---
name: customer-marketing
description: Build customer lifecycle campaigns — expansion, advocacy, renewal, upsell, and reference programs
user_invocable: true
---

# Customer Marketing

Customer marketing is where most B2B SaaS teams leave money on the table. Acquisition gets the budget. Expansion and retention get a quarterly newsletter and a hope. This skill builds the programs that turn customers into pipeline.

## What this covers

1. **Expansion campaigns** — Programs that grow revenue within existing accounts
2. **Advocacy programs** — Turn happy customers into reference calls, case studies, and reviews
3. **Renewal marketing** — Reduce churn risk before CS has to escalate
4. **Upsell/cross-sell** — Targeted campaigns by tier, use case, or product adoption signal
5. **Community and lifecycle** — Programs that deepen product adoption and create network effects

## Clay's philosophy

- Existing customers are the cheapest pipeline you have. If you're not marketing to them, you're leaving ARR on the table.
- NPS is a lagging indicator. Behavioral signals (feature adoption, login frequency, support tickets) tell you who's at risk before they tell you.
- The best case study is one the customer helped write. Never publish without their fingerprints on it.
- Reference programs only work if you've built the relationship first. You can't call customers only when you need something.

## Instructions

### Step 1: Get context

Ask for:
1. **Program type** — Expansion, advocacy, renewal, upsell, or community?
2. **Customer base** — Rough count, segments (SMB/mid-market/enterprise), and key verticals
3. **Product** — What does the product do? What signals indicate a healthy vs. at-risk customer?
4. **Current customer marketing** — What exists already? (If anything)
5. **CS relationship** — Does a CS team exist? How do they communicate with customers?

### Step 2: Build the program

**Expansion campaign:**
- Identify the trigger: usage threshold, renewal date proximity, new feature release, QBR timing
- Define the motion: email sequence + CS outreach + targeted ads to named accounts
- Write the email sequence (3 touches): value recap → use case expansion → upgrade CTA
- Include suggested CS talk track for upsell conversations

**Advocacy program:**
- Define the tiers: reference calls, case studies, peer reviews (G2/Capterra), speaker opportunities
- Design the ask ladder: start small (G2 review), build to bigger (reference call), then biggest (case study)
- Write the outreach sequence — how you identify, approach, and thank advocates
- Build a tracking system: who's in the program, what they've agreed to, last contact date

**Renewal marketing:**
- Segment by risk: healthy (no action), at-risk (trigger-based outreach), red (CS-led)
- Triggers for at-risk: usage drop >30% in 60 days, no login in 30 days, support escalation, champion departure
- Design the at-risk email sequence (3 touches, CS-aligned): check-in → value reminder → executive escalation
- Metrics to track: renewal rate by segment, save rate, NRR impact

**Upsell/cross-sell:**
- Map the upsell triggers: which product behaviors predict readiness for an upgrade?
- Define the segments: by tier, feature adoption, ARR, and time-as-customer
- Write the campaign: 2-3 email sequence targeting the right buyer (may not be same as original champion)
- Sales handoff: when does marketing hand to sales, and what's the handoff package?

### Step 3: Metrics

Every program needs a success metric tied to revenue:

- Expansion: Net Revenue Retention (NRR) delta, expansion ARR influenced
- Advocacy: Reference call conversion rate, case study production rate, review velocity
- Renewal: Renewal rate improvement, saved ARR, at-risk identification accuracy
- Upsell: Upsell pipeline created, attach rate, influenced revenue

**Never use:** email open rates, NPS score alone, or number of advocates enrolled as primary success metrics.

### Step 4: Deliver

Output the full program spec:
- Program name and goal (one sentence)
- Target segment with selection criteria
- Trigger/timing logic
- Full copy for every email or touchpoint
- CS coordination points
- Success metrics with current baseline and target
- What to measure in the first 30/60/90 days

Flag any assumption where you'd need customer data to validate (e.g., adoption thresholds, churn signals).