Your go-to list of customer advocacy terms & definitions
Do you find the many terms and acronyms in the customer advocacy world confusing? Our team of experts have put together a list of terms you may encounter in the fields of customer marketing, customer advocacy, and customer engagement.
This glossary will be updated regularly. If you have a term you feel is missing, reach out and let us know!
= Captivate Collective exclusive term
An act of advocacy occurs when a customer participates in any action that actively supports, endorses, or collaborates with a brand, often driven by positive experiences, loyalty, incentives or alignment with the brand's values. This can include actions such as writing reviews, sharing testimonials, making referrals, creating customer content, participating in product ideation, or publicly recommending products or services.
A sub-brand crafted by an organization and applied to one or more customer engagement and advocacy programs; also referred to as a program portfolio brand.
The belief that true, long-term advocacy from your customers is driven by a mutually beneficial relationship.
Targeted content created specifically for, and built with, advocates for the sole purpose of sharing it with their own, internal colleagues.
When a person or group promotes a brand through positive word of mouth or social media; also referred to as customer advoacy or advocacy marketing.
Customer Advisory Board - a group of customers who meet with an organization on a regular basis to share insights and advice on products or services.
Customer Advocacy in Practice (as used in CAP Awards).
Customer Marketing & Advocacy (or Customer Marketing Advocate); often used in the form of a CMA Professional, CMA Program or CMA Vendor.
The collection of software and service vendors who specialize in providing products in the field of Customer Marketing and Advocacy.
Customer Success Platforms (CSPs) are technology solutions designed to help businesses proactively manage and enhance customer relationships by providing insights, automation, and engagement tools. In a B2B context, these platforms centralize customer data, track usage and engagement, identify risks and opportunities, and enable teams to take action to improve retention, expansion, and overall customer satisfaction.
A group of people who engage with each other around a common interest.
A dedicated digital space where people can connect and share ideas, information, and content.
The practice of creating loyal customers who feel so positively about a brand, brand mission, product or vendor relationship that they voluntarily promote it or offer collaborative engagement that goes beyond a transactional exchange.
A strategic approach to building strong, trust-based relationships with customers, empowering them to share their feedback, experiences, insights, and successes. By surfacing customer needs and strategically aligning them with business objectives, advocacy practice creates opportunities for meaningful customer partnerships that drive mutual value, often including or strongly impacting customer storytelling and references, customer program management, feedback loops, and co-creation initiatives that enhance brand reputation, influence prospects, and contribute to organizational growth.
An individual who successfully designs processes, intiatives and programs that nurture valuable relationships with customers and fosters collaboration, engagement, and advocacy. Successful individuals in this field often exhibit strong relational skills, a creative mindset and the ability to strategically define and measure the impact of customer advocacy on the organization.
A structured initiative designed to engage and empower individuals to actively promote, support, or collaborate with a brand, cause, or organization. These programs aim to build authentic relationships by encouraging participants, often referred to as advocates, to share their positive experiences, provide valuable feedback, build community with other customer champions or amplify the organization's message.
A customer who proactively supports and promotes a company, its product, or services to others. This support can take various forms, such as providing testimonials, participating in case studies, speaking at an event or webinar, or sharing positive experiences on social media and in various industry settings.
A group of customers who connect around a shared interest, need, or experience related to a brand, product, or industry. Customer Communities often reside in a digital space or collection of digital or in-person channels facilitated by a brand in order to drive engagement, knowledge sharing, and advocacy.
The way brands actively build an ongoing relationship with their customers through meaningful interactions along the customer journey. It refers to the quality of the connection between brands and customers—the relevance of the message and the inspiration it sparks in customers to take action.
Timely and relevant fully- or semi-automated customer interactions supported by technology and designed to motivate and activate customers at opportune moments in their journey with your organization.
How consumers or clients feel about your business throughout the customer journey, from initial awareness to post-purchase interactions. It has a strong impact on revenue and customer loyalty and encompasses all touchpoints with your brand, whether that be a conversation with your support team or interacting with your website.
Any collection of customer engagement or advocacy programs designed to fit the unique needs, preferences and goals of specific customer audiences.
A positive review or testimonial from a customer about a company's products or services. Customer references can play a crucial role in the sales and marketing process by providing credibility and validation through activities such as reference calls, case studies, testimonials, peer networking, and event participation.
The practice of embedding and operationalizing customer advocacy into all key stages of the customer journey, often leveraging processes or automation.
Gestures, big and small, that personally touch your customer as an individual and not just as a member of a client company. It is about those curated moments of human connection that leaves a meaningful and lasting positive impact.
Points in time on the customer journey that are most convenient or most likely to lead to success for a customer advocacy motivation or activation interaction.
The reason why a program should exist at any organization, including what problems it solves and what outcomes it impact it seeks to drive.
The unique benefits and value that each of our customer engagement programs offer to both the participating customers and the organization. It outlines why customers should engage in value-add activities and how their participation will benefit them, as well as how these activities will drive business success for your company.
A business growth strategy that incentivizes customers to promote products or services in exchange for payment, gifts, etc.
Client collaboration and acts of advocacy that impact your organization's financial success, secured by investment in customer relationships that provide value beyond your marketed products and services, such as status, community, and intrinsic rewards.
Talk Advocacy to Me - A Captivate Collective podcast and newsletter featuring best practices, practitioner guests and events of note in the customer advocacy practice.
The process of capturing customers' ideas, expectations, preferences, and aversions. It involves collecting detailed feedback from customers about their experiences with and expectations for a company's products or services. This feedback is used to guide product development, improve customer satisfaction, and enhance overall business performance. It can also involve collecting customer ideas and experiences at their own place of business, in the market or with other vendors to inform broader research and decision-making.
