A resource and community space for modern marketers, sellers, and builders using customer voice to grow — together.
This hub is built for anyone who wants to do more with the voices of their customers. Whether you're scaling advocacy, building trust with proof, or rethinking how to go to market — you're in the right place.
How-to guides and playbooks for building with customer voice
Campaign-ready templates and swipe files
Benchmark reports and reference best practices
Event recordings, expert sessions, and community spotlights
Ask questions. Share ideas. Trade wins. This is your space.
You don’t have to figure this out alone. The Deeto community connects you with other leaders using customer voice to build better GTM motions, faster-growing brands, and smarter strategies. If you are interested in joining when it launches, sign up below.
Automate advocacy management workflows
Dynamically generate customer stories and social proof
Eliminate manual reference management
Track and report advocacy impact on revenue
Discover practical guides, templates, and tools to help your team close more deals, faster.
When you're searching Maps for a new restaurant to try, which one do you pick: the one with 4,959 reviews and a 4.8-star average, or the one nearby with zero?
Maybe it's a new place. Maybe it's yet to be discovered.
You don't care. There's no point in rolling the dice on your dining experience when ~5,000 others already said the other was great.
In a nutshell, that's social proof. It's the idea that people tend to follow or trust others' actions and opinions when making decisions.
Your buyers are doing the same thing online. When everyone else seems to love your product, they're more likely to think, "I will, too."
There's a general trend of buyers trusting companies less and less. Growth marketing firm OGM just published its 2023 B2B Content + SEO Survey.
It uncovered two critical insights about the current state of B2B buying behavior.
On the other hand, 84% of people say they trust reviews and other forms of social proof as if they’re recommendations from a friend or family member.
There's a reason Twilio ditched its homepage headline in favor of the recognition it just received…
...and why they highlight case study snippets below the scroll.
Even if someone's business is completely unrelated to vending machines, the fact Coca-Cola uses Twilio to manage 600,000 of them is impressive.
If they're in the market for communications software, this is far more compelling than a slogan or claim.
After reading a trustworthy review, 92% of B2B buyers say they're more likely to buy that product. That's why reviews nearly quadruple B2B website conversions.
Right on their homepage, A/B testing software company Unbounce includes this customer testimonial:
Not only does the customer specifically reference statistics, they include his photo, credentials, and the option to click through to see the testimonial.
Even without hard evidence of success, small details reinforce buyers' confidence in your product. Adding logos to a page, for example, increases sales by 400%.
Websites with testimonials also receive 45% more traffic than those without. Positive reviews and UGC validate your product to Google, which in turn will present you to customers who use it to search for your product.
Between better SEO rankings, an organic traffic boost, and increased web conversions, social is directly responsible for a lower CAC.
Buyers have ~25% more trust in reviews than in sales reps. And 72% say they'd prefer a "rep-free" experience.
The sales profession is alive and well in 2024, but they have to take a more consultant-like approach. One of the best ways to do this is with customer success stories.
If you use software to gather and organize your customer feedback, this is easy.
On the seller's end, they'll see a clean list of content that applies to the prospect's particular use case.
This is way more efficient than browsing through random reviews on TrustRadius or G2 Crowd. And it's way more impactful than copy/pasting the same case study for every deal in your pipeline.
Today's buyers are immune to the clickbait headlines they see everywhere. On average, replacing that with social proof nets you a 4x higher CTR and reduces your cost-per-acquisition and cost-per-click by 50%.
There are plenty of ways you can do this.
You could highlight an award or certification.
Or, you could spotlight a customer.
You could even use a jaw-dropping statistic.
Since this info comes from the customer, you need a continuous feedback loop between your team and customers who already love your product.
What does this mean for you in 2024? You need a platform that handles it for you.
Why is social proof important? Discover how it builds trust, shortens sales cycles, and drives conversions.
Every marketer perks up when they hear "social proof" for the first time. That enthusiasm fades as soon as they realize it isn't as simple as publishing a few case studies and putting 3 testimonials on their landing page.
Usually, when we look closer at companies’ social proof and customer marketing programs, we notice 3 main factors that hinder their success.
The issue isn't a lack of happy customers. Nor is it their unwillingness to help.
Every loyal customer is someone you could actively involve in customer acquisition and growth initiatives. The biggest problem is that most advocacy programs start at the end and work backward.
When people think of social proof, referrals, references, case studies, and word-of-mouth normally come to mind.
Yes...these are the outcomes. But how do you get them?
They don't magically appear. And customers (almost) never volunteer themselves.
Without a way to systematically collect and manage your customers' goodwill, it inevitably slips between the cracks.
