In this episode of the Peerbound Podcast, we hear from Evan Hamilton, the Director of Community at HubSpot. As an experienced community and customer experience professional, Hamilton shares his insights into the evolution of the internet and how it has affected community building. He stresses the importance of communities being used for creating intention, driving a specific purpose, and amplifying business results rather than just existing for the sake of it. Hamilton also shares details about his role at Reddit, his course on community engagement, and how communities are structured at HubSpot. Towards the end, he provides his thoughts on how AI might impact the future of community engagement and job prospects.

• (01:01) Evan's Insights on the Evolution of Community
• (03:42) The Importance of Delivering Value in Communities
• (07:36) Evan's Journey into Community Marketing
• (09:50) Evan's Experience at Reddit
• (12:23) The Challenges of Managing Reddit's Community
• (14:18) Transition to HubSpot
• (16:10) The Impact of AI on Community Building
• (18:12) Creating a Targeted Community
• (19:52) The Potent Power and Limitations of AI Content Creation
• (24:32) The Role of Community in Business
• (27:18) The Impact of AI on Jobs
• (31:04) Evan’s Community Resources and Courses
• (33:02) Rapid Fire Round

Stay tuned through the end of the show (32:38) to learn: 

• What animal you should gift Evan for Christmas.
• Which sauce Evan does not think belongs on pizza.
• Who Evan thinks we should interview next.

Be sure to check out Evan’s community content: 

Community Manager Breakfast - Weekly Newsletter

Driving Business Impact with Community - Maven Course

Featuring:

Evan Hamilton (LinkedIn)

Sunny Manivannan (LinkedIn, Twitter) 

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In this episode, Leslie Patterson, the VP of Customer Advocacy and Engagement at BMC Software, shares insights from her more than two decades of experience in the software industry. Leslie shares her journey into customer advocacy starting from her days in advertising to her tenure at Computer Associates. She discusses her successful career in building and reinventing advocacy programs for prominent enterprises like Oracle and Genesys, highlighting how she leverages the transformative power of the customer's voice. Leslie also explores strategies to develop trust within teams, deliver high impact results, and navigate transitions into new business environments. From rethinking sales alignment and leveraging engagement directors to optimize customer engagement to the importance of using metrics to back up new initiatives, Leslie shares rich insights and pragmatic advice for advocacy teams of various sizes. She also shares her thoughts on tackling challenges and opportunities in customer advocacy, particularly in creating engaging communities and well-structured programs, and the role of senior leadership in successful customer advocacy efforts.

• (00:56) Leslie's Journey into Customer Advocacy
• (03:33) The Importance of Embracing Failure
• (04:34) Lessons from Oracle and Genesis
• (07:25) Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
• (07:49) The Role of Measurement in Business Impact
• (09:22) Avoiding the 'Shiny Object Syndrome'
• (10:00) Transition to Genesys
• (12:13) Challenges and Opportunities at BMC Software
• (12:26) Building a Structured Advocacy Program
• (14:13) The Power of Customer Communities
• (15:38) Leadership and Building Trust within Teams
• (20:22) Stepping into New Roles and Leadership Positions
• (20:50) Building a Team from Scratch
• (26:27) The Power of Customer Advocacy

Stay tuned through the end of the show (33:42) to learn: 

• What season draws Leslie out of the countryside and into the city.
• Whether Leslie thinks pineapple belongs on pizza.
• Who Leslie thinks we should interview next.

Featuring:

Leslie Paterson (LinkedIn)

Sunny Manivannan (LinkedIn, Twitter) 

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In this episode, Dave Hansen, the Global Advocacy Marketing Director at LRN, shares his unique journey from driving the Red Bull van in college to his current role building advocacy and community within the business world. He highlights his strategies for nurturing customer relationships, his perspective on the importance of customer sentiment through Net Promoter Score and CSAT, and the value of internal collaboration within an organization. This informative discussion is sprinkled with exciting stories from Hansen's early days influencing his career path. He also gives his perspectives on customer success and the critical role of the community managers and their work.

• (00:56) Dave's Early Career and Driving the Red Bull Van
• (04:13) Dave's Transition to Coca-Cola, And His Stint in Mascotting
• (08:28) Dave's Career Path to LRN
• (13:15) Dave's Role at LRN
• (13:17) Understanding LRN's Business
• (14:04) Measuring Success and Showing ROI at LRN
• (15:41) Unpacking The Relationship Between Advocacy and Account Growth
• (18:58) How Dave uses NPS and CSAT to Grow the Company
• (23:59) Dave's Approach to Internal Collaboration
• (26:21) Dave's Learning Journey and Future Aspirations

Stay tuned through the end of the show (29:00) to learn: 

• Who Dave thinks we should interview next.
• Dave’s hot takes and pizza preferences.

