Demand gen and customer marketing are often seen as separate. But what happens when they work as one?

Rodrigo Souto, Senior Director of Demand Generation at Zappi and former customer marketing leader at HubSpot, shares lessons from a career leading global programs across advocacy, PLG, and demand. At HubSpot, he built a unique playbook for tying customer marketing to revenue by connecting proof, product, and performance.

Now at Zappi, Rodrigo is leading both demand gen and customer marketing together, proving how aligned teams drive faster results. He breaks down why references and expansion are underrated growth levers, how to show impact with limited resources, and where AI helps scale without losing the human touch.

What you’ll learn:

• Why putting customer marketing under demand gen unlocks budget and attribution
• How to prove the revenue impact of advocacy programs (even with small teams)
• Why scaling starts with deep customer understanding, not just more content

Episode Outline: 

(00:00) Introducing Rodrigo Souto

(00:41) Rodrigo’s path from HubSpot to Zappi

(05:29) Lessons from international markets and product-led growth

(10:25) Leading demand gen with a customer-first mindset

(12:36) Why customer marketing now reports into demand gen

(14:54) Breaking down the budget and attribution challenge in customer marketing

(19:00) References and referrals as clear revenue levers

(23:52) How to use AI to scale output without losing human touch

(27:52) Getting started with revenue-backed customer marketing

(29:44) Practical advice for growing into a marketing leadership role

(33:55) Closing thoughts on strategy, trust, and leadership in customer marketing

Customer advocacy is often measured like demand gen, but what if it’s closer to brand?

Lauren Turner, CEO and Founder of CustomerCentrx, explains why advocacy is a long-term play, how communities can unlock retention rates as high as 99%, and why even unhappy customers can become your strongest allies when they feel heard. She also zooms into the importance of breaking down silos between marketing, success, sales, and product so customers experience one cohesive brand, not a fragmented one.

Lauren shares practical strategies for proving advocacy’s impact without relying on vanity metrics, plus how to embed advocacy into company culture from day one. And, in a fun twist, she draws lessons from improv comedy on active listening, iteration, and silencing your inner critic, which are skills every customer marketer can use.

What you’ll learn:

• How communities can drive retention rates as high as 99%
• Ways to turn unhappy customers into loyal advocates
• Practical strategies to measure advocacy’s impact without vanity metrics

Episode Outline:

(00:00) Community as advocacy at scale

(00:32) Introducing Lauren Turner and CustomerCentrx

(01:27) From product to marketing to advocacy

(03:11) Why advocacy is more like brand than demand gen

(04:34) Long-term relationship plays vs. short-term revenue goals

(07:43) Turning unhappy customers into loyal allies

(09:36) Where to start when building a customer marketing function

(13:12) Breaking silos: aligning CS, marketing, sales, and product

(18:08) Measuring advocacy’s impact without vanity metrics

(24:25) How AI can support, but not replace, human connection

(29:56) Improv, balance, and lessons outside of work

Customer success and customer marketing are often seen as separate functions. But what happens when they work as one?

Emily Cid, Senior Director of Customer Success at Champion, shares her journey from account executive to customer advocacy leader, offering an inside look at what it takes to build human-first, revenue-aligned teams. With experience across sales, success, and marketing, Emily reveals how aligning internal teams around customer outcomes drives both retention and growth.

Emily zooms in on practical ways CS and marketing can partner more effectively: from shared KPIs to advocacy programs that actually scale. Plus, she shares how curiosity and empathy power everything from strategy to leadership.

What you’ll learn:

• How to unite customer success and marketing to drive advocacy and impact
• Why shared KPIs are critical for customer-led growth
• How to lead with a human-first mindset while delivering business outcomes

Episode Outline:

(00:00) The power of curiosity in customer relationships

(01:05) Introducing Emily Cid and her customer-first career path

(03:02) What drew Emily to Champion and the customer-led growth mission

(04:35) The common thread across her AE, CS, and marketing roles

(06:31) Building empathy across siloed teams

(08:18) The missing connection between CS and customer marketing

(09:45) What real customer centricity looks like in practice

(11:20) Advocacy as a CS metric and force multiplier

(13:16) Proving impact through measurable advocacy outcomes

(17:06) How multiple champions in an account impact retention

(18:16) Making customers successful in the new AI era

(20:27) Human-first leadership and career development

(23:29) Hot takes on what customer marketers get wrong

(24:42) The future of customer marketing as a strategic function

(26:20) Final advice for aspiring customer-centric leaders

Customer marketing is about turning your happiest customers into your biggest growth engine.

Taylor Bogar, founder of Social Animal, shares how she helps B2B brands build community-driven marketing strategies that generate real revenue. With a wealth of experience leading customer marketing at Apollo and Chili Piper, Taylor explains how to design advocacy programs that go beyond post-sale activities and create value for both customers and prospects.

Taylor offers practical advice for building programs that start with truly knowing your customers, making them the hero of your story  and creating social proof that resonates in the market.

