A Note to New Reference Managers

Dear Customer Reference Manager,

Welcome to the world of customer referencing! You have chosen to join a profession that it not only challenging but very exciting as well! As you start your journey, I wanted to share a some tips to help you get up to speed quickly and confidently!

First of all, you don't have to go on your journey alone! There are hundreds of other customer reference managers who have been doing this for years and are willing the help you with questions you have. We have an amazing reference manager community with reference managers in all geographies, industries, company sizes and experience. Join the various groups on LinkedIn and get to know other reference managers! You will definitely want to consider attending a Customer Reference Forum . Here you can mingle with a few hundred other reference managers and learn best practices that can help you build a best-in-class customer reference program! These conferences are usually only two days which is perfect for our busy schedules.

Second, there are many resources that can help you understand what customer reference programs are, what your responsibilities with include, customer reference program best practices etc. These include the many vendors that provide customer reference program service. Second, there are some fantastic vendors out there who can help you. Here are some of the ones I am familiar with: Big Sky Communications, Boulder Logic, inEvidence, Mainstay Partners, metia, Point of Reference, Projectline and TechValidate. You can also find all sorts of documents that are out on the Internet including sample plans, timelines, templates etc. One new site that posts resources for reference programs is Customer Reference Program org.

Third, know that if you have a positive attitude and a willingness to make a difference you will be successful at this job! Of course it helps if you have sales and marketing background, strong communication skills, strong customer service orientation, ability to work well under pressure, great knowledge of PC tools, strong project and program management skills but honestly some of those skills can be learned. What you can't teach someone is to have a positive attitude and a passion to make a difference!

Fourth, start reaching out to others in your company and at your customers. Relationship building is a key part of successful referencing. Get to know key people at your company including sales, consulting, support, inside sales, public relations, analyst relations etc. Go to your customer conferences and user groups so you can meet customers and start building relationships with them!

Good referencing!
The Customer Reference Program Guru

Repurposing Customer Reference Material

Here's a scenario. One of your customer's has agreed to be a customer reference. In February you ask him for some quotes. In March you ask him to be in a press release. Then you go back to him in June and ask him to help you do a case study. And then in August you go back to him to ask him to do a video testimonial. Well in the course of seven months you have bothered your customer four times and taken up an incredible amount of his valuable time. There has to be a better way right?

One way to do this is to re-purpose your customer reference materials. Right now I am working with a client who is developing customer video testimonials and is very smart about it. They asked extra questions at the video shoot and then they had the video transcribed. All that it required of the customer is a two hour video shoot and from that we can get a video, quotes, and their story for a potential case study and press release.

Another example of this is if your customer does a webinar for you. Make sure to get their presentation and also transcribe the webinar and voila you have the material to need to write up a case study and quotes for various marketing materials. Of course, you should go back to your customer to ask them if you can use their comments for quotes and a case study.

I think some customers say no to helping with customer references because they are worried about how much time it will take. They already have a full-time job and it isn't their responsibility to help you with yours. Make it easy on them. Try some of these ideas out and come up with some of your own. Let's make life easier on our reference customers. I promise they'll love you for it!

Support for Your Reference Program

When I first started as a reference program manager five years ago I was pretty disappointed there weren't more resources to help me quickly get up to speed. There wasn't a customer reference program book to buy, a magazine to sign up for or one 'single' blog to help me become the expert I wanted to become. After digging around I have found some amazing resources I wanted to share with others.

First of all, there's a great conference that I've been to three times and really enjoyed. It's called the Customer Reference Forum and it's put on by Bill Lee. The conference is only two days long which works well with our busy schedules. It's usually held around San Jose or Boston. In 2009 I taught a Getting Started class which was a great opportunity to share my experiences and advice. The number one reason I recommend the conference to reference managers is for networking. We have an amazing community and everyone is willing to help one another.

Second, there are some fantastic vendors out there who can help you. Here are some of the ones I am familiar with: Big Sky Communications, Boulder Logic, inEvidence, Mainstay Partners, metia, Point of Reference, Projectline and TechValidate. There is even customer reference program software you can purchase that is outstanding. I know BoulderLogic and Point of Reference make software but there could be others.

Third, there are groups you can join. For example I belong to six customer reference groups on LinkedIn, in addition to quite a few other customer related groups. These are great to join as you can not only learn new information but post questions you have and get answers. People are always posting news, articles and tips. It's a great resource.