Stage 7 (Advocate) Data Summit Roundtable: "Community & Ecosystem Vision"

Summit Context and Core Challenges

As part of the Value-First Data Summit's journey through all 8 Value Path stages, this Advocacy roundtable brought together Casey Hawkins, Rylee Powell, Matt Bolian, and Mattheus Swinkels to address the complexities of internal versus external advocacy. This session, positioned between the Customer and Champion stages, revealed the nuanced perspectives on fostering genuine advocacy within organizations.

Expert Insights: Differentiating Internal and External Advocacy

The discussion began with the fundamental question of whether internal and external advocacy should be treated separately. This core challenge highlighted the various ways organizations can foster advocacy both within their teams and among their customer base. The consensus was that while both forms of advocacy are crucial, they require different strategies and approaches to be effective.

Key Perspectives from Casey Hawkins on Advocacy Nuances

Casey Hawkins shared significant insights into the nuances of advocacy.

"People can be evangelists without becoming a customer, without ever having a deal. Like, you can be an evangelist. It being a linear progression through that doesn’t make any sense to me."

• Key point shared with Summit attendees: Casey emphasized that advocacy is not a linear progression but rather a result of positive experiences.
• Contrarian view that sparked discussion: Casey’s view that people can advocate for a brand without being customers challenged the traditional notion of advocacy.
• Implementation tip for Summit participants: Focus on creating positive experiences for everyone who interacts with your brand, not just customers.

Rylee Powell's Take on Authentic Customer Engagement

Rylee Powell brought a refreshing perspective on authentic customer engagement.

"To me, like, this stage specifically almost transcends relational context. Like, it doesn’t really matter if you’re internally an advocate for something or if you’re externally an advocate."

• Their unique Summit contribution: Rylee’s contribution highlighted the importance of transcending relational contexts and focusing on genuine enthusiasm.
• Case study that resonated with attendees: Rylee shared examples of how positive experiences, even without direct transactions, can lead to advocacy.
• What they urged Summit participants to stop doing: Stop obsessing over traditional tracking metrics and focus on enabling genuine connections.

Matt Bolian on the Power of Community and Authenticity

Matt Bolian’s insights shed light on the importance of community and authenticity in advocacy.

"We have camp- Like, I literally measure how many times someone wears a T-shirt of Supered on pictures, on LinkedIn. That’s our measurement."

• Key point shared with Summit attendees: Matt emphasized the power of community-driven metrics over traditional attribution models.
• Contrarian view that sparked discussion: Challenged the effectiveness of rigid attribution models in fostering genuine advocacy.
• Implementation tip for Summit participants: Create frameworks that prioritize community and authentic engagement over traditional metrics.

Mattheus Swinkels' Approach to Celebrating Customer Success

Mattheus Swinkels focused on the importance of celebrating customer success to foster advocacy.

"I think everyone can be a fan of you like, like Casey said about Super- I think I have four ... I have referred three or four people to Super and I don’t use it myself yet, because I just like the way they are doing things."

• Key point shared with Summit attendees: Mattheus highlighted the importance of celebrating small wins and positive experiences.
• Contrarian view that sparked discussion: Emphasized the role of emotions and celebrations over data in creating advocates.
• Implementation tip for Summit participants: Regularly celebrate customer successes internally and share those stories to inspire advocacy.

The Summit Breakthrough

This session’s insights connected strongly with the overall theme of the Summit, which is value first. The discussion on advocacy challenged the traditional metrics-driven approach and instead highlighted the importance of genuine connections and community-driven metrics. It also contrasted with other sessions by emphasizing emotional engagement over data.

Practical Implementation from the Summit

• 3 specific changes Summit attendees committed to:

  • Shifting focus from traditional metrics to community-driven measures.
  • Celebrating customer successes more frequently and authentically.
  • Encouraging internal teams to share positive experiences and stories.

• Warning signs discussed across multiple sessions:

  • Over-reliance on traditional attribution models can stifle genuine advocacy.
  • Ignoring the emotional aspect of customer engagement may lead to disconnection.

• Success indicators that align with other stages:

  • Increased organic mentions and shares on social platforms.
  • Higher engagement rates from both internal teams and customers.

Summit Journey Continues

This Advocacy discussion built on insights from the Customer stage and set up critical understanding for the Champion stage. The complete Summit recordings provide a holistic view of how each stage interconnects, emphasizing the importance of value-first approaches across the entire Value Path journey. By focusing on genuine engagement and community-driven metrics, organizations can foster stronger advocacy and drive sustainable growth.