Featuring:

Dave Hansen (LinkedIn)

Sunny Manivannan (LinkedIn, Twitter) 

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In this episode, Katie shares insights about her dynamic approach to customer marketing, noting her focus on adopting programs that closely align with what customers want and need. At Iterable, she oversees different teams, including Brand, Community, Partner, and Corporate Event Marketing, all which leverage and benefit from using the voice of the customer. Katie discusses the importance of building personal relationships and understanding what motivates each individual on her team. She also speaks about the organization of Iterable's in-person and virtual conferences and roadshows, while emphasizing the importance of continuous iteration and improvement. The conversation also includes Katie's experiences and lessons from her time at Marketo and her perspectives on working in the marketing technology (MarTech) sector.

In this episode, Katie and Sunny dive into:

• 00:14 Katie's Role and Responsibilities at Iterable
• 01:34 Understanding Customer Marketing at Iterable
• 02:16 The Evolution of Customer Marketing at Iterable
• 03:25 Katie's Journey and Motivation at Iterable
• 04:10 Measuring Success and Impact at Iterable
• 05:02 Katie's Journey into Customer Marketing
• 06:10 Lessons from Marketo and Love for MarTech
• 10:03 Managing Diverse Customer Advocacy Programs for Different Personas
• 13:23 The Growth and Evolution of Activate User Conference
• 16:30 Changes in Buyer Behavior and Customer Marketing
• 19:31 Advice for Building a Customer Marketing Program
• 21:23 Managing Relationships and Leading a Team

Stay tuned through the end of the show (24:37) to learn: 

• Who Katie thinks we should interview next.
• What Christmas present Katie has put to work over the past year.
• Which fast food restaurant Katie’s stopping at if she’s on a road trip.

Featuring:

Katie Pope (LinkedIn)

Sunny Manivannan (LinkedIn, Twitter) 

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Discover the evolution of Customer Advocacy and Engagement as Bill Lee shares his personal journey, beginning with his unique career trajectory, his experiences in different industries, and his transition to focusing on customer relationships in the tech industry. In this episode, Bill shares insights about the concept of customer-led growth, the necessity of building and maintaining strong relationships with customers, and the important role customer advocacy professionals have in contributing to a company’s growth.

In this episode, Guest and Sunny dive into:

• (01:26) Bill's career trajectory and his early experiences being a B2B customer
• (05:41) Working in the government and appreciating the importance of relationship building 
• (09:10) The significance of customer-led growth and the opportunity Bill saw to take advocacy to the next level
• (14:05) Aligning customer advocacy priorities to what leadership cares about
• (17:23) Creating the Center for Customer Engagement
• (18:21) Insights, advice, and reflections on Bill's career 
• (21:36) The future of customer-led growth

Stay tuned through the end of the show (22:44) to learn: 

• Which Bill prefers - Pizza or Burgers
• Whether Bill is team iPhone or Android
• Who Bill thinks we should interview next

In this episode, we delve into Nicole's journey in community management and explore the strategies she employed to transform Zendesk's community from a Q&A section to a cross-functional powerhouse. We discuss the importance of breaking down workplace silos and identifying collaborative opportunities to bring the customer's voice into various projects without "shipping the org chart." Measuring community success, qualities of effective collaboration, and the impact of community on customers are all part of this insightful conversation. Nicole shares an inspiring story of a community member whose career was transformed through Zendesk's community, underlining the immense value it brings. 

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• (0:58) Nicole's journey to community
• (5:02) The process for taking a community from 0 to 1
• (6:06) The benefits of Digital vs. Physical communities
• (8:07) Breaking down silos in the workplace
• (10:32) Identifying projects where there is mutual benefit
• (11:43) How community helps integrate the customer voice into other projects
• (13:19) Building a center of excellence model 
• (14:50) Identifying opportunities for collaboration and building the center of excellence model
• (17:22) The early days of community at Zendesk and incrementally expanding the program
• (24:07) Why a Director of Community is like a product manager for community
• (24:57) Measuring success of the community
• (27:56) Qualities important to effective collaboration
• (29:53) The impact of community on customers
• (31:34) The story of Brandon, a power user finding career opportunity through the Zendesk community 

Stay tuned through the end of the show (33:22) to learn: 

• Which Coca Cola product Nicole prefers
• Whether Nicole is team Netflix or Youtube
• Who Nicole thinks we should speak with next

Explore the evolving landscape of B2B customer marketing with Lauren Turner, Director of Customer Marketing at Alyce. With prior career experience in product management and product marketing, Lauren brings a deep understanding and passion for the importance of the voice of the customer in guiding how to build products and programs. From the impact of budget cuts to the power of customer advocacy, discover the strategies and insights shaping this crucial function in the software industry.

