Shows
The Loyal-Tea Talks PodcastEp. 16: Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Champion-ing Career Graphs in 2026What if customer marketing is not a function, but a force? And what if the women shaping it are not waiting for seats at the table, but building entirely new rooms.In this electric episode of The Loyal-Tea Talks Podcast, I sat down with Gianna Scorsone, co-founder of ChampionHQ, the platform redefining advocacy, loyalty, and customer-led growth with both strategic rigor and heart.This is not just a conversation about dashboards and pipeline influence. It is about power. About ceilings that crack quietly before they shatter. About silk scarves worn as armor in bro dominated...
2026-02-1459 min
The Loyal-Tea Talks PodcastEp. 15: Beyond The Stack: What It Really Takes to Make Customer Marketing FlowWhat if the real reason your customer marketing feels hard… isn’t your strategy, your customers, or even your team?It’s the invisible maze behind the scenes.In this episode of The Loyal-Tea Talks, I sit down with Paola Johnson from Grafana Labs to go beyond the shiny tools, glossy demos, and promises of automation to talk about what actually makes customer marketing flow.We unpack the quiet work no one sees. The systems behind the systems. The scorecards that save you from falling in love with the wrong vendor. The moment you re...
2026-01-2930 min
The Loyal-Tea Talks PodcastEp. 14: Future Brew: 2026 The Year of the Customer MarketerCustomer marketing careers are evolving fast and the path forward is no longer linear.In this episode, Aparna sits down with Irwin Hipsman, founder of Repetitos, to unpack how customer marketing, advocacy, and lifecycle marketing roles are changing as we head into 2026. Together, they explore why job titles are shifting, how data fluency and AI are reshaping expectations, and what separates marketers who grow deep from those who grow wide.This conversation moves beyond surface-level trends into the realities behind career progression in SaaS and B2B customer marketing. From navigating manager versus director roles...
2026-01-1535 min
The Loyal-Tea Talks PodcastEp. 13: The 5 Golden Rules for Keeping Your Community Thriving in 2026Communities are no longer a nice-to-have. They are the heartbeat of loyalty. But in 2026, that heartbeat is not sustained by louder messaging, smarter algorithms, or endless incentives.In this episode, I sit down with Gabrielle Herrera from HubSpot for a grounded, honest conversation on what it actually takes to build communities that last. From designing spaces people want to return to, to knowing when to step back and let members lead, this episode explores the quieter, more intentional side of community growth.You will hear why authenticity scales differently than volume, how connection beats content...
2026-01-0149 min
The Loyal-Tea Talks PodcastEp. 12: Loyalty Without Labels: How to Find Advocates Hiding in Plain SightWhat if your next advocate isn’t the person filling out your surveys or shouting on social media… but someone quietly cheering for you in the background?In this episode, I sit down with Shannon Howard, Senior Director of Customer & Content Marketing at Intellum, for a conversation that redefines how we see customers, loyalty, and the hidden stars inside our ecosystem.From understanding yesterday’s believers to spotting tomorrow’s fans, Shannon unpacks why advocacy isn’t a program you run... it’s a relationship you nurture. We explore the limits of personas, the power of community...
2025-12-1838 min
The Loyal-Tea Talks PodcastEp. 11 [Part 1]: From Forums to Feelings: The Future of Digital BelongingIn Part One of this special two-part series, we began talking about how community has become one of those words that everyone uses and no one defines. It shows up in strategy decks, Slack channels, and CRM fields, yet rarely captures what it is meant to hold: real human belonging. In this episode, we dive straight into the heart of that tension with someone reshaping the entire conversation.I sit down with Zach Hawtof, CEO of TightKnit.ai, a platform rewriting what digital connection looks like. What started as a conversation about Gen Z, Slack cultures, and...
2025-12-0436 min
The Loyal-Tea Talks PodcastEp. 11 [Part 2]: From Forums to Feelings: The Future of Digital BelongingIn Part Two of this special series, the conversation with TightKnit.Ai CEO Zach Hawtof goes from smart to seriously unmissable. Our chat was so rich, real, and resonant that we had to break it into two episodes, and this is where it gets especially tactical for anyone owning or influencing community and customer marketing.We pick up right where we left off, talking about how community can become painfully transactional on both sides: for the member and for the manager. From there, Zach unpacks what it really takes for a community to feel alive and valuable...
2025-12-0424 min
The Loyal-Tea Talks PodcastEp. 10: Gifting is Not a Strategy: Creative Ways to Build Emotional ROIGifting is Not a Strategy is a conversation about what happens when the heart of customer marketing gets buried under perks, points, raffles, and rewards. If you caught episode nine with Jeni, you will remember how energizing it felt to explore her idea of weaving charitable giving into customer communities. That discussion surfaced something important. In a world obsessed with KPIs and retention curves, it is far too easy for programs built on connection to drift into transactional territory.In under ten minutes, this episode offers five creative ways to build emotional ROI. Two...
2025-11-1908 min
The Loyal-Tea Talks PodcastEp. 9: From Points to Purpose: When Customer Marketing Fuels Real-World ChangeCommunity is not a tactic. It is people, purpose, and the quiet belief that small actions can create lasting change. In this episode of The Loyal-Tea Talks, Jeni Asaba from Jamf shares how a single trip to rural Uganda turned into Building for Bridget—a nonprofit, a school, and a promise that no child’s fire should fade for lack of opportunity. What began with shoes that grow and backpacks of school supplies became something bigger: a living example of what happens when you stop asking “Why me?” and start asking “If not me, who?”That same mindset now...
