23 years in B2B SaaS Go-To-Market at Salesforce, Eloqua, HubSpot, Marketo. Customer Obsessed. Partner Obsessed. Living-In-Market. LinkedIn Member #320,966

Majored in Customer. Minored in Go-To-Market. Live in-Market. 

24 years in B2B SaaS. Early employee at Salesforce (first 100), Eloqua (#13), HubSpot Advisor (2014-2016), Marketo (2018).

Love startups, especially category creators.

Born Sales. Bred Marketing. Building Partnerships. 

I spent six years in management consulting, 52 quarters in software sales at Salesforce and Eloqua, six years doing professional speaking, 2018 reporting to the CEO of Marketo (acquired by Adobe for $4.75B), Limited Partner "LP" and GTM Advisor at Stage 2 Capital and GTM Fund. 

I started investing in 2012 and maintain my personal portfolio of investments in sales and marketing technology startups. I also started advising startups in 2012 and joined my first Board of Directors in 2016. Four of the companies I've advised have had successful exits -- HubSpot, Accompany, DataRPM, and PartnerHacker. 

My work keeps me focused on the changing B2B buying environment and what revenue teams need to do to evolve their culture, skills, processes, data, and technology. 

****If you want to connect with me on LinkedIn, don't send a generic invite.****

Jill Rowley

𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝟮𝗕. 𝗜 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁.

Leadership thinks it's a case study factory. Sales thinks it's a reference desk. Even marketers think it's just advocacy. But advocacy is one pillar of customer marketing, not the whole thing. And customer marketing itself is one engine inside a bigger system: 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿-𝗟𝗲𝗱 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵.

I've spent 15+ years building that system and proving its value to skeptical executives.

As 𝗩𝗣 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀, I lead a team spanning lifecycle, retention, advocacy, community, education, customer comms, and voice of customer. All connected into one Customer-Led Growth engine.

Previously: Global Head of Customer Advocacy at 𝗔𝗱𝗼𝗯𝗲. Built Marketo's advocacy program through the acquisition. Led customer programs at F5 and Google.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀:
  • +15–20 pt lift in Net Dollar Retention through integrated lifecycle and advocacy
  • $250M+ ARR influenced through customer storytelling
  • 10+ industry awards including Advocate Marketer of the Year and TOP 25 CM Influencer

Now I'm building 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘂𝗺. A weekly newsletter with real playbooks for customer marketers who want to drive retention, expansion, and advocacy without begging for budget or headcount.

If you're a customer marketer who wants a seat at the table, not just a task list, follow along.


Kevin Lau

I lost my dad last week.
And while I’m still processing it, I want to honor his legacy.

My dad wasn’t a man of many words.

But family was everything to him.

He taught me humility. Helping others. Showing up.

He served in Vietnam. Never talked about it much. That was just who he was.

I’d never seen him smile as big as he did.

Fishing was his other passion. 

It didn’t matter what time of the day, rain or shine, he’d be out there with his friends.

And he would make plenty of trips to Mexico bringing empty coolers going down, tons of fish coming back. 

Plus all the gear he collected over the years.

That’s probably where I got the collecting bug.

He lived a good life. He was loved by many.

Miss you, Dad.

I know you’re in a better place.

I help customer marketers prove their value | VP Customer Marketing @ Freshworks | ex-F5, Adobe, Marketo, Google

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𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 ≠ 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗰𝘆.
Say it louder.
For the people in the back.

For years, I watched these two get mashed into one job.

Someone asks, "What does customer marketing do?"

And someone answers, "Oh, they run our advocacy program."

No.

𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿. 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲.

Here's the hierarchy:
 • Customer-Led Growth → The operating system
 • Customer Marketing → One engine inside it
 • Advocacy → One pillar inside Customer Marketing

When you conflate customer marketing with advocacy, you shrink the function.

You become the "case study team."

The "reference request team."

The "can you find me a customer for this webinar" team.

I've lived this.

I've said yes to the random asks.

I've chased quotes like they were strategy.

Advocacy is important. But it's not the whole job.

Advocacy is proof.

Customer marketing is progress.

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘆.

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝘀:
→ Lifecycle programs that drive adoption
→ Customer education that reduces churn
→ Community that builds stickiness
→ Voice of customer that informs product
→ Executive engagement that unlocks expansion
→ AND advocacy that creates proof

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺.

