Why should I hire a Certified Customer Advocacy Professional?
Customer advocacy has become a business imperative as B2B decision makers are redefining the buying cycle by doing most of their solution research prior to formally contacting vendors. If you’ve successfully secured budget and headcount for a customer advocacy program, you know that the candidate hired to lead the initiative can make or break that hard-won negotiation.
Certified Customer Advocacy Professionals (CCAPs) are proven experts in the discipline. By earning CCAP credentials, these practitioners demonstrate a passion for professional growth, dedication to a customer advocacy career, commendable curiosity in understanding evolving industry standards, and validated expertise in current customer marketing best practices.
When you hire a CCAP, you ensure that your customer reference program is led by a subject matter expert that can efficiently generate an impact; independently, from day one. Turnover in customer advocacy positions often can be attributed to a lack of understanding of the nuances of the role, and becoming overwhelmed from being a voice-of-the-customer champion in a business environment with dozens of other competing priorities.
CCAPs are qualified and prepared practitioners that understand the language and core concepts that drive advocacy. By earning certification, they have demonstrated their commitment to a career in customer advocacy and a firm understanding of both the practical, technical skills and soft, interpersonal skills required to thrive in the discipline.
Recruit candidates best suited to the demands of leading a customer advocacy program: Hire a Certified Customer Advocacy Professional.
Click on a competency below to learn more about the qualities and expertise that distinguish professionals at each certification tier.
CCAP I
CCAP II
CCAP III
+ Aware of Fundamental concepts
CCAP I credentials verify that a practitioner new to customer advocacy possesses the foundational knowledge to navigate an advocacy program and its various components with ease.
+ Data-Backed Decision Maker
CCAP II credentials validate that a practitioner possesses the critical thinking skills to make strategic, data-backed decisions about program delivery.
+ Senior-level Champion
CCAP III credentials confirm that a practitioner has attained the experience, skills, and competencies to wholly manage and champion a customer advocacy program at a senior level and drive voice-of-the-customer initiatives across departments.
+ Already using best practices
Candidates with CCAP I certification are well versed in industry terms and concepts, enabling them to immediately understand and contribute to an existing program framework.
+ Ready from Day 1
Candidates with CCAP II certification have the data analysis and project management experience to make independent decisions and lead a team of practitioners in alignment with broader company goals.
+ Adept at Garnering Buy-In
Candidates with CCAP III certification understand how customer advocacy fits into a company’s overarching sales and customer experience goals, and can effectively develop cross-functional relationships and design program enhancements that garner buy-in at the executive level.
+ Experience-Expert
CCAP I practitioners boast a deep understanding of how to cultivate high-quality experiences for both customer advocates and internal company stakeholders dependent on the advocacy program.
+ Agile Strategist
CCAP II practitioners have at least two years of practical on-the-job experience, and are capable of adapting best practices and learned strategies to changing company priorities.
+ Versatile Leader
CCAP III practitioners have at least five years of practical on-the-job experience, and are capable of leading a customer advocacy program at any stage of ideation – whether building the program from scratch or revitalizing an existing one.