Since I started working with reference programs five years ago I have wondered why every company doesn't have a reference program? From my research most software companies have a reference program and some hardware companies do but I would think every company would need one! I mean in theory every company has customers, every company has sales people and every company wants to increase their sales. Am I missing something? Here are a few reasons why I think EVERY company needs one!
First it's a small investment that can reap huge rewards! You hire one marketing person and they alone can increase your revenue, company brand, sales effectiveness, press coverage etc! Sure if you want to go big, you can spend more on your program including videos, success stories, etc but honestly just having sales references alone that impact your company at least 10x what it will cost you to hire that one employee.
Second, I honestly think a customer reference program could benefit any company. I mean think about it. Financial Services need customer references to help in their marketing efforts. Healthcare and Biotechnology is another industry that would benefit from reference programs! Think about it. These tried and true concepts of customer references apply to any company, any size and any industry. It's been really fun for me to see other companies attending the Customer Reference Forum and I we see even more in the future!
Third, it can really help build your employee morale. Sure it's great to provide pizza every now and then to build up your employee's morale but sharing customer successes internally is a huge morale booster! For example, if you have research and development and there are engineers who are developing your product, wouldn't it help those engineers to know that the products they are developing work and work well? Share those successes internally and you'll see how much of an impact it has!
