Customer stories are indispensable for every B2B organisation. They provide tangible proof of how products or services solve real-life problems. They build credibility, strengthen connections with the audience, support sales, and help maintain a positive brand image.
DNV is a global independent assurance and risk management provider. I worked with their Energy Systems business area, active across multiple markets worldwide. DNV needed a clear process to develop, store and promote customer references, and a strategy to embed them in marketing plans, campaigns and customer activities globally and locally.
No structured process to develop, store and promote customer references across global markets.
Customer references existed, but there was no standard approach, no consistency across markets, and no central place to find them. Valuable stories were created once and then lost. Marketing and sales each worked in their own way.
Building a global customer reference program with a clear 5-step approach.
I started with interviews across marketing, communications, media, branding, sales, digital marketing and innovation. I needed to understand what was already there before building anything new.
Together with the project team, we mapped the full process from idea to published story. We agreed on a standard 5-step approach that works for all markets and business units. That process was then built into Monday.com so it became part of how they work, not a document people forget about.
I also developed the assets the team needed to make it easy:
- A Customer Reference Guide: step-by-step instructions for sales and marketing on how to plan and create a customer reference
- A 2-pager with links to all templates, ready to use
- A SharePoint library where all finished references live, brand-approved and ready to download
Everyone now knows the process. Colleagues submit projects for references because they see the value it creates, for the company and for themselves.
My specialisms
| Customer Advocacy | Stakeholder Management | Content Strategy | Process Design |
Results
- 7 customer references delivered in 10 weeks
- 1 clear 5-step process, embedded in Monday.com
- 9 practical templates for consistent storytelling across all markets
- 1 SharePoint library for global storage and distribution
- Full stakeholder alignment: everyone knows the process and sees the value
Customer advocacy in your marketing plans? Let’s talk about what we can build together.