CONTENTS
Tune in on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Chris Dalton runs the entire customer marketing function at Clari by himself. He manages testimonials, references, peer reviews, speaking engagements, a customer advisory board, and everything in between. At a 750-person company that's about to grow even larger with their pending SalesLoft merger.
How does he do it? Not by working harder, but by building systems that work smarter.
In a recent conversation on The Peerbound Podcast, Chris shared what he's learned over a decade in customer marketing about scaling advocacy programs, proving impact, and why the future of the function is all about being proactive instead of reactive.
Tune in on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Chris Dalton runs the entire customer marketing function at Clari by himself. He manages testimonials, references, peer reviews, speaking engagements, a customer advisory board, and everything in between. At a 750-person company that's about to grow even larger with their pending SalesLoft merger.
How does he do it? Not by working harder, but by building systems that work smarter.
In a recent conversation on The Peerbound Podcast, Chris shared what he's learned over a decade in customer marketing about scaling advocacy programs, proving impact, and why the future of the function is all about being proactive instead of reactive.
Tune in on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Chris Dalton runs the entire customer marketing function at Clari by himself. He manages testimonials, references, peer reviews, speaking engagements, a customer advisory board, and everything in between. At a 750-person company that's about to grow even larger with their pending SalesLoft merger.
How does he do it? Not by working harder, but by building systems that work smarter.
In a recent conversation on The Peerbound Podcast, Chris shared what he's learned over a decade in customer marketing about scaling advocacy programs, proving impact, and why the future of the function is all about being proactive instead of reactive.
Tune in on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Chris Dalton runs the entire customer marketing function at Clari by himself. He manages testimonials, references, peer reviews, speaking engagements, a customer advisory board, and everything in between. At a 750-person company that's about to grow even larger with their pending SalesLoft merger.
How does he do it? Not by working harder, but by building systems that work smarter.
In a recent conversation on The Peerbound Podcast, Chris shared what he's learned over a decade in customer marketing about scaling advocacy programs, proving impact, and why the future of the function is all about being proactive instead of reactive.
The Shift That Changes Everything: Proactive vs. Reactive
Chris has a clear philosophy about where customer marketing needs to go:
"We need to shift from that reactive approach to being proactive and serving our go-to-market teams the right content and the right references at the right time."
What does reactive customer marketing look like? It's waiting for a sales rep to ask for a case study from a law firm in Manitoba that uses one specific feature, then having to say you don't have it. It's scrambling to find speakers for events. It's being pulled in every direction by ad hoc requests.
The alternative is building systems that anticipate what your teams need and deliver it before they even ask. That means:
Serving the right content based on what prospects actually said in their last call
Suggesting references that address specific concerns without waiting for the request
Reaching out for reviews when customers are exceptionally happy, not just on a schedule
"The key to the future of customer marketing is not mastering a reactive approach," Chris explains. "The real key to being successful is delivering all of those needs before your teams even know that they need it."
Chris has a clear philosophy about where customer marketing needs to go:
"We need to shift from that reactive approach to being proactive and serving our go-to-market teams the right content and the right references at the right time."
What does reactive customer marketing look like? It's waiting for a sales rep to ask for a case study from a law firm in Manitoba that uses one specific feature, then having to say you don't have it. It's scrambling to find speakers for events. It's being pulled in every direction by ad hoc requests.
The alternative is building systems that anticipate what your teams need and deliver it before they even ask. That means:
Serving the right content based on what prospects actually said in their last call
Suggesting references that address specific concerns without waiting for the request
Reaching out for reviews when customers are exceptionally happy, not just on a schedule
"The key to the future of customer marketing is not mastering a reactive approach," Chris explains. "The real key to being successful is delivering all of those needs before your teams even know that they need it."
Chris has a clear philosophy about where customer marketing needs to go:
"We need to shift from that reactive approach to being proactive and serving our go-to-market teams the right content and the right references at the right time."
