stories
• Principles for getting customers to participate in your stories
• Tips for using your customer stories across different formats and mediums
• Current trends and Virginia’s predictions for customer marketing

Links & Resources

• Testimonial Hero
• Follow Testimonial Hero on Twitter
• Follow Sam on Twitter
• Email Sam at Testimonial Hero

Virginia Bryant’s Links

• GitHub
• The GitHub ReadME Project and Podcast
• Virginia’s LinkedIn page

Today I’m speaking with Adam New-Waterson, a Fractional Executive at HYE Partners.

Adam and I talk about the tradeoffs between short-form and long-form content, and why long-form content is still important. We discuss the best time to capture customer content, and how to use that content to expand into new markets.

We also talk about marketing as an art and a science. How your customers can sell your solutions for you, and why you should include your content throughout the buyer’s journey. All that, and more, on today’s episode.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to get authentic, trustworthy customer stories that sell
• A powerful technique for convincing prospective buyers
• How to captivate an audience with a short attention span
• Tips for navigating contract and legal issues surrounding customer stories

Links & Resources

• Testimonial Hero
• Follow Testimonial Hero on Twitter
• Follow Sam on Twitter
• Email Sam at Testimonial Hero

Adam New-Waterson’s Links

• Adam ‘s LinkedIn page

My guest today is Emily Amos. She is the Founder at Uplift Content. Uplift Content is a boutique B2B SaaS content creation studio. Uplift Content has a track record of success with high-growth companies like Okta, LeanData, ON24, and many others.

Uplift Content uses the voice of the customer to close bigger deals faster with done-for-you case studies. They also support many B2B companies with eBooks, white papers, and a robust selection of other content.

On today’s show we talk about why you should break up your customer stories into different pieces of micro content. We talk about the buyer’s journey and the nuances of customer storytelling throughout their journey. We also discuss interview tips and trends, why first impressions matter, and why quality and authenticity aren’t mutually exclusive.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why customer videos make purchasing decisions easy for buyers
• Emily’s proven strategies for interviewing your customers
• How to get more sales by mapping out the buyer’s journey 
• How to consistently have great first impressions with your customers

Links & Resources

• Testimonial Hero
• Follow Testimonial Hero on Twitter
• Follow Sam on Twitter
• Email Sam at Testimonial Hero

Emily Amos’ Links

• Uplift Content’s website
• Uplift Content’s LinkedIn page
• Emily’s LinkedIn page

In this episode I talk with Jeff Gabel, Customer Advocacy Lead at ServiceNow.

ServiceNow is one of the fastest‑growing cloud enterprise software companies in the world, with steady double‑digit annual growth. ServiceNow has 6,900 customers who rely on the Now Platform®—an intelligent, intuitive cloud platform—for their digital transformation.

Jeff and I talk about the focus on human stories and why they are more important than ever. We talk about understanding the different personas in your advocacy program, and letting customers find out what drives them. Jeff tells us how to make reference calls a two-way exchange of value, and why being cross-functional with your sales and marketing teams leads to a better understanding of their roles in the process.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How Jeff builds trust with customers
• Jeff’s nuanced approach to getting the best customer stories
• Tips for getting the most out of reference calls
• Where to start on your customer advocacy journey

Links & Resources

• Testimonial Hero
• Follow Testimonial Hero on Twitter
• Follow Sam on Twitter
• Email Sam at Testimonial Hero

Jeff Gabel’s Links

• Follow Jeff on Twitter
• ServiceNow
• Find Jeff on LinkedIn

With me today on the show is James Lustenader, Senior Customer Advocacy Manager at Planview.

James specializes in SaaS marketing, multimedia communications, competitive positioning strategy,  content creation and design, database management, client/customer relations, and more.

I talk with James about how micro-content video testimonials are revolutionizing traditional sales funnels. James shares his thoughts on the persuasion power of customer videos, how to capture great customer testimonials in a virtual setting, what metrics to look at to measure your strategies’ effectiveness, and much more.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to capture authentic customer videos
• Why your company needs a multi-site online review strategy
• Best practices in preparing for video interviews
• James’ top Salesforce dashboard metrics

Links & Resources

• Testimonial Hero
• Follow Sam on Twitter
• Email Sam at Testimonial Hero

James Lustenader’s Links

• James’ LinkedIn page
• Planview’s website