You might have a portal for referral partners or a simple reference form. At best, those will help you land one-off case studies and reviews. And they still require manual intervention or the customer to call themselves to action.
Broadly, the traditional approach to customer advocacy looks like this:
The problem is, it's never that simple. To get the high-value content you need, there's always back-and-forth trying to schedule and coordinate, answer questions, and make sure everything turns out well.
With you as the intermediary (and them without any structure), it's kind of like inviting your friend over for dinner but asking them to cook everything themselves.
Not ideal.
Customers want to help, but they don't have the bandwidth or patience to jump through hoops for you. As a result, most companies find themselves cherry-picking the most vocal and responsive customers, rather than engaging their entire customer base.
Why should they refer friends to your business? Why should they take time out of their busy schedules to talk about it, write reviews, and create content?
Think about what would make the process worth it for them:
You don't have to do anything crazy. But points, cash rewards, and personal recognition from your CS team will make the experience a lot more personal, engaging, and rewarding for them.
Even with a structured approach and software to help you, your customer marketing program still has a few gaps.
Simply put, the size of your customer base or extent of your program doesn't matter. What matters is how you engage with your customers and their impact on your brand.
Solve these issues, and your advocacy program will become a well-oiled machine.
Completely removing the human element of customer engagement will make your program seem disingenuous. But a high-touch approach strains your team, customers, and, by extension, results. So you'll want to consider which touchpoints make sense to automate.
Here are a few places to start:
Managing your referral program, collecting reviews and testimonials, setting up reference calls, and curating content in one place makes all the difference.
Each prospect in your pipeline cares about a few use cases and scenarios where your product or service can make a difference. Segmenting customers who join your program into specific profile types and matching them with specific types of reference calls, marketing assets, or case studies makes your social proof more relevant.
In the Deeto platform, customers onboard themselves, choose how they want to help, and set their availability. Deeto's smart matching and auto-scheduling streamline customer-prospect matching and call setup. Generative AI turns feedback into case studies that reinforce your unique selling points. See how it works.
Every marketer perks up when they hear "social proof" for the first time.
You know the drill - your prospect is on the cusp of closing the deal, but they need one more reassurance: a reference call.
Cue any AE’s worst nightmare. Finding the proper reference, getting them to respond to your emails, coordinating schedules between the prospect and reference, and the list goes on.
Although most of us can agree that having your happy customers share their raw and authentic experiences with a prospect could be a game-changer, the hustle and bustle of making it happen are just too much.
Let’s see how we can change that.
The typical scenario in the B2B Tech industry involves your Account Executive (AE) trying to seal the deal. Prospective clients turn to review platforms, seek permission to contact existing customers for insights, and initiate a complex communication process between AE, CS or Customer Advocacy, and your references. This time-consuming process is never complete without an abundance of back and forth emails, scheduling, issues, and an overall hustle for all parties involved.
Not only does this process pose a threat to your deals at the most sensitive stage, but it creates real and unnecessary stress for all teams involved. The complexity and lack of organization in today's social proof procedures hinder the efficiency of your deals and impact the overall experience for your team, your references and the prospect. In a world accustomed to fast and streamlined digital interactions, a company seeking optimized growth practices must adapt to provide a smoother, more accessible referencing experience.
1. One-stop-shop: Establish a unified platform, be it a customer advocacy platform or a dedicated Slack channel, where interactions with satisfied customers can occur seamlessly.
Pro tip: A good first step is to create a CRM field where you can mark your top customers, and invite them all to join one communication channel (be that a Slack channel, Email list, etc.).
2. Personalize their experience: Empower your customers by allowing them to choose how and when they contribute. Implement personalized scheduling for reference calls and tailor prompts for reviews to make their involvement convenient and meaningful.
Pro Tip: Create a Google form and ask your customers to share which advocacy tasks they would be willing to participate in (write a review, record a video testimonial, participate in public speaking events, etc.).
3. Acknowledge their support: Implement a personalized reward system to express gratitude at each step. Consider sending thank-you cards, offering gift cards of their choice, or even making a donation to a cause they support.
Benefits
Implementing the changes mentioned above will completely transform your reference game. From recruiting powerful advocates, to smart-matching them with the right prospect for highest conversions - there’s a whole lot to gain.
Enter Deeto – the solution to revolutionize your B2B Tech social proof strategy. In the Deeto platform, we simplify the process, allowing customers to onboard themselves, choose their preferred way of assistance, and effortlessly set their availability. With smart matching, auto-scheduling, and advanced AI, Deeto transforms customer feedback into a robust social proof library that authentically reinforces your unique selling points.Oh, and we take care of the rewards as well.