What does reactive customer marketing look like? It's waiting for a sales rep to ask for a case study from a law firm in Manitoba that uses one specific feature, then having to say you don't have it. It's scrambling to find speakers for events. It's being pulled in every direction by ad hoc requests.
The alternative is building systems that anticipate what your teams need and deliver it before they even ask. That means:
Serving the right content based on what prospects actually said in their last call
Suggesting references that address specific concerns without waiting for the request
Reaching out for reviews when customers are exceptionally happy, not just on a schedule
"The key to the future of customer marketing is not mastering a reactive approach," Chris explains. "The real key to being successful is delivering all of those needs before your teams even know that they need it."
Chris has a clear philosophy about where customer marketing needs to go:
"We need to shift from that reactive approach to being proactive and serving our go-to-market teams the right content and the right references at the right time."
What does reactive customer marketing look like? It's waiting for a sales rep to ask for a case study from a law firm in Manitoba that uses one specific feature, then having to say you don't have it. It's scrambling to find speakers for events. It's being pulled in every direction by ad hoc requests.
The alternative is building systems that anticipate what your teams need and deliver it before they even ask. That means:
Serving the right content based on what prospects actually said in their last call
Suggesting references that address specific concerns without waiting for the request
Reaching out for reviews when customers are exceptionally happy, not just on a schedule
"The key to the future of customer marketing is not mastering a reactive approach," Chris explains. "The real key to being successful is delivering all of those needs before your teams even know that they need it."
The Problem Nobody Talks About: Utilization
Here's the uncomfortable truth about customer marketing: creating content is only half the battle.
"Content creation is one problem that a lot of people try and solve with customer marketing," Chris says. "But utilization, I think, is the secondary and bigger problem. Because even if you are able to successfully write 100 case studies and you have this massive library on Highspot, if your reps don't go to Highspot, then it might as well not exist."
This is where most customer marketers get stuck. They focus on creating more case studies, more testimonials, more content. But if that content sits unused, you're not realizing the full value of your programs.
The solution isn't just about where you store content. It's about psychology and behavior change.
"The evergreen challenges in customer marketing tend to be behavior. It tends to be psychology," Chris notes. "Making a slight tweak to how you have a sales rep request a reference is not going to be the silver bullet. You're really trying to change psychology and change their sentiment about the value that they get out of the programs that you're running. And that's not anything that a tool can solve."
Here's the uncomfortable truth about customer marketing: creating content is only half the battle.
"Content creation is one problem that a lot of people try and solve with customer marketing," Chris says. "But utilization, I think, is the secondary and bigger problem. Because even if you are able to successfully write 100 case studies and you have this massive library on Highspot, if your reps don't go to Highspot, then it might as well not exist."
This is where most customer marketers get stuck. They focus on creating more case studies, more testimonials, more content. But if that content sits unused, you're not realizing the full value of your programs.
The solution isn't just about where you store content. It's about psychology and behavior change.
"The evergreen challenges in customer marketing tend to be behavior. It tends to be psychology," Chris notes. "Making a slight tweak to how you have a sales rep request a reference is not going to be the silver bullet. You're really trying to change psychology and change their sentiment about the value that they get out of the programs that you're running. And that's not anything that a tool can solve."
Here's the uncomfortable truth about customer marketing: creating content is only half the battle.
"Content creation is one problem that a lot of people try and solve with customer marketing," Chris says. "But utilization, I think, is the secondary and bigger problem. Because even if you are able to successfully write 100 case studies and you have this massive library on Highspot, if your reps don't go to Highspot, then it might as well not exist."
This is where most customer marketers get stuck. They focus on creating more case studies, more testimonials, more content. But if that content sits unused, you're not realizing the full value of your programs.
The solution isn't just about where you store content. It's about psychology and behavior change.