2025-11-0644 min
The Loyal-Tea Talks PodcastEp. 8: Employee Advocacy 2.0: The 5 Trends Shaping Employer Branding in 2025Your employees are your most authentic brand ambassadors, but the way they share, connect, and influence is evolving fast. In 2025, employee advocacy isn’t just about posting on LinkedIn or sharing a press release; it’s about creating a culture where employees feel proud, empowered, and inspired to represent the brand in ways that resonate with today’s audiences.In this episode of The Loyal-Tea Talks Podcast, I’m joined by Debra Squyres, the CCO of Bonusly, to unpack the five key trends redefining employee advocacy and explore how they’re making a measurable dent in employer branding...
2025-10-2343 min
The Loyal-Tea Talks PodcastEp. 7: Gamify with Grace—When Points Work and When They BackfirePour yourself a cup and tune in for this ten-minute podcast. As promised, let's connect on Instagram and LinkedInWe’ve all done it, rolled out shiny points, badges, and leaderboards, thinking we’re fueling advocacy. But here’s the real tea: most points programs fail not because customers stop engaging, but because we stop thinking about why they should.The next ten minutes will take you behind the curtain into the mind of a program manager designing a points-based advocacy program from scratch. From how points are earned, redeemed, and valued, to where most progr...
2025-10-0810 min
The Loyal-Tea Talks PodcastEp. 6: Rooted Globally, Resonating Locally!In this episode, I welcome a guest whose name echoes across the halls of global customer advocacy: Pascale Royal, Director of Customer Marketing at F5, with an extraordinary track record at Coupa, ServiceNow, and Citrix.From ballet-inspired precision to orchestrating flagship events, executive councils, and storytelling programs, Pascale has elevated customer marketing into an art form. I admit to fangirling as Pascale shares her global journey—from APAC to EMEA to North America—breaking silos and connecting people through advocacy that lasts.Together, we explore what it takes to scale global advocacy without losing soul, why...
2025-09-2437 min
The Loyal-Tea Talks PodcastEp. 5: Advocacy Burnout Is Real : Protecting Your Program (and People)Customer advocacy is one of the most rewarding yet demanding parts of marketing. Between scaling love, proving ROI, energizing champions, and juggling constant asks, burnout often creeps in—for us and for our advocates.In this episode of The Loyal-Tea Talks Podcast, I sit down with Dave Hansen, Global Customer Advocacy Manager at Siemens, to unpack the realities of emotional exhaustion in advocacy. We talk about the hidden signs of burnout, how to protect both professionals and champions from overexposure, and the strategies that help keep programs sustainable without losing the joy that makes them thrive.I...
2025-09-0444 min
The Loyal-Tea Talks PodcastEp. 4: Your First 90 Days: What to Do When You Inherit a ‘Dead’ Advocacy ProgramInheriting a customer advocacy program that feels more forgotten than functional? You’re not alone.In this episode of The Loyal-Tea Talks Podcast, I break down what actually happens in the first 90 days after you step into an “unconscious” advocacy program and why most of them aren’t dead… just dormant.You’ll hear:The real reason those referral tools and ambassador spreadsheets stopped workingWhat not to do in the first 30 days (no matter how tempting it is)The CPR Framework I use to revive stalled programs and rebuild trust...
2025-08-2113 min
The Loyal-Tea Talks PodcastEp. 3: The Review Whisperer: G2’s Blueprint to Stay in 5-Star ShapeIn this episode, I sit down with Katlin Hess, Director of Customer Marketing at G2, to explore the art and science of reviews within customer marketing. Together, we unpack how reviews shape brand reputation, why customer feedback is the lifeblood of a thriving brand ecosystem, and what it really takes to turn users into passionate advocates.From the unique perspective of being both the reviewer and the reviewed, Katlin shares how she navigates the challenges of maintaining trust, operationalizing transparency, and preserving the human voice alive in an age of AI-generated content. She offers...
2025-08-0837 min
The Loyal-Tea Talks PodcastEp. 2: The Revenue Lego: Sales, Demand Gen & Advocacy in SyncAren’t we all just trying to make the blocks fit?In this no-fluff, all-fire episode, I sit down with the legendary Bill Macaitis, the marketing maestro behind Slack, Zendesk, Salesforce, and more. We dive into how he built brands people rave about and created team alignment that’s more than just an org chart on a slide deck.From customer love as a KPI to the chaos of siloed teams, Bill shares how he turned marketing into magic (without selling his soul to MQLs). We unpack what really goes wrong when Sales, Demand Gen, and Cus...
2025-07-2337 min
The Loyal-Tea Talks PodcastEp. 1: I Built My First Advocacy Program With $0 BudgetWhat do you do when you have no tools, no tech, and no budget, but a whole lot of belief?In this debut episode of The Loyal-Tea Talks, I take you back to the very beginning, where my journey with customer advocacy began. No platforms. No gifting partners. Just Excel, heart, and hustle.I share how I built my first program from scratch, why customer-love beats automation any day, and what it really takes to get your first few champions to show up, not because they’re incentivized, but because they care.Whether you...
2025-07-1014 min