Experience the next level of referencing management with Deeto and witness a seamless, stress-free journey for your team and valued customers. See how it works.
Learn how to turn customer references into a powerful tool for trust, growth, and conversions.
Intro
Are you tired of spending thousands of dollars and way too much time trying to prove your worth to your prospects? We understand your struggle. Here's an interesting thought - We believe that there's one, very versatile tool, that most companies underutilize - Social proof.
Yes, this ancient (and sometimes vague) lost art.
Or, if you ask us - the new word-of-mouth for the business world. In this blog post, we'll dive into why social proof is the key to boosting your sales while keeping your GTM budget under control and how utilizing your happy customers can directly help you close more deals.
Understanding the Power of Customer Advocacy in Modern Day Business
In today's competitive business landscape, prospects are inundated with a multiplicity of information and suggestions as to all of the tools they can use & buy. This red ocean of never ending propositions brings with it a few distinct challenges.
- Our trust levels as buyers are on a downward spiral.
- We have a limited attention span being divided between a multiplicity of overcrowded channels.
- The competitive landscape has become a unified stone of paid ads and cold calls.
Customer advocacy provides a powerful way to cut through the noise, boost the authenticity and capture the attention of potential customers. By harnessing the positive experiences and recommendations of existing customers, businesses can build a solid foundation made of trust and credibility, stand out in the crowded marketplace, and create a new and leaner angle to their sales efforts.
The Role of Social Proof in Digital Word-of-Mouth
Simply put, social proof has become the new word-of-mouth. With the abundance of online reviews and recommendations, prospects rely heavily on the opinions and experiences of others during the research phase and even more so, before making a purchase decision.
This shift in our behavior highlights the importance of leveraging social proof to not only gain trust, but to provide solid assistance in your prospect’s pre-purchase research and evaluation efforts.
If you quickly zoom-out, you will notice that the leading brands of the world have been putting social proof at the forefront of their strategy for years - whether through reviews, an entire ““Customers frequently viewed” section, or one-on-one reference calls. Even Apple has made the conscious decision to use a picture taken on an Iphone by a real customer as part of their recent NYC billboard campaign - rather than hiring the best photographer in town.
Practical Steps to Implement Customer Advocacy in your Company
In the Deeto platform, we help you take your social proof game to the next level. From allowing customers to onboard themselves, letting them choose how they want to help, and making it easy and frictionless for them to create social proof in a way that is easy and convenient. With our advanced ML and AI we are able to transform the most basic customer feedback into an abundant social proof library that reinforces your unique selling points in the most authentic way. See how it works.
Learn how to increase word of mouth marketing and why social proof remains a powerful growth driver today.
More than ever, prospects are asking to get into conversation with customer references. Why now?
Two words: Market. Volatility.
The last six months have been a bumpy economic ride, with slowing US and global markets. Whether it’s a correction or recession, and what’s to come…nobody really knows. But what is certain? A spillover effect on B2B business can’t be avoided.
Historical data tells us plainly: When markets slow down, B2B prospects get cautious.
With thousands of dollars and the purchaser’s reputation on the line – the stakes are already high for B2B purchases. Add a volatile market to the mix, and your sales team is left dealing with ballooning risk aversion levels…and the extended sales-cycles and lower win-rates that come with it.
Right now, financial market woes are making your prospects feel the squeeze of less room for errors. And because they’re thinking thrice about every costly purchase, they’ll need more validation than ever to nudge them along the buyer journey.
Uniquely credible knowledge – from one or more customer references with a similar position, business size, industry, and use-case scenario – can inspire the near-bulletproof confidence your prospects need in an economic downturn.
Now, for most businesses without a robust reference network, it’s easy to see this as an ‘overwhelming to-do’ and ignore it altogether.
But in a quickly changing landscape, it’s always the businesses that adjust and respond quickly that improve their overall performance where others show a decline.
So if you take this opportunity to zig when the competition zags, your organization will shine bright because of it. And in this case, ‘zigging’ means being proactive about offering third party validation – even before your prospects ask for it – to inspire rock solid confidence in your product or service.
Some upbeat news? Deeto is made for opportunities like these.
Our platform does the tough groundwork for you so it’s not all on you to create a thriving reference network on a tight deadline and budget.
Deeto will systematically build your diversified reference network AND match prospects with references who share common ground. Your prospects will get that ‘happy customer’ validation that sparks their confidence, influences their decision, and ultimately helps you win the deal.
Get ‘zigging’ with Deeto.