"The evergreen challenges in customer marketing tend to be behavior. It tends to be psychology," Chris notes. "Making a slight tweak to how you have a sales rep request a reference is not going to be the silver bullet. You're really trying to change psychology and change their sentiment about the value that they get out of the programs that you're running. And that's not anything that a tool can solve."
Here's the uncomfortable truth about customer marketing: creating content is only half the battle.
"Content creation is one problem that a lot of people try and solve with customer marketing," Chris says. "But utilization, I think, is the secondary and bigger problem. Because even if you are able to successfully write 100 case studies and you have this massive library on Highspot, if your reps don't go to Highspot, then it might as well not exist."
This is where most customer marketers get stuck. They focus on creating more case studies, more testimonials, more content. But if that content sits unused, you're not realizing the full value of your programs.
The solution isn't just about where you store content. It's about psychology and behavior change.
"The evergreen challenges in customer marketing tend to be behavior. It tends to be psychology," Chris notes. "Making a slight tweak to how you have a sales rep request a reference is not going to be the silver bullet. You're really trying to change psychology and change their sentiment about the value that they get out of the programs that you're running. And that's not anything that a tool can solve."
Building Systems That Actually Scale
As a one-person customer marketing team, Chris can't manually respond to every request. So he's built automation wherever possible.
Take their peer review program. Chris used to manually pull Excel spreadsheets of email lists and try to find happy customers in the mix. Now? "I have automated touch points that recognize when customers are happy and reach out for reviews without my day-to-day involvement."
The peer review collection runs almost entirely on its own. That frees Chris up to focus on strategy instead of execution.
But automation alone isn't the answer. Chris also focuses heavily on enablement and adoption. He talks to every single sales rep and CSM. He positions himself as someone who helps them close bigger deals faster. And when you consistently deliver value, you create a feedback loop where they're willing to help you in return.
As a one-person customer marketing team, Chris can't manually respond to every request. So he's built automation wherever possible.
Take their peer review program. Chris used to manually pull Excel spreadsheets of email lists and try to find happy customers in the mix. Now? "I have automated touch points that recognize when customers are happy and reach out for reviews without my day-to-day involvement."
The peer review collection runs almost entirely on its own. That frees Chris up to focus on strategy instead of execution.
But automation alone isn't the answer. Chris also focuses heavily on enablement and adoption. He talks to every single sales rep and CSM. He positions himself as someone who helps them close bigger deals faster. And when you consistently deliver value, you create a feedback loop where they're willing to help you in return.
As a one-person customer marketing team, Chris can't manually respond to every request. So he's built automation wherever possible.
Take their peer review program. Chris used to manually pull Excel spreadsheets of email lists and try to find happy customers in the mix. Now? "I have automated touch points that recognize when customers are happy and reach out for reviews without my day-to-day involvement."
The peer review collection runs almost entirely on its own. That frees Chris up to focus on strategy instead of execution.
But automation alone isn't the answer. Chris also focuses heavily on enablement and adoption. He talks to every single sales rep and CSM. He positions himself as someone who helps them close bigger deals faster. And when you consistently deliver value, you create a feedback loop where they're willing to help you in return.
As a one-person customer marketing team, Chris can't manually respond to every request. So he's built automation wherever possible.
Take their peer review program. Chris used to manually pull Excel spreadsheets of email lists and try to find happy customers in the mix. Now? "I have automated touch points that recognize when customers are happy and reach out for reviews without my day-to-day involvement."
The peer review collection runs almost entirely on its own. That frees Chris up to focus on strategy instead of execution.
But automation alone isn't the answer. Chris also focuses heavily on enablement and adoption. He talks to every single sales rep and CSM. He positions himself as someone who helps them close bigger deals faster. And when you consistently deliver value, you create a feedback loop where they're willing to help you in return.
Getting Leadership Buy-In
Here's how Chris thinks about proving the value of customer marketing:
"Everything that you do needs to tie back to the larger company goals, and you need to be able to document and show that connection. If retention is the big theme for 2025, you need to ensure that you're thinking about that whenever you're crafting a story."
