Ciana Abdollahian's Profile
Ciana Abdollahian
Recent Messages
#general - September 08, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Thank you all ❤️ it was great birthday!!
#general - September 05, 2025 at 07:53 PM
Thank you all for the bday wishes!
#open-share - September 05, 2025 at 05:29 PM
Thank you friend!!
#general - September 04, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Welcome to the world of advocacy and to my absolute favorite community. We’re glad you’re here!
#general - September 03, 2025 at 06:01 PM
@Nicole Saunders once I settle into my new role (start next week) I'm happy to chat. I'll be the Head of Customer Marketing and will be sitting on the Community team (which will be a first for me!)
#open-share - September 02, 2025 at 05:49 PM
New with Porter Consulting is live.
If your best customer wins are scribbled in notebooks/Google docs, do they even exist?
Inside: how to set up a #customer-love channel, a story template, light AI + Zapier to automate, and a simple way to track where stories get reused in deals and QBRs.
After a Sales VP called me the encyclopedia of customers, I realized I needed a quick way to promote all of the customer love I was receiving out to the company. I’ve used this setup at past companies to give visibility to customer interviews. case studies, customer webinars, and ship fast proof updates sellers can grab in seconds.
Most importantly, it is a great way to build a culture of celebrating and sharing customer wins ❤️
#open-share - August 19, 2025 at 09:40 PM
Welcome <@U09B5MXLKQW> and so happy you got to have a coffee chat with a true Customer Marketing queen 👸 and the OG Customer Cutie @Alexie Glover
#8-references - August 15, 2025 at 05:31 PM
<@U08UZKKA7D5> sent you a DM!
#8-references - August 15, 2025 at 04:59 PM
<@U08UZKKA7D5> I echo what's already been send but my team created a guide to RFPs for Sales at Snyk that covers this if you're interested in taking a look!
#jobs - August 14, 2025 at 05:17 PM
#general - August 14, 2025 at 12:51 PM
I know @Irwin Hipsman is!
#jobs - July 28, 2025 at 04:49 PM
Not affiliated but got some additional information on the role at Mimecast.
• Role is hybrid and requires two days in their Lexington, MA office (no flexibility on that)
• Reports into the VP of Customer Marketing & Global Events
• Extremely events heavy role - would be leading their user conference, CAB, user groups, and designing and managing the experience for customers at their Customer Briefing Centers
• This would be the third pillar of the team focused on Customer Engagement the other pillars are Advocacy & Comms
• This is in individual contributor role
Not sure if there any other Mimecast team members in this channel but they could probably give more context! If you're interested, let me know - I can so my best to try and get you connected to the right people!
#open-share - July 28, 2025 at 04:38 PM
Welcome back!!! Happy belated bday Jacob!
#general - July 23, 2025 at 05:21 PM
Sign me up for Boston!
#jobs - July 21, 2025 at 03:09 PM
This recruiter is new to the role (it looks like it has moved agencies), so I don’t have any context on the prior history. To be honest, I don’t think the new recruiter does either.
I was sharing in case it’s helpful. Interviewing right now is incredibly tough, and I completely understand the frustration. Smaller companies in hypergrowth often have growing pains when it comes to hiring, especially if they have not put formal processes in place yet.
I will make sure to pass along your feedback to the new recruiter. I know how important it is for them to hear this kind of insight.
#jobs - July 20, 2025 at 05:18 PM
Not sure about any of the history but this information is straight from the recruiter who I spoke with on Friday!
#jobs - July 19, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Hi 👋 Spoke to a recruiter at Vercel yesterday about their open . Happy to send resumes over for those who are interested. What I could gather from my conversation:
• ~600 employees
• JD mentions hybrid but I think they are open to remote
• Role reports into the Head of Product Marketing
• Looking for a builder - currently have nothing in place for customer marketing
• Company has been experiencing really strong growth
• I asked how success will be measured for this person. Recruiter just took over this role he didn’t have a lot of detail there so that would be something to dig into with hiring manager.
#general - July 15, 2025 at 04:27 PM
Thanks @Mary Green (Owner CMAweekly). I really appreciate the kind words! Although I am bummed out about the layoff, I am truly excited for what's next and feeling really grateful for this community. So many have already reached out to offer guidance and support ❤️ Appreciate you all!!
