One of the most controversial topics in the Customer Reference Program world is the customer incentives. On yesterday's Gartner call Richard Fouts said that 90% of customers are willing to be references without any sort of incentive. This just validates what I strongly recommend to others. When I first started customer referencing five years ago I researched this topic quite heavily and solicited feedback from others. Here are some reasons why I chose to not have an official incentive program for reference customers.
First, customers themselves say it isn't necessary. If 90% of customers say they are willing to be a reference without an incentive, why would we incent them? I'm not saying I haven't ever incented them, I just have never had an official rewards program. Second, I want genuine customer advocates to be part of my reference program. I don't want to buy their loyalty or incent them for doing something they want to do anyway. Third, I have always been a one person show at my companies and it takes time to administer a reference reward program. For me, I would much rather spend my time on more strategic tasks.
What I suggest instead is providing customer value to customers who participate in your reference programs. This can include access to executives, input into your product roadmap, invitation to participate in customer advisory boards, promoting them as a thought leader in case studies and in press, opportunities to speak at conferences, and others along these lines. One example of this was the beta program at LANDesk Software. When I got an e-mail from the beta manager about a new beta coming up, I would send an e-mail out to the reference customers giving them first dibs on being part of the beta.
One last suggestion is that you have to make a shift mentally from "I'm bugging our customers" to I am providing value to my customers. Develop a win-win relationship between you and your customers and not only will you have a succesful reference program but this will impact your sales revenue as well. Good luck to you as you build your program and Happy Referencing!