It sounds simple, but most customer marketers miss this. They chase quantity-based metrics like "five more case studies this quarter" instead of tying their work to what the CEO talks about in all-hands meetings.
At Clari, the CMO mandates that every campaign must include voice of customer content. Why? Because they have the data to show it performs best. Customer content consistently outperforms other ad types. And as deals move upmarket with longer buying cycles, buyers need to hear from their peers to validate their decisions.
But getting to that point requires more than anecdotal evidence. "The problem arises when executives anecdotally see the value of all of that, they just know because it feels right in their gut," Chris explains. "But then you don't have the hard numbers to back up the impact of those results. That's when you're under resourced if you can't prove the value."
Here's how Chris thinks about proving the value of customer marketing:
"Everything that you do needs to tie back to the larger company goals, and you need to be able to document and show that connection. If retention is the big theme for 2025, you need to ensure that you're thinking about that whenever you're crafting a story."
It sounds simple, but most customer marketers miss this. They chase quantity-based metrics like "five more case studies this quarter" instead of tying their work to what the CEO talks about in all-hands meetings.
At Clari, the CMO mandates that every campaign must include voice of customer content. Why? Because they have the data to show it performs best. Customer content consistently outperforms other ad types. And as deals move upmarket with longer buying cycles, buyers need to hear from their peers to validate their decisions.
But getting to that point requires more than anecdotal evidence. "The problem arises when executives anecdotally see the value of all of that, they just know because it feels right in their gut," Chris explains. "But then you don't have the hard numbers to back up the impact of those results. That's when you're under resourced if you can't prove the value."
Here's how Chris thinks about proving the value of customer marketing:
"Everything that you do needs to tie back to the larger company goals, and you need to be able to document and show that connection. If retention is the big theme for 2025, you need to ensure that you're thinking about that whenever you're crafting a story."
It sounds simple, but most customer marketers miss this. They chase quantity-based metrics like "five more case studies this quarter" instead of tying their work to what the CEO talks about in all-hands meetings.
At Clari, the CMO mandates that every campaign must include voice of customer content. Why? Because they have the data to show it performs best. Customer content consistently outperforms other ad types. And as deals move upmarket with longer buying cycles, buyers need to hear from their peers to validate their decisions.
But getting to that point requires more than anecdotal evidence. "The problem arises when executives anecdotally see the value of all of that, they just know because it feels right in their gut," Chris explains. "But then you don't have the hard numbers to back up the impact of those results. That's when you're under resourced if you can't prove the value."
Here's how Chris thinks about proving the value of customer marketing:
"Everything that you do needs to tie back to the larger company goals, and you need to be able to document and show that connection. If retention is the big theme for 2025, you need to ensure that you're thinking about that whenever you're crafting a story."
It sounds simple, but most customer marketers miss this. They chase quantity-based metrics like "five more case studies this quarter" instead of tying their work to what the CEO talks about in all-hands meetings.
At Clari, the CMO mandates that every campaign must include voice of customer content. Why? Because they have the data to show it performs best. Customer content consistently outperforms other ad types. And as deals move upmarket with longer buying cycles, buyers need to hear from their peers to validate their decisions.
But getting to that point requires more than anecdotal evidence. "The problem arises when executives anecdotally see the value of all of that, they just know because it feels right in their gut," Chris explains. "But then you don't have the hard numbers to back up the impact of those results. That's when you're under resourced if you can't prove the value."
The Work AI Makes Possible
Chris is optimistic about AI, but not for the reasons most people talk about.
"The benefits to our work will be so much greater than the potential drawbacks. And the reason for that is not only creating time efficiencies and productivity efficiencies here and there, but being able to unlock new areas of work that we otherwise weren't able to do."
