A medical software provider was facing challenges with its outdated advocacy technology and partnered with Advocacy Maven to execute an advocacy platform migration to a more powerful, intuitive, interoperable, and automated system.
Through strategic planning, customized system design, and hands-on support throughout the deployment, we empowered the company to successfully launch a thriving new advocacy hub, boosting member engagement, sales efficiency, and product management. Notwithstanding an extremely tight time window, limited advocacy knowledge on the customer’s side, and a host of technical challenges, we delivered the project one week ahead of schedule, supporting an on-time platform transition under tight constraints.
A structured advocacy platform migration enabled the organization to modernize its community infrastructure and strengthen sales enablement.
Our customer is a provider of urgent care software solutions to emergency clinics and healthcare providers. The company’s suite of applications and related services are designed to solve the specific challenges of rapid healthcare delivery, connect patients with providers, and take the complexity out of delivering on-demand medical care.
Client Profile
➤ Industry: Healthcare Software / Urgent Care Technology
➤ Audience: Emergency clinics and urgent care providers
➤ Business Model: Software and services for rapid healthcare delivery
➤ Objective: Migrate to a modern advocacy platform and scale engagement
Challenge: System Limitations, Time Pressure, and Organizational Complexity
Our customer had begun an advocacy program to boost its software product sales, with the intention of empowering its product champions to engage with the brand and showcase their experiences.
However, the technology platform the company had started with only had limited functionality: it lacked key integrations with the organization’s widely used Salesforce software, had little scope for gamification techniques, and provided no automation for core processes such as reference management.
The company had been able to recruit 150 advocates into the program but was struggling to create content and maintain member engagement using the outmoded technology hub, which was also hindering the program’s growth.
Time was of the essence, as its old platform would soon be deactivated.
Executive buy-in was traditionally hard to come by in the company, and yet the new platform needed to be launched before the contract on the old system expired — just six weeks away.
Strategy: Platform Selection and Program Redesign
The organization selected an advocacy platform with comprehensive member management features, interoperability with Salesforce, as well as capabilities to automate customer references. The chosen system also had robust gamification processes, which would solidify and expand the company’s popular practice of rewarding its members with points for completing advocacy challenges.
Our customer needed to ensure a smooth transition to the new advocacy hub and revisit its program strategy to maximize its effectiveness.
From day one, we used our profound project experience to help manage customer expectations, for example identifying and addressing potential stumbling blocks such as IT, legal, and program design issues.
To drive the technical and non-technical changes it wanted to achieve with its advocacy program, our client — the provider of the new advocacy hub — turned to Advocacy Maven because of our deep subject matter expertise and experience in relocating customers on the engagement platform.
Our team of advocacy experts first set up a series of strategy sessions with the customer’s marketing team to assess their needs and objectives for the new advocacy program. The organization’s main goal was to be able to source and engage with referenceable customers, and to encourage them to participate in sales meetings which would help accelerate deals with new prospects.
The company wanted to use the member management capabilities provided by the new platform to better understand their target audience — and to learn how, when, and where members are engaging with the program. It also wanted to develop gamification techniques to ensure its advocates were being recognized for their efforts and contributions.
The organization’s overall vision was to build its community, expand advocacy, as well as develop and execute a programmatic post-sale engagement journey aligned to the customer journey, and create customers for life.
In multiple in-depth strategy meetings, we supported our customer in refining its advocacy program to meet its business goals. We discovered and categorized its target personas — clinic administrators and urgent care operations managers rather than doctors or nurses. We identified the most appropriate content types and communication channels and helped develop the program’s value proposition. We also offered valuable advice to ensure the creation of a compelling member experience.
To increase member engagement, it was crucial for the software company to revamp its content generation capabilities.
Throughout the strategy creation process, we consulted with all customer stakeholders and highlighted the need for senior managers to be fully on board and actively engaged with the project to ensure a successful transition.
Implementation: Migration, Integration, and Enablement
Technical Integration and Platform Enablement
After obtaining firm commitments from the customer, we progressed to the critical implementation phase. The company’s IT manager had agreed to act as the main sponsor for the project, which was to prove decisive in raising the profile of the advocacy program among the leadership team. It would also be key to ensuring the right connectivity between Salesforce and the advocacy tool, as the company aimed to enhance automation in its sales processes.
Content, Communications, and Administrator Enablement
Additionally, we implemented a structured communications plan to recruit new advocates and ensure that existing members adopted the revised program and new platform smoothly.
Our advocacy specialists invested significant effort in supporting the customer’s hub administrator — who needed frequent hands-on support to get up to speed with the platform’s intricacies — to develop a range of compelling content, including case studies, customer stories, testimonials, videos, and short-form references. Due to the administrator’s limited experience with advocacy, our team went the extra mile by creating sample content in various forms, which the organization then used directly in the program. We also helped the customer to build and execute individualized marketing communication campaigns — for both prospects and active members — which would ensure the largest uptake of the new advocacy program and system.
Against increasing time pressure, we liaised effectively with the customer, the technology provider, and Salesforce support teams — escalating issues where necessary — to iron out all the technical glitches and ensure seamless integration. We also offered continual guidance to the administrator and presented various support articles to boost their overall technical skills and system knowledge.
Our advocacy experts worked closely with the customer throughout the entire program implementation — from building and launching the platform to ensuring all advocates and prospects received the right communications through the right channels at the right time.
The program successfully launched a full week ahead of schedule.
Results: Platform Migration Drives Sales Enablement and Engagement
Impact Highlights
➤ Advocacy platform migration completed one week ahead of deadline
➤ 150 advocates successfully transitioned to new engagement hub
➤ Automated reference management fully integrated with Salesforce
➤ Increased advocate participation in revenue-driving sales meetings
➤ Enhanced product feedback loops and sales efficiency
With its new advocacy technology deployed and fully integrated, and its previous community members successfully transitioned to the new engagement platform, the organization transformed its advocacy program into a scalable sales enablement engine.
Using compelling content targeted towards specific personas, the organization is now able to foster continued engagement with its members and build strong customer relationships with its urgent care software products.
Reference processes are automated and fully intertwined with the company’s sales cycle, enabling the organization to better track its sales opportunities. Advocates can more easily promote the brand by documenting their experiences directly in the hub and are encouraged to increase their activity through gamification methods as well as an attractive rewards program. This has significantly increased sales efficiency, as greater numbers of community members are now participating in sales meetings to endorse the company’s products to prospective customers.
Product management has also been enhanced because more members are sharing scalable feedback on the discussion board and at beta testing events — while also providing persuasive quotes to accompany new software product launches.
The initiative achieved all primary objectives and strengthened the organization’s long-term advocacy maturity. It can now source highly referenceable customers and is well on track to reach its goal of doubling its community membership within the first year.
From Legacy Platform to Scalable Advocacy Engine
Replacing an outdated and fragmented advocacy system enabled the organization to establish a modern, fully integrated advocacy platform. Through disciplined strategy, cross-functional coordination, and structured enablement, the organization built a scalable advocacy engine that strengthens sales alignment, elevates member engagement, and supports long-term community growth.
