An important part of a customer reference program is your program vision. This is important for many reasons including selling your vision to executives to get your program approved/get headcount/get budget, to help find your executive sponsor, to sell your program to sales employees and other stakeholders in your company, and so much more! A quote I heard many years ago that I love is "Shoot for the moon and you'll land in the stars". If your vision of your reference program is to provide references to sales, then that's what you will get. If your vision is to develop a program that impacts a company's revenue, builds your brand and improves employee morale, then that's what you will get!
Here are some things to consider as you develop your program vision. First of all, develop your program overview and set some objectives. The next step is to evaluate your needs and current program (if applicable). Next develop your future vision or what you want your program to be. This can include metrics, success criteria, program scope, phased rollouts, target goals, etc. This can be a great opportunity for you to create the program you want and to create it how you want it.
