Ciana Abdollahian

#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

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urnactivity:7315409225696845824/

#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: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cianaabdollahian_if-youre-only-using-customer-proof-at[…]m=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAGGTzUBW8nnfuEGZ4SwLZtIGYgaTcjnXhA

#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 Snyk Ambassadors page!

#general - April 03, 2025 at 03:23 PM

It needs some updating but here is our Snyk Ambassadors page!

#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 here

#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

#general - March 07, 2025 at 04:38 PM

For those who have comms governance committees? Who sits on the committee?

#general - February 25, 2025 at 03:58 PM

I need this too. I have lots of thoughts and then my slides are too busy so any resources, templates, etc would be so helpful!

#discussions - February 24, 2025 at 08:44 PM

At this point, I wouldn’t weight the programs since it would add more complexity to the reporting process. Instead, I’d focus on setting a stricter definition of "engaged" for each lifecycle program—for example, I wouldn’t count registrations for a customer webinar as engagement.

I’m looking to understand what others consider a meaningful definition of engagement for this type of report. For instance, if customers who participated in 2 or more lifecycle programs (whether it's a webinar, email nurture, in app engagement, etc) renew at a rate 20% higher than those who didn’t, that feels like a strong indicator of impact.

#discussions - February 24, 2025 at 06:09 PM

@Shannon Howard if it's a webinar then engaged would be "attended" or "watched on demand", email would be if they clicked through, workshop would be if they "attended" etc. I know demand gen counts when contacts register for their events but that feels like a bit of a stretch to me. That to me would show they are potentially interested but not exactly engaged.

#discussions - February 24, 2025 at 05:26 PM

I would take that approach if our MOps lead would let me

#discussions - February 24, 2025 at 05:14 PM

@Katlin Hess @Kevin Lau @Rachel Ward do any of you have thoughts or ways you've built this that has worked well for you

#discussions - February 24, 2025 at 04:59 PM

For those working in customer lifecycle marketing (especially onboarding & adoption)—how are you measuring NRR impact?

I’m thinking of partnering with RevOps to build reporting that shows:

Renewal/expansion rates of customers engaged in lifecycle programs vs. those who aren't.

But defining “engaged” is tricky. I don't know if there is a benchmark out there so looking to you all to see if there is some sort of standard!

Would you measure it as:
• Engaging in 1 program?
• Engaging in multiple programs?
• Engaging in certain programs?
Or is there another approach you’ve found more effective?

I want to ensure we’re tracking meaningful engagement that shows the impact of customer lifecycle marketing on revenue.

Would love to hear how you approach this or any metrics you’ve found valuable!

#general - January 14, 2025 at 12:07 AM

As the onboarding & adoption marketing at Snyk, I've realized my team plays a crucial role in setting up expansion opportunities.

For example, we're currently promoting a free feature that will become premium later this year. By building a strong user base now, we're developing a warm audience of users who understand the feature's value and are more likely to upgrade when it becomes paid.

While the distinction between adoption and expansion marketing can overlap sometimes, we're demonstrating how driving awareness and adoption directly supports expansion success. It's collaborative effort between our teams and has worked well so far!

I also think our strengths are best leveraged post-sale but can absolutely help impact NRR. We're starting to get closer to metrics/programs that show a more direct impact across onboarding & adoption marketing and hopefully community when we mature that program!

#general - November 07, 2024 at 11:13 PM

@Shannon Howard DMed you with some social tiles!

#general - November 05, 2024 at 07:28 PM

I've been working with Marnie through a coaching program that Snyk offers and she has been phenomenal.

#open-share - October 31, 2024 at 09:03 PM

#random - October 23, 2024 at 05:27 AM

Oh my goodness!!!!

#general - October 09, 2024 at 04:21 PM

We recently graduated from tummy time

#general - October 09, 2024 at 04:19 PM

😭 i'm crying over the cuteness!!!!!!!

#general - October 09, 2024 at 04:12 PM

We'll miss you @Daniel Palay!! Can't wait to catch up @Alexie Glover & @Emily Amos

#general - October 09, 2024 at 03:48 PM

Can't wait to see you!!

#general - October 09, 2024 at 03:46 PM

Anyone going to CustomerXCon? I didn't think I was going to be able to make it this year but just registered today!!

#jobs - September 29, 2024 at 10:48 PM

@Caitlin Croft the whole team is on the east coast so west coast would be tough but if anything changes i’ll keep the group posted!

#jobs - September 24, 2024 at 04:32 PM

Preference for Boston but I think we'd be open to remote (preference for East Coast) for a really strong candidate

#jobs - September 24, 2024 at 04:18 PM

Hi all!

I have a Senior Manager, Customer Lifecycle Marketing position opening up at Snyk. This role will lead a team of two, focusing on customer communications, onboarding, and adoption programs.

The ideal candidate will have experience building and scaling customer lifecycle marketing functions at companies with multiple products. They should be comfortable with ambiguity, have a strong vision, ability to execute and be a skilled collaborator. Bonus points if they have experience in a fast-paced environment and have helped establish KPIs for a new program before.

We have made a ton of progress in less than a year but looking to bring on a seasoned lifecycle marketer to help us build on the momentum and mature our customer lifecycle programs.

If this is you or someone you know, please reach out!

#general - August 16, 2024 at 04:00 PM

It looks we may need to have @Carey Jordan host a Friday call @Mary Green (Owner CMAweekly)!

#general - August 16, 2024 at 09:18 AM

@Carey Jordan My team would love to speak to you if you’re open to it! This is all the stuff we’re working through now and it’s always helpful to hear how other companies have approached similar challenges

#general - August 15, 2024 at 10:03 PM

We are just looking into how we better target our customer comms all around e.g. we are EOL a product feature but don’t have confidence in the data that shows who is using that feature.
I would love to understand how others are tackling these types of product comms where there are data, opt-out, and spamming challenges

#general - August 15, 2024 at 07:33 PM

Hi 👋 Does anyone here know or manage customer comms for a large company with a large product line (companies that come to mind Snowflake, ServiceNow, Datadog, Atlassian, etc.)? We're in the process of building out a more dynamic & proactive customer comms process and would love to see how other large organizations with big customer bases are handling this!

#general - August 13, 2024 at 06:21 PM

I can provide how I structured this as well

#general - August 01, 2024 at 08:16 PM

Thanks @Shannon Howard I'd love the recording too!

#general - July 13, 2024 at 07:35 PM

We did an in high end exec meeting in NYC and it was ~$2500 per person. One thing we did was host it in one of notable customer's spaces and they waived their fee.

#open-share - July 02, 2024 at 06:42 PM

I had to build the case to build and move the function under the CMO. I don’t think it’s the default for CMOs to have Customer Marketing to report to them. Most CMOs don’t have extensive Customer Marketing experience and therefore usually have it report to their product marketing or corp comms leaders.

#open-share - July 02, 2024 at 06:01 PM

I’ve had the most success when I’ve reported directly to the CMO. I find when you report to PMM or Corp Marketing you unintentionally become pigeonholed because leaders of those function typically lack the understanding of all of the different facets of customer marketing and how powerful they can be if brought together under one team (lifecycle, advocacy, community). I think @Kevin Lau said something very similar on LinkedIn so this is a