Reinventing Customer Advocacy: A Journey at HubSpot
When I joined HubSpot, I found myself in a unique position. With years of experience as a customer, I understood how to creatively utilize available tools. Now, I had the responsibility of modernizing a customer reference system that had served multiple teams well but was becoming outdated, struggling to meet new expectations and complexities.
The Transition from Customer to Advocate
Stepping into this role shifted my perspective entirely. Advocacy, I realized, is often misunderstood. It’s easy to view it as a straightforward administrative task; however, its complexity often lies hidden behind the scenes. Delving deeper, I recognized that advocacy requires a mix of nuance, discernment, finesse, and emotional intelligence at every turn. My intention was not to dismantle this intricate system but rather to create a framework that could bolster it.
Building Trust at Scale
Building trust at scale is no simple task. If you’ve ever attempted to cultivate something as delicate as trust within an organization, you’ll understand the hurdles involved. In this article, I’ll delve into what we rebuilt at HubSpot, the strategies we employed, and how you, without needing an engineering degree or a separate platform, can implement similar principles. If I can do it, so can you—armed with just a MacBook and determination.
The Invisible Work of Advocacy
Every organization is underpinned by efforts that often go unnoticed yet are profoundly impactful. Think of the coordinator who anticipates a mismatch before it escalates, the specialist who recalls a customer’s unique context, or the representative whose minor tweak transforms a matching process. Advocacy teams operate in this invisible space, crafting credibility, connection, and proof, all while their efforts often remain undervalued.
Our goal was clear: make this vital work visible, respected, and adequately supported, so everyone involved could excel.
Empowering Humanity Through AI
As we embarked on redesigning the reference process, we discovered a key truth: the existing system had become needlessly complicated. This complexity didn’t stem from flaws in the advocacy work but rather from manual interventions attempting to fill operational gaps.
The old process comprised 18 disconnected steps, a far cry from the streamlined five phases we ultimately implemented. Surprisingly, we found that AI didn’t eliminate human input; instead, it enhanced it.
HubSpot Workflows managed predictable routing, Slack facilitated instant communication, and AI copilots helped validate fits, freeing team members to focus on the irreplaceable human touches: storytelling, empathy, and partnership.
From Stories to Scalable Systems
As our new system took shape, we realized we were doing more than building workflows; we were redefining how trust circulates in our organization. Introducing transparency into the advocacy work prompted three key outcomes:
- Increased Reciprocity: When participation’s significance became clear, engagement naturally surged.
- Expanded Equity: Advocates who had previously gone unnoticed emerged based on objective criteria.
- Strengthened Alignment: Teams from Sales, Success, and Marketing began to collaborate based on shared information instead of assumptions.
This transformation was about more than the tools; it was a structural shift that fostered shared clarity.
Establishing a Single Source of Truth
Step 1: Data-Driven Foundations
One of the most persistent challenges advocacy teams face is demonstrating their impact. Clear metrics for ROI and revenue attribution become nebulous when data is fragmented. Before optimizing workflows or implementing automation, we established a robust data foundation capable of supporting operational and reporting needs at scale.
We designed a Trust Readiness Model that evaluated:
- Relationship maturity (tenure, past collaborations, sentiment patterns).
- Product adoption depth (usage data, feature adoption).
- Account health (renewal signals, support trends).
- Growth indicators (expansion opportunities, product interests).
- Engagement readiness (past participation, feedback).
Creating this model conceptually was one thing; operationalizing it was another. We built a comprehensive data architecture, ensuring clarity and reliability.
Step 2: Operational Structure
With a stable data layer in place, we pivoted toward designing an operational framework that transformed our backend architecture into a user-friendly system.
We focused on creating dashboards designed for distinct audiences:
- Leadership saw revenue impacts and strategic trends.
- Managers monitored team engagement and bottlenecks.
- Operators gained visibility into daily fulfillment stages and match rates.
We constructed standardized workflows to guide every touchpoint, from request intake to notifications and completion. This governance ensured that our system remained orderly even as our request volume surged.
Scaling for Speed and Clarity
Trust can wane quickly when processes are slow, unclear, or inconsistent. To ensure sustainable advocacy, we needed to establish an organized rhythm that mirrored real work patterns.
The structured fulfillment sequence we created was as follows:
- Request → Route → Align → Activate → Frame → Fulfill
Each stage had its purpose, freeing the process from uncertainties or reliance on memory. AI enhanced the experience by validating matches and facilitating transitions. Human intervention remained essential for nuanced aspects, such as interpreting customer readiness.
Fostering a Culture of Reciprocity
While systems can streamline advocacy processes, culture ultimately sustains them. A process won’t flourish without shared ownership and genuine appreciation for the emotional intelligence encapsulated in this work. Advocacy is inherently relational.
To build respect for this effort, we embraced principles of learning systems and group psychology. Instead of mandating participation, we modeled the behavior we sought. By highlighting everyone’s contributions and shaping a narrative around the emotional labor involved, we fostered an environment where collaboration flourished.
The Bottom Line: Systems for People
Many systems keep count of activities, but few are tailored to elevate the humans involved. By revamping our reference process, we created something that respects time, honors expertise, and surfaces valuable contributions—all while ensuring measurable trust.
A Message for Builders
Trust isn’t established by accident; it emerges from systems that honor the people doing the work. What we created at HubSpot is just one representation of this principle. Although the specifics may differ across teams, the underlying tenets remain constant:
- Build a dependable data foundation.
- Develop workflows that enhance human judgment.
- Create reporting models that clarify influence.
- Shield team members from unnecessary burdens with structured processes.
This narrative is crafted for those navigating complexities without extensive resources or engineering help. You don’t need an elaborate tech stack; rather, you require thoughtful architecture, clarity, and a commitment to solving human needs.
In witnessing the impact of advocacy, recognize that your contributions are valuable, measurable, and essential. With the right structure, your efforts can scale effectively. That’s the core lesson from this journey, echoed through our experience at HubSpot.
