The voice of the customer
Customer advocacy at hosting.com is built around one simple idea: listening. As Joel explained, “We are the voice of the customer.” His team spends their days in the same spaces where customers share their stories, such as tickets, chats, phone calls, and across social media. From there, they gather insights that shape how hosting.com serves and supports its global community.
“Within a big business, it’s easy for a customer to feel like their voice might not be heard,” Joel said. “Our job is to make sure it is heard, and that what we learn reaches the people who can make a difference.”
That approach connects advocacy directly to every corner of the company. The team collaborates with product, marketing, care, and leadership to close feedback loops and ensure decisions reflect what customers actually experience.
Advocacy versus experience
Many companies talk about customer experience. Joel prefers the word advocacy because it communicates action.
“Customer experience reports on what happened,” he explained. “Advocacy takes it further. It means we advocate for the customer.”
Experience measures satisfaction. Advocacy builds relationships. It asks, “What does this person need and how do we support them through it.” The goal is not just to solve a ticket. The goal is trust.
“When you have a good relationship with a client, they become a fan of your brand,” Joel said. “That is when you move from customer advocacy to brand advocacy.”
Turning mistakes into trust moments
Joel and Cory agreed on one critical truth: mistakes are inevitable. Websites go down, migrations hit bumps, and expectations sometimes get crossed. What matters most is how a company chooses to respond.
“It is not about being perfect,” Joel said. “It is about being accountable. I talk about mistakes as trust moments.”
When something goes wrong, Joel guides his team to acknowledge it, take ownership, and focus on what can be done next. On screen he laughed and referenced Back to the Future.
“We cannot go back in time and fix it. So we acknowledge it, we own it, and we make it right.”
Joel believes that customers feel communication more than they feel technical skill. “If your technical ability is at 100 and your communication is at 20, customers will rate you by the 20.”
At hosting.com, empathy and clarity are as important as problem solving.
Sustaining empathy at scale
Advocacy requires emotional resilience. The team is often working with customers who are stressed, frustrated, or tired. To keep the team grounded and supported, Joel uses several practices.
One of those practices is finding an opportunity each week to surprise a customer with a moment that goes above and beyond. It keeps the joy of service alive.
Another is what Joel calls the brains trust. When a tough situation arises, the team works on the case together, combining their strengths and perspectives.
He also emphasizes flexibility. If someone stays late to help resolve a critical issue, they are encouraged to take time back later. “That balance keeps us grounded and focused on what matters,” Joel said.
Building a team that leads with empathy
When building the advocacy team, Joel looks for two qualities above all others: strong communication skills and a positive attitude. Technical skills can be learned; empathy cannot.
“Some of our best advocates come from hospitality, retail, or customer service backgrounds,” Joel said. “They already know how to meet people where they are and help them move forward.”
Cory agreed, noting that the best customer advocates share one thing in common: A desire to help people feel understood.
“You cannot be trusted unless you are a human brand that shows up for your customers,” Cory said.
When customers succeed, we succeed
Joel often references a principle shared by Ben Gabler, our Chief Product Officer. When our customers succeed, we succeed.
That idea has become a cornerstone of hosting.com’s culture. It means measuring our success by our customers' success, whether they are running a small business or building high traffic experiences for their clients.
“If we help them achieve what they set out to do, they will stay with us for the long term,” Joel said. “That is how you build trust that lasts.”
Cory summed it up at the end of their conversation. “You cannot scale trust without humans like you. This is what care in action really looks like.”
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