The Evidence Gap: Original research by UserEvidence after surveying 619 B2B buyers, sellers, and marketers.

EPISODE 16

Building and Scaling Customer Evidence Programs

The TL;DR

Struggling to show the real value of customer marketing?

Mark Huber (UserEvidence) is joined by Jane Menyo (Gong), Cache Walker (Trellix), and Leslie Barrett (Tipalti) as they share what it takes to build and scale customer evidence programs.

What’s working in customer marketing:
THINK LIKE A CONSULTANT
Treat customer marketing as more than just a department. Act like a consultant—balance short-term wins with long-term impact by building solid relationships, both inside and outside your organization.

What’s not working in customer marketing:
LACK OF PROOF
Too many teams are operating without clear metrics. To show the real business value of customer marketing, you need data-driven results. This helps break the myth that it’s just a “feel-good” function.

The key takeaways

  • Customer marketing goes beyond quick wins: It’s not about just driving immediate results or running feel-good advocacy programs. Think of it as a long-term, consultative approach—you’re providing strategic guidance rather than just being another team member.
  • Proof is everything: Real customer evidence is at the heart of credibility. In B2B, marketers are seeing the shift to data-backed customer feedback, much like how consumer reviews drive decisions in companies like Uber and Airbnb.
  • Tracking engagement isn’t straightforward: It can be tricky for customer marketers to demonstrate the value they bring. Traditional metrics don’t always capture the relationship-building efforts. However, creating solid frameworks and using the right tools to track engagement helps bridge that gap.
  • Scaling with creativity and AI: AI tools, like bots that learn from customer feedback and thoughtful multichannel campaigns, can streamline customer marketing. This not only saves manual effort but also leads to genuine, meaningful engagement.
  • Getting executives on board: Engaging with top-level executives is one of the toughest aspects of customer marketing, but it’s vital. Identifying the right stakeholders and crafting specific initiatives for them can make all the difference.

The things to listen for

[00:00] Intro 

[01:17] Why proof points are crucial for go-to-market teams

[02:07] Common mistakes in customer marketing

[03:01] Initial missteps in the field of marketing

[04:02] Why customer marketing is misunderstood 

[07:13] Why customer feedback is important

[09:55] Influences in customer marketing

[14:16] The challenges and pitfalls of customer marketing

[25:28] Leveraging technology and automation

[36:17] Measuring the impact and ROI of customer marketing efforts

Get Evidently in your inbox

Get a bi-weekly email with my hits (and misses) as a first-time VP of Marketing, new examples that inspire my thinking, and our best content.

Mark from UserEvidence

Subscribe to Evidently