If you have ever sold, you know the number one selling tool is references. They are needed to attract leads and close business. Yet, I hear over and over again from sales people, they do not have enough references or they are not the right ones. Typically customer stories and references are gathered from an ad hoc process when a need arises. The need being a press release quote, an analyst who wants to talk to a customer or a sales person who needs a customer to talk to a prospect.
It is rare that marketing has a focused effort to make sure references are in place. How often have you heard of a Director of Customer Stories? Instead, the responsibility lies with the product managers who take a lead, or maybe the press team that secures the companies that will talk to the press or analysts. Or marketing communications who is responsible for writing the success stories. More than likely, it is the sales people that have to respond when anyone (CEO, sales, press contact) asks “do you have some one that can be a reference for……?” This is followed by a fire drill, as time is of the essence.
One of the most powerful processes marketing can put in place in a defined methodology to nurture customer references and make it a measured responsibility. Here’s is what I’ve done to get customers helping with the success of the business:
First, identify the needs of the business, both strategic and tactically. How will sales, marketing, customer service and others want to tap into this very valuable resource?
Next develop a process to nurture the business to customer relationships. The strongest relationship is most often at the sales level, but there are ways a company can increase broader relationships across the business disciplines. For instance, creating an executive sponsor program, where senior management is assigned a customer for relationship purposes. Another is a customer council. This gives the customers unique insight and a voice into the company direction. A third is making customer references part of the sales or customer service. In the course of closing a sales or providing support the feet on the street people process and including the language for being a reference in the contract.
Take into account that there are degrees of references. What are you asking your customer to do? Talk to a prospect? Speak at a tradeshow? Be part of a Executive Dinner or Seminar? Provide a press quote? Publish a success story? Talk to the press? Most customers, once they have used your product, will agree to talk to a prospect. Once you ask them to go public (and there are lots of degrees of public endorsement), there are less willing to act. Find out their williningness and ability to talk publically or privately and create a plan than can leverage both. Then make sure you understand their internal processes. Many companies have PR and legal rules about outbound communications and endorsements.
Create a database. Part of the plan is how to match the prospect with the right customer. Sales will call for company in a specific environment, with a specific industry. The customer reference program will need a database of environments that can be sorted and analyzed based on product, industry, size and geography.
Set the process in place as part of everyone’s job. Ask customers up front if they would be a reference. One strategy is to have a customer satisfaction call after product is implemented. During the customer sat call, ask them if they would be a reference. The data can then be gathered and maintained in the CRM system. Other companies have used the sales people to secure the commitment. Put a process in place to call the sales person once the deal is closed to secure the reference.
Got other strategies? Share them with comments.