What you’ll learn:

• How to design customer marketing programs that drive both community engagement and revenue
• Why making your customer the hero creates stronger social proof and brand trust
• How to tie advocacy and social strategies back to tangible business outcomes

Episode Outline:
(00:00) Introducing Taylor Bogar
(01:43) Taylor's journey from Apollo to Social Animal
(03:00) The entrepreneurial leap
(06:20) Balancing entrepreneurship and family
(12:23) Building successful customer advocacy programs
(14:27) Revenue attribution in customer marketing
(18:30) Mindset shifts for effective customer marketing
(21:40) Getting started with customer marketing
(24:49) Leveraging social media for customer marketing
(25:32) The role of creativity in marketing

Customer marketing is about creating meaningful connections with customers and building advocacy programs that drive business growth.

Brittnee Dawson, Director of Customer Marketing at AlphaSense, shares her expertise in the world of customer marketing and building impactful advocacy programs. With over a decade of experience, Brittnee discusses her journey from product management to customer marketing and the importance of connecting with customers in a human-centered way. She shares valuable insights on balancing creativity with business metrics, the power of data-driven decision-making, and how to leverage AI to enhance personalized customer connections.

What you’ll learn:

• The importance of balancing creativity with data in customer marketing
• Tips for building internal alignment and trust across teams
• How AI is reshaping customer marketing and personalization strategies

Episode Outline:
(00:00) Introducing Brittnee Dawson
(02:59) Defining customer marketing
(04:03) Brittnee's career journey
(05:04) Building customer marketing programs
(06:28) Advocacy programs and success stories
(12:04) Balancing human connection and AI
(13:40) Internal alignment and communication
(21:24) Future of customer marketing
(27:45) The power of timing and the right  message

Customer trust is built through life cycle marketing.

JoAnne Baldwin, Senior Manager of Customer Lifecycle Marketing at Bitly, shares her journey in customer marketing and how she’s transformed onboarding programs into revenue-driving engines. She discusses the importance of building cross-functional relationships, creating programs that feel human, and the power of truly understanding the customer. JoAnne also explains how we can use empathy and data to drive retention, align teams, and enhance customer experience.

What you’ll learn:

• How to foster cross-functional collaboration between marketing, sales, and customer success
• Practical tips for using empathy and data to enhance customer experience and communication
• The importance of listening to the customer voice and how it can shape successful marketing initiatives

Episode Outline:

(00:00) Introducing JoAnne Baldwin
(01:20) Joanne's personal passions
(02:33) Defining customer marketing
(04:24) Onboarding success at PitchBook
(07:15) Building trust with customers
(11:36) Onboarding program at Bitly
(15:44) Incorporating AI in marketing
(23:54) Building internal trust and collaboration
(41:17) Data is not clean

Customer marketing is all about turning your customers into champions who help drive growth. Taylor Page, Director of Customer and Growth Marketing at Kong, shares her journey in customer marketing and why having a broad skill set can be so valuable. She shares how to create effective advocacy programs, how to get sales and marketing teams working together, and why it’s so important to keep the customer voice at the forefront of everything you do.

What you’ll learn:

• Strategies for building impactful customer advocacy programs
• How to align marketing efforts with customer success
• Practical career advice for customer marketers

Episode Outline:
(00:00) Introducing Taylor Page
(02:04) Taylor’s career path into customer marketing
(07:09) The importance of cross-team collaboration
(09:16) Growth marketing and its lessons for customer marketing
(12:04) The importance of iteration in growth marketing
(17:51) Balancing growth marketing with customer retention
(22:23) Multi-threading relationships within customer accounts
(33:25) Advice for advancing in customer marketing careers

If customers don’t know how to use your product, they won’t stick around—and they definitely won’t advocate.

Shannon Howard, Director of Customer and Content Marketing at Intellum, shares why customer education is one of the most overlooked drivers of growth. She explains how aligning customer education with marketing creates a stronger strategy. Education delivers the content that drives behavior change while marketing ensures it reaches the right people at the right time.

What you’ll learn:

• Ways to drive behavior change through content
• Career advice for customer marketers and educators
• Building internal influence as a customer marketer

Episode Outline:
(00:00) Introducing Shannon Howard
(04:24) The advantages of a diverse career path
(09:55) Combining customer marketing and education
(12:46) Mapping the customer journey for success
(16:14) Aligning across teams through shared goals
(22:37) The education-led growth maturity model
(26:38) Shannon’s hot take in customer marketing

Hi, I’m Jeff Reekers, CEO of Champion, and I’m excited to welcome you to Customer Champions, the podcast where we explore how the best marketers turn their customers into powerful growth engines.

In each episode, I’ll explore customer advocacy and why it’s the game-changing strategy that can unlock budgets, improve ROI, and create real impact for your business.

If you’re looking to learn how to turn your customers into true champions from industry leaders and customer marketing experts, this podcast is for you.