The TL;DR
Most people see customer marketing as a fuel source for pre-sales motions—and they’re not wrong. Done right, customer marketing can drum up demand and fuel the sales team with customer evidence that builds the trust that they desperately need to close more deals.
But Tara Roberston, CMO at Bitly, knows the power of customer marketing extends beyond signing on the dotted line and can also help go-to-market (GTM) teams drive retention. Here’s how she makes that happen:
- Listen to your customers to uncover what truly matters to them.
- Partner with GTM teams, especially Product, to ensure you don’t have any gaps in your content.
- Build internal trust and rally internal champions by tying short- and long-term wins to quantitative and qualitative data.
Everyone knows Bitly for shortening links, but Tara Robertson is on a mission to change that.
“Bitly is so much more now,” she told me when we sat down to chat at the most recent Exit Five event in Vermont. Today, she told me, it’s a connection platform—think QR codes, 2D barcodes, and link-in-bio landing pages—bridging the physical and digital. And here’s where it gets wild:
Bitly wasn’t just hopping on the QR code bandwagon—they were the first to roll out 2D barcodes. They made old-school barcodes dynamic and created new ways for brands to get in front of their audiences.
But a big shift like that only happens with one thing: customer evidence.
Tara even went as far as to say that customer stories are non-negotiable. They’re the proof points that build buyer confidence, reduce churn, and rally your whole company around what’s possible.
And, guess what? She has the metrics to prove it.
Tara has nailed her playbook for building not only a successful marketing program, but being able to measure its impact at any given moment.
Talk about the dream for every customer marketer out there, right?
And that’s why I’m sharing some of the best insights I got from the conversation with her today. Let’s dig in.
Tara’s playbook for building a successful customer marketing program
B2B marketers are universally good at overthinking. It’s practically in our DNA.
- Will this campaign move the needle?
- Do these case studies and quotes check the box for my sales team?
- Is my new messaging going to land or fall flat?
The good news? Tara said that overthinking or overcomplicated processes are prerequisites for customer marketing success. Instead, she said it’s all about sticking to the fundamentals: listening to your customers and partnering with key internal stakeholders.
Listen to your customers
“One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in my career is the power of customer research and how blending qualitative insights with quantitative data can provide a true understanding of your customers and buyers,” Tara shared.
That’s a lesson Tara initially learned at Sprout Social (I’m sure you’re familiar with the social media management tool), where, despite not officially holding a Customer Marketing title, she naturally gravitated toward it.
“I was in marketing strategy and developed our segment strategy for different user groups,” she explained. “That led me to focus on retention marketing rooted in a strategic approach to understanding and engaging with our customers.”
How did she nail that strategy? Deep, meaningful, roll-up-your-sleeves research. “We dug deep,” she added, “and used research to shape a strategy that allowed us to deliver value across the customer journey, including after a deal’s done.”
Tara’s emphasis on research spotlights a simple truth we can’t forget: It’s not enough to talk to your customers. You have to listen to them, too, and then take those gold nuggets and create content that answers the call.
For example, if a group of customers tells you they’re avoiding a specific feature because they don’t see its value, consider creating a series of proof points highlighting how other customers have benefited from it.
Then, share that evidence with your GTM teams so that they can address concerns or hesitations head-on.
The way we do that at UserEvidence is with our platform’s Slack integration. Our GTM team can easily search through relevant proof points within a channel they’re using all the time (Slack, duh) so that they’re always armed with relevant proof of value.

You could even take it a step further with targeted emails sent to customers who aren’t adopting the feature with the evidence and a subject line like, “See how [X Customer] used [Y Feature] to [Z Outcome].
Bridge the gap with GTM teams
As Socrates famously said, “You don’t know what you don’t know” (or something like that).
Sure, you probably have a good read on your customers, but when it comes to connecting the dots with in-depth product knowledge? That’s where the waters can get murky. That’s why Tara is such an advocate for Customer Marketing teams to work closely with their colleagues in Product.
“Customer Marketing teams—or whoever is responsible at your company—know what your customers want. On the other hand, your Product team understands your product’s ins and outs,” Tara shared. “Put those two brains together, and you can create content that truly resonates with your audience.”
