Grow With Customer Trust - Activate Happy Buyers To Close More Deals

Hosted by: Mark Kilens, CEO & Founder at TACK
Speakers: Jeff Reekers & Gianna Scorscone from Champion

Overview

Most B2B growth strategies still over-index on acquisition and under-leverage one of their most powerful assets: existing customers. In this TACK Insider session, the conversation explored how companies can partner with customers to drive impact—covering everything from strategic frameworks and segmentation to AI-powered insights and the real problem with Net Promoter Score (NPS). This post distills those ideas into clear, actionable takeaways for B2B marketers, founders, and product teams ready to operationalize customer advocacy.

Check out the full slides of the webinar

1. Customers Want to Talk—So Make It Easy

Buyers are increasingly turning to their peers before making a purchase. If you’re not proactively facilitating those conversations, they’ll happen without you—and possibly without your narrative.

“80% of buyers want to speak with an existing customer before buying. If you’re not part of that conversation, you’re behind.” —Gianna

Rather than relying on last-minute reference calls, Champion suggests designing programs that enable advocacy early and often. That includes:

• Inviting customers to lead or participate in roundtables
  
  
• Co-creating testimonials, case studies, and event content
  
  
• Building programs that align with their personal goals (e.g., thought leadership, networking)
  
  
• Mapping advocacy opportunities across the customer journey
  
  

2. Channel Fatigue Is Real—Networks Are the Answer

Marketing channels are saturated. AI has accelerated outreach, not trust. To stand out, companies need to tap into customer networks, not just attention spans.

Unlike ads or outbound emails, customer networks get stronger over time. As Jeff puts it, “They’re the one channel that doesn’t dilute. It compounds.” This makes investing in relationships—not just reach—a strategic advantage.

3. Use an 11-Star Framework to Design Peak Experiences

Champion borrows a concept from Airbnb’s Brian Chesky: the “11-star experience.” It’s a thought exercise for imagining customer moments that go far beyond expectations.

Rather than stopping at a 5-star experience, teams can ask:

• What would a 7-star onboarding look like?
  
  
• What’s an 11-star way to handle a job change?
  
  
• How can we turn routine touchpoints into memorable moments?
  
  

The goal is not perfection—but intentionality. Even small details (like congratulating a customer on a new role) build equity.

4. A Three-Part Framework for Customer-Led Growth

To operationalize advocacy, Champion uses a simple but powerful framework:

Identify → Activate → Measure

Identify

Map your customer journey and define advocacy triggers at each stage:

• At kickoff: Ask for referrals
  
  
• During onboarding: Capture testimonials on why they chose you
  
  
• At value realization: Invite them to speak or write
  
  

AI can help here, by surfacing moments of high sentiment (like a 10/10 support rating or positive Gong call). But it starts with clean internal handoffs and shared visibility across teams.

Activate

Once segments and triggers are mapped, build workflows:

• Automate asks at defined milestones
  
  
• Enable sales and CS teams with templates
  
  
• Create easy opt-ins for speaking, reviews, or job change updates
  
  

The aim is repeatability, not just one-off wins.

Measure

Don’t stop at anecdotes. Measure both business and customer-side value:

• Are advocates helping close deals?
  
  
• Are they getting value (visibility, connections) in return?
  
  
• Which touchpoints lead to deeper loyalty?
  
  

One surprising stat: companies using job-change tracking in a structured way saw a 5x ROI compared to traditional outreach.

“Your customer is like a regular at a corner store. If you know they come in every Wednesday for eggs and paper towels, have that ready. That’s what great B2B feels like.”

5. NPS Isn’t Dead, But It’s Overrated

The team didn’t hold back on Net Promoter Score. Their take?

Useful as a directional check—but flawed as a central metric.

Core criticisms:

• It’s a single moment in time—easily skewed by recent events
  
  
• It lacks context—“7” means something different to everyone
  
  
• Most teams don’t act on it—data lives in silos
  
  
• It doesn’t predict real behaviors like advocacy or retention
  
  

Instead, Gianna and Jeff suggest tracking gross retention or earned growth (referral and expansion-driven revenue). These are truer indicators of satisfaction and impact.

6. Replace the Score with Real-Time Signals

So what should teams use instead?

Champion’s approach involves aggregating real-time signals across:

• Product usage patterns
  
  
• Support ticket sentiment
  
  
• Call transcriptions
  
  
• Review sites and social mentions
  
  
• Job changes and milestone events
  
  

This builds a more dynamic “health score” tied to recency, frequency, and consistency—offering a fuller picture than NPS ever could.

Key Takeaways

• Start early: Advocacy begins at kickoff—not just after success.
  
  
• Segment smartly: Match asks to journey stages and customer goals.
  
  
• Design for wow: Think beyond 5 stars; what’s your 11-star moment?
  
  
• Use signals, not assumptions: Recency and context matter more than static scores.
  
  
• Think network-first: Your best marketing may be your best customer.