#general - June 12, 2025 at 09:29 AM
We’ve hosted an event at the Silverado Estate + Roy Estate Winery and have an upcoming event at the Rosewood Sand Hill in Menlo Park in July. I think all events are expensive, especially on a customer marketing budget
#jobs - June 11, 2025 at 02:39 PM
Just sent!
#jobs - June 11, 2025 at 10:42 AM
A former co-worker is recruiting for this role (she isn't the HM, she is the recruiter)! Looking from someone with experience building customer advocacy from the ground up since this is the first time they are hiring for this type of role. Happy to pass resumes on if anyone is interested!
#open-share - May 15, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Thanks for adding the link @Joel Primack - you’re a real one. I think Slack did me dirty. I SWEAR I remember pasting the link in the post
#open-share - May 15, 2025 at 06:21 PM
“Why don’t we have more recognizable logos on our website?”
Just hit publish on my of my IYKYK series, where I break down the stuff customer marketers hear all the time—and how to turn those moments of frustration into influence.
It sounds simple, but this question usually kicks off a much bigger conversation.
Like... how do we actually turn customers into public advocates? and what does it really take to earn a logo?
This post walks through how I answer that question—and how I use it as a chance to get support for the work behind the scenes.
P.S. realizing there’s way more I want to say than what fits in a post, so I’m thinking about turning this series into a resource guide where I can dive deeper!
#open-share - May 15, 2025 at 12:57 PM
@Amy and @Deja Darrington - I can absolutely relate. @Deja Darrington love that one - will add to the list and make sure to shout you out in the post!
#open-share - May 13, 2025 at 07:08 PM
👋 Hi CMAers — just published a that might hit close to home.
It’s the start of a new series called IYKYK: Customer Marketing Edition.
It’s about all the moments where leadership asks for something wild—like a case study before the product has launched, or 30 new reviews by Friday—and we’re left trying scrambling to explain how advocacy actually works.
if you’ve ever been on the receiving end of something like that, this one’s for you
I’ll be sharing how I try to navigate these moments and turn them into something useful—like a chance to educate and advocate for what it really takes to do customer marketing (the right way).
if you’ve got your own IYKYK moment, please drop it in the comments!
#general - May 02, 2025 at 01:27 PM
<@U08Q1CSQD5E> yes! I'll send you a DM with it
#general - April 28, 2025 at 05:42 PM
We've been doing monthly and from Q4 last year we had around a 35% or so open % and around 5% or so Click to Open rate. We recently added video so we're going to see if that boosts engagement as well. We also host a quarterly product updates webinar for customers.
#general - April 28, 2025 at 05:35 PM
Love to hear it @Meg O'Hearn!!
#general - April 24, 2025 at 05:59 PM
I've run it before but agree it's more suited for the Competitive team
#general - April 23, 2025 at 05:09 PM
Yes @Megan Ferenz! Sent via DM
#general - April 16, 2025 at 01:06 AM
@Nick Venturella shared a page I previously built with you - hope it's helpful!
#general - April 15, 2025 at 01:59 PM
@Meg O'Hearn I feel you!!! I'll send you a slide of the roles on my team and what each role covers/is responsible for in case it gives you some inspo!! I just need to update it 😃
#general - April 11, 2025 at 06:32 PM
Happy to share how we’re structured, but I don't think there is one optimal way (would be awesome if there was ). It really depends on your company’s stage and priorities.
At earlier-stage companies, customer marketing often leans heavily into advocacy because it aligns closely with building brand and demand. But as companies mature and new logo growth slows, there’s usually a bigger need to invest in onboarding and adoption marketing to drive retention and expansion.
Another major factor is whether there’s buy-in on shared OKRs across functions. For example, onboarding and adoption success can’t sit solely with customer marketing—it requires tight alignment (and resourcing) from CS, Product, and Marketing. We’re lucky to have two dedicated team members in CS focused on the customer journey and experience at scale, which makes cross-functional execution much more realistic.
So, the optimal structure really depends on the org, company culture, etc. I’d start by aligning team roles to your company’s biggest initiatives—and making sure you have cross-functional accountability to support them.
#general - April 10, 2025 at 02:32 PM
I have something that I'm happy to share but would probably need to redact some info. It might take me a few days to do this!
#open-share - April 08, 2025 at 04:38 PM
👋 Hi CMAers!