Discover smart ways to increase B2B sales during a recession and keep deals moving in tough economic times.
How do you move your prospects from ‘analysis paralysis’ to saying ‘sign me up!’? It’s the million dollar question.
Let’s first think about what it’s like, for any business, to make a valuable purchase.
Implementing a new marketing tool? Or considering using a new agency for a critical service? Whatever it is, you’re faced with countless choices – and mountains of information on each one. Days (or months) of skimming webpages, chats with sales reps, cost comparisons, and feature analyses later…and it’s enough to leave your head spinning.
Now, for the research-obsessed, this may be a source of joy. But for most of us? It’s. Completely. Overwhelming.
With many decision-makers in the mix, complex problems, and thousands of dollars at stake – it’s enough to leave any team in a state of ‘purchase overwhelm.’ . And information overload only makes the decision harder.
To keep your prospects moving along the buyer’s journey, they need to hear your customers’ voice.
Research tells us that only 18% of prospects trust the pitch of a B2B sales rep, while 92% trust what they hear from an existing customer. On top of that, a study published by Gartner, found references from existing customers are 80% likely to positively sway a B2B purchase.
But they don’t want to hear just any voice, they want to hear the right voice that will curb their risk and ease their uncertainty.
Your prospects want to know that you can solve their throbbing pains. And an honest, glowing nod from a peer who was once in their shoes – with similar pains, industry, and situation – will do the trick.
Matching the right customer reference to your ‘could-be buyer’ can help you close the deal faster.
But this golden opportunity is too easily missed.
Too often, the reference is picked based on the relationship between the account executive and the customer. It’s about who they’re comfortable asking for a favor instead of who is the right match.
And understandably so! For most sales teams – without the right tools and methodology in place – it would be far too time-consuming to scour the database for the perfect reference and ensure they’re willing to chat. On top of that, the ‘favor system’ isn’t the most reliable one.
The good news? Deeto is our ‘done for you’ reference solution. Using automated and accurate AI, we’ll match your prospects with the right customers for them. Not only that, we take favors out of the equation: our reward system ensures your references are motivated and compensated for their time and insights.
When you become intentional about your customer-reference programs, you’ll make way for deals to close at a higher and faster rate. We can’t wait for you to experience it for yourself!
Want to chat? We’re here to help!
How do you move your prospects from ‘analysis paralysis’ to saying ‘sign me up!’? It’s the million dollar question.
The stellar upside of a glowing reference network isn’t news for most of us.
Imagine it: Your warmed up lead chatting with your happiest customer, hearing from a powerfully credible source that has once been in their shoes. Not only is your reference singing your praises – they’re doing it while being armed with external credibility and real-world experience with your product or service.
It's authentic and organic interactions like these that work wonders in easing your prospects’ fears of taking a wrong turn. And it ends in higher win-rates and shorter sales cycles as a result.
Yes, the upside of a reference network is obvious – but building a successful one is where most of us get stuck.
Because one big obstacle always lingers in the minds of those who set out to create a network of their own:
What’s in it for them? Why would our clients spend their free time helping my team get more sales?
It’s a great question – so we set out to find the answer!
Our team searched high and low, immersing ourselves in deep research on B2B stakeholders, sales executives, and individuals involved in reference networks for products and services they love.
And our findings were surprising (in the best possible way):
The biggest obstacle to building a thriving network isn’t about your client’s willingness to take part – It’s a lack of a simple, systematic way to do so.
Because it turns out, there’s a lot in it for them. 4 main motivations to be exact:
In essence: Your references are more than willing to help. BUT, if the process feels complicated and energy-draining, they’ll drop the idea before you can even get your reference program off the ground.
And that’s why we created Deeto: An automated way to build a strong and sustained reference network.
Using AI, Deeto systematically invites your top contacts to join your network while making it easy for them to share their unique insights with prospects who want to hear from them. We treat every user as an individual instead of a company, so they feel personally invested in the process.
On top of that, we’ve inbuilt the 4 motivating factors into our platform so your network know exactly what’s in it for them:
Ready to build your own supportive community of brand superfans?
(And for the higher win ratio and lower sales costs that come with it?)
We’ll make it easy.
The stellar upside of a glowing reference network isn’t news for most of us.
Introduction:
In today's technology-driven world, where innovation is relentless, and competition is fierce, the role of tech salespeople has become increasingly crucial. They are the connecting tissue between technology companies and potential customers, responsible for conveying the value and benefits of their products or services. However, as the landscape becomes more complex, so does the perception of credibility within this realm. This blog post delves into the shifting dynamics, highlighting how the credibility of tech salespeople is being challenged while the credibility of real customers remains solid.