His example: call analysis. "I cannot listen to 500 calls a day. So that's unlocking a level of insight into what our customers are saying that I did not have access to before. It's not just saving me an hour a day. It's doing something I couldn't do."
That's the key insight about AI in customer marketing. It's not just about doing the same work faster. It's about doing entirely new work that wasn't feasible before.
Chris is optimistic about AI, but not for the reasons most people talk about.
"The benefits to our work will be so much greater than the potential drawbacks. And the reason for that is not only creating time efficiencies and productivity efficiencies here and there, but being able to unlock new areas of work that we otherwise weren't able to do."
His example: call analysis. "I cannot listen to 500 calls a day. So that's unlocking a level of insight into what our customers are saying that I did not have access to before. It's not just saving me an hour a day. It's doing something I couldn't do."
That's the key insight about AI in customer marketing. It's not just about doing the same work faster. It's about doing entirely new work that wasn't feasible before.
Chris is optimistic about AI, but not for the reasons most people talk about.
"The benefits to our work will be so much greater than the potential drawbacks. And the reason for that is not only creating time efficiencies and productivity efficiencies here and there, but being able to unlock new areas of work that we otherwise weren't able to do."
His example: call analysis. "I cannot listen to 500 calls a day. So that's unlocking a level of insight into what our customers are saying that I did not have access to before. It's not just saving me an hour a day. It's doing something I couldn't do."
That's the key insight about AI in customer marketing. It's not just about doing the same work faster. It's about doing entirely new work that wasn't feasible before.
Chris is optimistic about AI, but not for the reasons most people talk about.
"The benefits to our work will be so much greater than the potential drawbacks. And the reason for that is not only creating time efficiencies and productivity efficiencies here and there, but being able to unlock new areas of work that we otherwise weren't able to do."
His example: call analysis. "I cannot listen to 500 calls a day. So that's unlocking a level of insight into what our customers are saying that I did not have access to before. It's not just saving me an hour a day. It's doing something I couldn't do."
That's the key insight about AI in customer marketing. It's not just about doing the same work faster. It's about doing entirely new work that wasn't feasible before.
The Productivity Habits That Truly Work
We had to ask Chris how he gets so much done. He's known for being ridiculously efficient, responding to requests faster than most people with full teams.
His answer is straightforward:
"I get anxiety if I have these recurring tasks just floating in my head. And I know I don't wanna be awake at 2AM thinking about that email that I have to send. And so the way that I alleviate my anxiety is just do the work. You just have to eat the broccoli and do the work and get it done, and that just makes me feel better working through the day."
He's a longtime fan of books like Deep Work by Cal Newport and practices inbox zero religiously. But his most practical tip comes from 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:
"If it takes less than 2 minutes, just do it in the moment. There's been so many instances where I haven't done it in the moment. I procrastinate on it, and I probably spend hours of mental energy and fretting about getting that task done. And then when you actually go to do it, it's like, oh, that took me less than 5 minutes."
We had to ask Chris how he gets so much done. He's known for being ridiculously efficient, responding to requests faster than most people with full teams.
His answer is straightforward:
"I get anxiety if I have these recurring tasks just floating in my head. And I know I don't wanna be awake at 2AM thinking about that email that I have to send. And so the way that I alleviate my anxiety is just do the work. You just have to eat the broccoli and do the work and get it done, and that just makes me feel better working through the day."
He's a longtime fan of books like Deep Work by Cal Newport and practices inbox zero religiously. But his most practical tip comes from 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:
"If it takes less than 2 minutes, just do it in the moment. There's been so many instances where I haven't done it in the moment. I procrastinate on it, and I probably spend hours of mental energy and fretting about getting that task done. And then when you actually go to do it, it's like, oh, that took me less than 5 minutes."
We had to ask Chris how he gets so much done. He's known for being ridiculously efficient, responding to requests faster than most people with full teams.