But Tara made it clear that the collaboration doesn’t end there. At Sprout Social and now Bitly, she’s seen how integrating Customer Marketing into multiple parts of the business can deliver even more value.
“We had a Customer Experience team focused on community and education,” Tara shared, reflecting on her time at Sprout Social.
“They hosted monthly webinars and developed a community and learning center where our customers could get ongoing value. Meanwhile, I focused on outcomes, much like you would in demand generation, which opened the door to a lot of growth.”
“Eventually,” she added, “this outcome-focused mindset allowed us to build a Customer Marketing team nearly the same size as our acquisition team. While the acquisition teams focused on demand, we zeroed in on retention and growth to ensure we delivered value throughout the customer journey.”
How Tara measures and grows Bitly’s customer marketing program
“When you think about the playbook for acquisition teams, measurement is pretty straightforward. It’s about revenue,” Tara shared. “But in customer marketing, the focus is on net dollar retention, AKA how well a business retains revenue from existing customers.”
Tara explained that this is where things get tricky because, unlike acquisition teams, customer marketers don’t have a linear path to success. According to Tara, their path is squiggly and all over the place.
To bring direction to the mayhem, Tara and her team break down retention into three measurable stages, with each supported by sub-KPIs like product adoption:

“One of our first steps at Bitly is identifying that ‘aha moment’ or the point when new customers realize product value for the first time,” Tara explained. “Then, we ask: how many customers reached that moment, and how can we help them get there faster?”
Her team then looks at a retention curve, pinpoints major drop-off points, and addresses them with targeted campaigns and initiatives.
Look beyond the dollar sign
Retention-based metrics are key to Bitly’s customer marketing success, but Tara will be the first to admit that they don’t tell the whole story. Sure, retention takes center stage—and probably always will—but sub-KPIs that align with broader business goals also get the spotlight.
“For example, if we’re looking at website impressions, it’s not just about the number—it’s more about what those impressions lead to,” Tara shared. “Are we getting more traffic to the website, and is it quality traffic that aligns with our ideal customer profile (ICP)?
For initiatives they’re experimenting with, like influencers right now, Bitly embraces a test-and-learn approach. “We start with what we believe the initiative will achieve from a KPI standpoint,” Tara explained. “If we hit that target, great. If we fall short, we learn, refine, and grow. It’s all about learning and showing the value of our efforts.”
These “quicker wins” can be considered stepping stones to building trust with leadership while your longer-term goals, like net dollar retention, become clear.
But the team celebrates every win, big or small. “The most important thing you can do is share the value your team brings,” Tara explained. “But at the same time, it’s also important to be honest about where you’re falling short.” It’s this level of transparency that Tara said can make or break customer marketing programs.
Plus, by sharing your wins (and learnings), ongoing initiatives, and how customer marketing supports other teams, you can organically build an internal pool of advocates who’ll instantly become a natural extension of your team.
And it doesn’t have to be anything over the top, either. A monthly sync with department leads or a dedicated Slack channel for #CustomerMarketingWins can go a long way in building internal awareness and scaling from within.
The death of customer marketing is “swag management”
Ever been called the “swag management” department? It’s well-meaning, but couldn’t be further from the truth if you tackle customer marketing like Tara laid out here.
And, impact from customer marketing doesn’t just mean driving demand and landing new logos for your website or pitch deck. It’s about building deeper relationships and bonds with your existing customers. Results flow from there. For Tara and her team at Bitly, this is key to sustainable customer marketing growth.
And her advice on how you can replicate her playbook is as simple as it is powerful:
- Listen to your customers and work to truly understand them
- Work with every GTM team, especially Product, to deliver content that delivers value from every angle
- Marry numbers with storytelling to make success stick
- Clearly communicate your impact to build internal champions who’ll act as a natural extension of your team
Focus on those pillars, and you’ll create momentum built on trust and value that’ll turn your customers into lifelong fans (and also make sure no one ever calls you the Swag Management team again).
Want to learn more about how UserEvidence can power every part of your GTM engine? Wander around our Demo Ranch or reach out today.