There are case studies and there are customer stories. You’d think it’s a similar concept with different names. But what if it’s not?

A question I have seen come up on many occasions: is there a particular number of customers that a B2B company needs to recruit before starting an advocacy program?

There is often a magic number used – especially among large global businesses – and that a customer advocacy program should include 35% of your customer base. However, I believe you can start on a much smaller scale.  And it’s all about ROI.

“Where shall we eat?” I asked my friend when we were at the mall. “Oh, I’ve heard there’s a restaurant close by which is excellent - my mom swears by it,” she said. So off we went to have lunch there, and true to expectations, it was very good.

Now this might seem very normal to ask our friends, relatives, and colleagues for their thoughts, recommendations and reviews of just about anything. In fact, the world over, most of us love talking about the brands that we like, love and hate, and why we feel that way: HubSpot even says that consumers discuss specific brands casually 90x per week.

You may be asking yourself if there’s more you can do to stand out from your competition. Perhaps by showcasing more effectively the benefits your products and services bring your customers in their everyday life and work. And you’d be right to keep questioning.

But have you considered the importance of creating your own Customer Evidence Program?

It all stems from the age-old wisdom that your customer’s voice is “louder“ than your own. When your customers are happy, you can’t have better advocates.

We are just back from our networking and educational experience at the Summit on Customer Engagement (SCE19). Putting a little tiredness aside from the 22-hour return trip to San Francisco and jet lag, we couldn’t wait to share a round-up of what our team took away.

Customer Evidence is a must-have for any company wanting to build trust or strengthen its market position. This explains why most already have at least a few customer stories – or case studies – published on their website. But for many companies, that’s it. The content is produced, they’re happy about it, they promote it across different platforms, and they move on.

Let’s imagine you’re in charge of your company’s Customer Evidence Program, and the end of tax year is looming. As usual, your boss asks “How did your program perform this year?” as a prelude to next year’s budget planning. Now, do you have meaningful info to answer that question?  

If you’re already running a CE Program, I’ll give you 10 seconds to respond. If you have a great answer please put it on the comments, otherwise I hope this article will spare you some headaches.

If you’re not running a program yet, please read on, you won’t regret it. And by the way, have you already contacted Melis Hamurculu, our CE expert for a free consultation? 

Good customer evidence tells an interesting story.

It can be a short clip, a written story or anything in between. But one thing these all have in common is that they tell a story about your customer. A story so gripping that you want to watch or read till the very end. One that won’t see you skipping to the end because you don’t want to miss any ounce of the information right at the very the middle.

 More and more businesses are getting interested in customer evidence and with good reason. It’s not enough anymore to stick with traditional sales and marketing methods, with cold calls and bombarding customers with slogans and jingles in TV ads. Right now, everyone craves a relatable, authentic, and engaging story.

But while you might have such customer evidence in place, such as your case studies or customer stories, infographics, videos and so-on, how should you use these to their full potential?

From the perspective of customer evidence, a quote is a powerful and concise way to showcase impact and value.   

In a world where short and sweet reigns supreme, a quote grabs the attention of audiences with limited attention spans. A quote is easy to consume and to share.   

With just one sentence, a quote from an advocate customer can get you noticed, potentially sway an opinion or influence a purchase. A quote is therefore a powerful ally to sales and marketing teams.