Okay, who SHOULD own Advocacy?

Someone. Anyone.

The truth is, even where a company says Marketing or CS "owns" Advocacy, they don't really OWN Advocacy.

They own a project. Or a campaign. Some one-off push to get reviews or case studies or references.

This isn't what I mean when I say "owns" in the context of Advocacy.

Owning a Strategy vs. Running a Campaign

Someone - some department leader - needs to own the Advocacy strategy for the company and oversee the execution of that strategy.

It doesn't necessarily matter which department takes ownership. What matters is that someone actually does. Someone owning the actual Advocacy strategy is FAR better than no one.

You know, like any other important business function.

The Problem: Advocacy Isn't Treated as Important

But there's the issue. Advocacy isn't generally seen as an "important business function."

And that's a massive blind spot.

A real Advocacy strategy is one that engages customers in more complex and valuable advocacy activities across their lifecycle, generating powerful social proof for prospective - and even existing - customers. Done right, it substantially impacts CAC, LTV, and NRR.

Lower acquisition costs because your customers are doing your selling for you. Higher lifetime value because advocates are more engaged and more invested. Better net revenue retention because advocates don't churn - they expand.

So, you know; kind of important.

Start with the Strategy, Then Pick the Owner

The first step in deciding WHO should own Advocacy is to make sure that what we're talking about being "owned" here is a real Advocacy strategy and not just some sporadic tactics.

If all you have is a quarterly push to get G2 reviews, that's not Advocacy. If you're scrambling for customer references every time a deal needs social proof, that's not Advocacy. If your "program" is a Slack channel where someone occasionally asks "does anyone have a customer who can do a case study?" - that is definitely not Advocacy.

A real strategy is operationalized. It's orchestrated across the customer lifecycle. It's measured. And it has someone accountable for driving it forward.

Then pick someone to drive that strategy. Anyone. Just make sure they actually own it - not as a side project, but as a core part of their role.