Just dropped a new LinkedIn post for anyone managing customer references
"How many advocates do you actually need to support Sales this year?"
If you've ever felt caught in the scramble to find references after the ask comes in — this one's for you.
I shared a simple 5-step planning method to help:
• Forecast reference demand using revenue goals
• Prioritize where advocacy will matter most
• Align with Sales and protect your advocates from burnout
If you want the plug-and-play spreadsheet, comment on the post or shoot me a DM.
Disclaimer: not a perfect model but definitely helpful in understanding how many advocates you may need to meet reference call demand aligned to expected regional growth
#general - April 07, 2025 at 12:11 AM
We rented out a VR venue where customers could come charge up their devices, get food and drinks, and play one of the VR games (they were more meant for groups so not a lot of people participated).
I think maybe having some arcade games could have been cool and a hit with our audience - maybe even do something for the high scorers.
We also hosted events in the VR space like an exec dinner with wine pairing and exclusive meetup with hosts of a popular podcast in our space.
Last year we did a morning workout with a popular Peleton instructor.
We did have kiosks with QR codes to leave a review offering a small piece of swag and a donation to one of the three charities we support as a company.
In the past, to encourage customers to stop by our booth we created a gift just for them and emailed our db and said if you’re at x conference, drop by our booth for a special gift just for our customers. That actually worked really well!
#general - April 04, 2025 at 05:31 PM
I have recent vendor comparison scorecard I can share with you! Sent you a DM.
#open-share - April 04, 2025 at 03:01 PM
Just shared a new post on how we reimagined the use of customer proof across the sales cycle.
Instead of saving references for the end, we looked at where different types of customer stories can actually move the deal forward—from discovery to closed-won.
If you’re looking for ways to build buyer confidence earlier or make better use of existing content, give it a read and let me know what you think:
#general - April 03, 2025 at 10:20 PM
I moved my comment to the thread Nothing right now but hopefully moving to a new platform soon!
#general - April 03, 2025 at 03:54 PM
It needs some updating but here is our !
#general - April 02, 2025 at 05:36 PM
💯 After learning the hard way, my philosophy is to "design with" Sales instead of "design for". Sellers are much more willing to use your content & programs when you build it with them.
#general - March 31, 2025 at 08:26 PM
Thanks @Mary Green (Owner CMAweekly) 🙏
#open-share - March 31, 2025 at 07:14 PM
Awesome! Hope it’s helpful 😃
#jobs - March 31, 2025 at 06:13 PM
I could be convinced to move to Puerto Rico...
#open-share - March 31, 2025 at 06:12 PM
👋 Quick share for anyone who is trying to drive better adoption of case studies & reference programs within their organizations
I just posted a breakdown on LinkedIn of a survey I ran with AEs to understand why Sales wasn’t using our case studies or reference program—despite saying they wanted them. Spoiler: it wasn’t about volume, it was about access, relevance, and friction.
The post includes:
• What I asked in the survey
• The gaps it uncovered
• What we changed in our advocacy approach
• How we’re measuring progress
• A free survey template if you want to run this internally
If that sounds useful, check it out
#open-share - March 31, 2025 at 06:11 PM
👋 Quick share for anyone who is trying to drive better adoption of case studies & the reference program within their organizations
I just posted a breakdown on LinkedIn of a survey I ran with AEs to understand why Sales wasn’t using our case studies or reference program—despite saying they wanted them. Spoiler: it wasn’t about volume, it was about access, relevance, and friction.
The post includes:
• What I asked in the survey
• The gaps it uncovered
• What we changed in our advocacy approach
• How we’re measuring progress
• A free survey template if you want to run this internally
If that sounds useful, check it out here: [Insert LinkedIn post link]
#general - March 26, 2025 at 09:34 AM
What we’ve done in the past is offer a $100 donation to one of three charities we support. We created a quick Google form for customers to fill out after they leave the review and ask them for their name and company name. It wasn’t perfect (we didn’t ask for verification) and actually worked quite well. It did provide a nice opportunity at the end of the year to email those customers and let them know how much was donated to charity thanks to their reviews! We have since just resorted to funding GPI gift cards.
#general - March 26, 2025 at 09:09 AM
@Deja Darrington do you have an example of what you’re thinking of here? Happy to give you some thoughts.
#jobs - March 12, 2025 at 11:16 PM
FYI i know the hiring manager for this role