His answer is straightforward:
"I get anxiety if I have these recurring tasks just floating in my head. And I know I don't wanna be awake at 2AM thinking about that email that I have to send. And so the way that I alleviate my anxiety is just do the work. You just have to eat the broccoli and do the work and get it done, and that just makes me feel better working through the day."
He's a longtime fan of books like Deep Work by Cal Newport and practices inbox zero religiously. But his most practical tip comes from 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:
"If it takes less than 2 minutes, just do it in the moment. There's been so many instances where I haven't done it in the moment. I procrastinate on it, and I probably spend hours of mental energy and fretting about getting that task done. And then when you actually go to do it, it's like, oh, that took me less than 5 minutes."
We had to ask Chris how he gets so much done. He's known for being ridiculously efficient, responding to requests faster than most people with full teams.
His answer is straightforward:
"I get anxiety if I have these recurring tasks just floating in my head. And I know I don't wanna be awake at 2AM thinking about that email that I have to send. And so the way that I alleviate my anxiety is just do the work. You just have to eat the broccoli and do the work and get it done, and that just makes me feel better working through the day."
He's a longtime fan of books like Deep Work by Cal Newport and practices inbox zero religiously. But his most practical tip comes from 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:
"If it takes less than 2 minutes, just do it in the moment. There's been so many instances where I haven't done it in the moment. I procrastinate on it, and I probably spend hours of mental energy and fretting about getting that task done. And then when you actually go to do it, it's like, oh, that took me less than 5 minutes."
What This Means for Customer Marketing
Chris has been in customer marketing for over a decade at companies like SurveyMonkey, Gartner, and now Clari. His perspective on where the function is headed is clear:
Stop trying to get really good at reactive work. Start building systems that deliver what your teams need before they even ask for it.
That means:
Automation that recognizes the right moments to engage customers
Content served based on actual prospect conversations, not guesswork
Reference suggestions that address specific concerns proactively
Everything tied back to what leadership actually cares about
"I think the concept of a proactive, autonomous customer marketing system, that's the future, and that's the vision that I'm trying to realize here," Chris says.
For customer marketers trying to do more with less, that's the path forward.
Chris has been in customer marketing for over a decade at companies like SurveyMonkey, Gartner, and now Clari. His perspective on where the function is headed is clear:
Stop trying to get really good at reactive work. Start building systems that deliver what your teams need before they even ask for it.
That means:
Automation that recognizes the right moments to engage customers
Content served based on actual prospect conversations, not guesswork
Reference suggestions that address specific concerns proactively
Everything tied back to what leadership actually cares about
"I think the concept of a proactive, autonomous customer marketing system, that's the future, and that's the vision that I'm trying to realize here," Chris says.
For customer marketers trying to do more with less, that's the path forward.
Chris has been in customer marketing for over a decade at companies like SurveyMonkey, Gartner, and now Clari. His perspective on where the function is headed is clear:
Stop trying to get really good at reactive work. Start building systems that deliver what your teams need before they even ask for it.
That means:
Automation that recognizes the right moments to engage customers
Content served based on actual prospect conversations, not guesswork
Reference suggestions that address specific concerns proactively
Everything tied back to what leadership actually cares about
"I think the concept of a proactive, autonomous customer marketing system, that's the future, and that's the vision that I'm trying to realize here," Chris says.
For customer marketers trying to do more with less, that's the path forward.
Chris has been in customer marketing for over a decade at companies like SurveyMonkey, Gartner, and now Clari. His perspective on where the function is headed is clear:
Stop trying to get really good at reactive work. Start building systems that deliver what your teams need before they even ask for it.
That means:
Automation that recognizes the right moments to engage customers
Content served based on actual prospect conversations, not guesswork
Reference suggestions that address specific concerns proactively
Everything tied back to what leadership actually cares about
"I think the concept of a proactive, autonomous customer marketing system, that's the future, and that's the vision that I'm trying to realize here," Chris says.
For customer marketers trying to do more with less, that's the path forward.