The Traditional Credibility of Tech Salespeople:
The Changing Technological Landscape:
Credibility Challenges for Tech Salespeople:
The Rise of Customer Advocacy:
The Shift Towards Authenticity and Transparency:
Leveraging the Power of Customer Advocacy:
Conclusion:
The credibility paradigm within the tech sales industry is shifting, with the credibility of salespeople being challenged while the credibility of real customers remains solid. To adapt to this changing landscape, tech salespeople must embrace authenticity, transparency, and customer-centric approaches. By acknowledging the informed and empowered customer base and leveraging the power of customer advocacy, salespeople can rebuild trust and establish themselves as credible sources of information and guidance in the ever-evolving world of technology sales.
In today's technology-driven world, where innovation is relentless, and competition is fierce, the role of tech salespeo
Sure, you have customers who are happy to vouch for you. That doesn't mean their experience is relevant to everyone else's.
Like it or not, people are selfish with their time and money. Whenever you're selling to someone, their subconscious mind always asks, "What's in it for me?"
While it's tempting to use your top customers or ‘biggest successes’ as references across the board, doing so means you're leaving serious money on the table (as far as customer marketing and advocacy are concerned).
This is where Deeto’s Smart Matching technology comes in to transform how you manage prospect-reference calls. Using data and technology to strategically match your references with specific prospects dramatically increases engagement and conversion rates.
A customer reference is anyone who's willing to share positive feedback or a story about their experience with your product, service, or company. They're usually in the form of case studies, reviews, testimonials, video interviews, or reference calls between them and your prospect.
Smart-matching is the process of using data from both your prospects and references to match them based on specific criteria (e.g., things they share in common).
This can include:
Maybe you've made it past step #1: building a customer advocacy program.
You've got tons of great feedback from your customers. You have real case studies. Word-of-mouth marketing has begun to work its magic.
Or so you think...
Normally, salespeople rely on their judgment of character and human instinct to pick the references they believe are most likely to resonate with a specific prospect. Or, they simply pull from a handful of typical success stories.
That's where prospect-reference matching wins big over traditional methods.
90% of customers say it's "annoying" when companies or their sales reps send messages that aren't personally relevant to them.
A perfect example of an irrelevant message is a customer reference whose experience has nothing to do with theirs. It's a waste of time for both the prospect and the reference.
On the flip side, a reference who is (or was) in the same boat as your prospect is more likely to strike a chord with them.
This does more than simply keep them engaged. It lights the fire under them to take action.
Remember 15 years ago, when cable TV was the best way to get your entertainment fix? All the ads were generic, targeted at the masses.
Now, opening up Instagram or tuning in to Hulu w/ Ads is scary. You might see something you were talking about just 10 minutes prior.
But let's be real. We don’t care if our phones are listening to us. We all prefer the latter because they're more likely to show us something we'll actually be interested in.
Data from Marketing Charts underscores this trend perfectly: 66% of B2B buyers say they expect an equal or greater amount of personalization in their professional lives as they do in their personal ones.
Good news: You can do the same thing with organic interactions.
A customer advocacy platform will show you which prospects are the best matches for a particular prospect based on context and past data.
From there, you can personalize your sales communications.
When a prospect hears from someone who's in the same industry or has faced the same challenges, it creates an instant connection. And it adds an extra layer of credibility.
They feel like your company truly understands their world and can provide a solution that will work for them.
The flip side is also true: putting prospects in contact with references who have nothing to do with their situation can make them feel like your company doesn't really "get" them.
It wastes your time and theirs.
As it is, the typical sales rep only spends 28% of their time on actual selling activities. According to research from Salesforce, almost three-quarters of their day is spent on clerical work, preparation and planning, and other back-office tasks.
The best way to improve sales efficiency is to make the process easier for your sales team. That includes automating the most time-consuming and error-prone ones first.
When it comes to finding the right customer references for each prospect, the challenge is twofold.
Smart prospect-reference matching eliminates the need for reps to to meticulously comb through your pool of references to find one that checks both of these boxes.
A big reason customers are open to being references is that they want to be seen as thought leaders and experts in their respective field.
It's good for branding. It's good for business.
By automating the reference matching process, you're able to ensure every reference contribution moves the needle. And that's what they're looking for when they vouch for you.
Deeto's reference management system smart-matches prospects and customer references, so your customers' experiences are always timely and relevant. See how it works.
Boost prospect-reference calls with smart matching for faster, more relevant customer connections.
See how Deeto helps you turn customer voice into a GTM advantage.