Not because we finally explain it well enough.

Because companies will need the FULL customer marketing engine to survive.

If you're a customer marketer tired of being called the "case study person" — this is your year to reframe it.

What's the #1 thing people get wrong about your role?

I didn't realize this for years.
Customer marketing was too random.
And 2026 will expose that.

I used to treat customer marketing like a bag of tricks.

A webinar here. A gift card there. A last-minute reference ask when the quarter got tight.

It felt busy. It looked like impact.

It was mostly noise.

In 2026, the teams that win will do one thing well:

They will build systems that make them more human.

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝟳 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲:
1️⃣ Churn finally gets the budget it deserves.
↪ Retention stops being the "CS problem" and becomes a board-level growth lever.

2️⃣ Customer marketing ≠ advocacy becomes mainstream.
↪ The job stops being "get me a review" and becomes "grow the customer."

3️⃣ Random acts of customer marketing die. Orchestrated systems win.
↪ One-off asks get replaced by repeatable journeys.

4️⃣ The tech stack consolidates.
↪ Teams pick fewer platforms and use them deeply.

5️⃣ The CM role splits: strategist or orchestrator.
↪ One sets the plan. The other builds the machine.

6️⃣ Post-sale becomes the primary growth engine.
↪ Expansion, retention, and usage become the safer bet.

7️⃣ Big communities shrink. Curated micro-circles win.
↪ Less broadcasting. More belonging.

Here's what I know for sure:

The tactics will evolve. The fundamentals won't.

AI can automate a reference request.

It can't build the relationship that makes a customer say yes.

The customer marketers who thrive in 2026 won't resist the change.

They'll use it to become even more human.

I break down all 7 predictions in this week's newsletter — including the research behind each one.

Link in comments.
Which prediction resonates most with you?

Here's what I'm not doing in 2026: begging for budget.

For 15 years, I've watched customer marketing prove itself over and over.

We drive retention. We fuel expansion. We create the proof that closes deals.

And still, every planning season, we're asked to defend our headcount.

Here's the truth: I don't have it all figured out.

I don't have perfect attribution. I don't have a dashboard that answers every question. I don't have a CFO who wakes up thinking about advocacy.

But I'm done letting that be an excuse.

2026 is the year I stop explaining and start showing.

Speaking their language. NRR. Pipeline influence. CAC payback.

Showing, not telling. Dashboards, not decks. Even imperfect ones.

Aligning to their goals, not mine. Even when it's uncomfortable.

You don't need perfect data to stop apologizing.

You need the conviction to show up like a growth function anyway.

What's one thing you're not doing in 2026?

Customer marketing is splitting.

2026 makes it official.

Same mission. Different muscles.

The jack-of-all-trades CM is burning out.

You can't be the "ideas" brain and the "systems" brain forever.

Two paths are forming:

𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁
→ Defines segments and narrative
→ Picks the bets
→ Aligns with Product, CS, Sales
→ Owns the "why"

𝗢𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿
→ Builds the journeys
→ Runs the calendar
→ Manages tools and workflows
→ Owns the "how"

One sets direction.
One runs the system.

The mistake is thinking one person can be both forever.

Which path fits you better?

Retention was always cheaper.
For years, we've been screaming it.
Leadership nodded. Then funded another SDR team.
Now the math is breaking.

Here's the pattern:

 1. CAC payback stretches past 24 months
 2. Net-new pipeline gets brutally expensive
 3. Win rates get squeezed by crowded categories
 4. Discounts get bigger to force deals through
 5. Sales cycles get longer
 6. New logos churn before they ever expand
 7. NDR becomes the board's favorite slide
 8. Churn turns into a growth problem, not a support problem
 9. The budget finally moves post-sale
 10. The teams without retention muscle scramble

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀.

Not because leadership suddenly gets it.

Because the economics leave no other choice.

Here's what that means for customer marketing:
→ Post-sale stops being a nice-to-have
→ Retention becomes a growth metric, not a support metric
→ Customer marketing gets real headcount, real budget, real attention

The teams who've been building retention muscle for years will be ready.

Everyone else will pay the scramble tax.

Which camp are you in?

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Jill Rowley

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