In this episode, Lauren and Sunny dive into:

• (00:57) Lauren’s predictions for the future of customer marketing 
• (03:24) Why we’re seeing budget cuts in customer marketing and the challenge of calculating ROI in a relationship-building function
• (08:03) Best practices for building a community from scratch, and why customer marketing isn’t an ‘instant gratification’ function
• (12:59) Lauren's first few jobs in Product Management and Product Marketing, and how she used the voice of the customer in her day to day, and lessons learned working in different functions
• (18:00) Making the move to customer marketing
• (40:48) Best practices for collaborating across departments 
• (24:03) Balancing being collaborative while also demonstrating the unique value and results you help drive 
• (25:37) Lauren’s customer marketing experience in the pandemic and the long-lasting effects on community and customer marketing initiatives

Stay tuned through the end of the show (30:47) to learn: 

• How Lauren’s astrological sign influences her rapid fire responses.
• Which improv group Lauren is a member of. 
• Who Lauren thinks we should interview next.

Join us as Kevin Lau, Senior Director of Global Customer Engagement at F5, shares thoughts on the evolving landscape of customer marketing. Discover how to set and align priorities with executive leadership, how to source and distribute customer feedback, and strategies for building a robust customer engagement tech stack.

In this episode, Sunny and Kevin explore: 

• (00:53) Kevin's journey from his first post-college job to customer marketing
• (03:17) A glimpse into F5 and Kevin's pivotal role there
• (04:53) The mission of the Customer Engagement team at F5, and how they measure success
• (07:35) Challenges faced in building a new team and how to overcome them
• (09:12) Developing cross-functional relationships for customer success
• (11:29) Defining metrics and the vision of success at F5
• (13:50) Kevin's tech stack for enhancing customer engagement and how to procure technology with a focus on clear KPIs
• (17:20) Prioritizing as a customer marketing and engagement leader
• (20:16) Mechanisms for effectively gathering valuable customer feedback
• (22:52) Kevin's predictions for the future of customer engagement and advocacy
• (24:33) Qualities to look and interview questions for  hiring

Stay tuned through the end of the show (26:41) to learn:

• If Kevin is team pizza or burgers.
• Whether Kevin is an early bird or a night owl.
• Who Kevin thinks we should interview next.

Featuring:

Kevin Lau (LinkedIn)

Sunny Manivannan (LinkedIn, Twitter) 

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Join us for an insightful discussion with John Gleeson, Founder & Managing Partner at Success Venture Partners and a pioneer in the world of Customer Success. Discover the strategic significance of Customer Success in early stage startups and how it serves as a vital bridge between customers and growth-focused teams as a company scales.

John and Sunny’s conversation covers:

• (01:05) John's journey into the software landscape
• (03:43) Delving into the world of Customer Success
• (07:57) Leveraging Customer Success as a proactive approach
• (14:21) Tailoring the Customer Success motion to different business models
• (18:41) Advice for navigating Customer Success at different growth stages
• (22:43) Identifying essential qualities in an effective Customer Success team member
• (24:22) Transitioning into venture investment and successful pivots into the VC world
• (28:35) Predicting the future landscape of Customer Success

Stay tuned through the end of the show (30:25) to learn: 

• What John’s beverage of choice is (hint: it’s neither Coke nor Pepsi).
• Who John thinks we should interview next.
• More details about the upcoming NYC Customer Success Meetup.

Learn more:

Customer Success Meetup (LinkedIn)

NYC Customer Success Meetup, November 9th (Eventbrite)

Success Venture Partners (Website, LinkedIn)

Featuring:

John Gleeson (LinkedIn)

Sunny Manivannan (LinkedIn, Twitter) 

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Join us in this insightful episode with Hillary Curran, the Senior Director of Customer Voice & Implementation Strategy at Guru, as she shares her mission of integrating the customer's voice into strategic business decisions to drive growth. Discover how Guru leverages deep customer insights to prioritize their roadmap and sharpen messaging, all while empowering teams to achieve exceptional results.

In this episode, Sunny and Hillary delve into: 

• (00:57) Hillary's journey to Guru 
• (05:09) Growth at Guru over the past 5+ years 
• (10:14) Showcasing value and distributing insights internally 
• (14:43) Building a customer-centric culture and implementing a customer listening tour 
• (21:58) Advice for leading and supporting a team 
• (24:19) Defining success in a new, first-of-its-kind role 
• (27:35) Doubling down on the theme of 'trust' in the age of AI

Stay tuned through the end of the show (29:57) to learn: 

• Whether Hillary is team cats or dogs. 
• What YouTube show Hillary keeps up with. 
• Who Hillary thinks we should interview next.

Featuring:

Hillary Curran (LinkedIn)

Sunny Manivannan (LinkedIn, Twitter) 

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