Who makes a good customer reference?

If you're building a customer reference program, or taking a good hard look at how your current program works, this is the right question to ask. All customers are not equally good candidates for your program.

Before answering this question a gap analysis should be conducted to make sure that you know a) the segments that need coverage today, and b) those that are up-and-coming. The current demand is most easily identified by getting a sales pipeline report from your CRM system. You can slice and dice that information by, for instance, industry, product/solution, and geography; as well as criteria combinations (e.g., product A and healthcare). Once your target segments are identified, then it’s time to think about your ideal customer reference profile, which should include:

* Tenure - A customer reference should have some experience with your products/solution to share with prospective customers. Results, especially measurable, are the bottom line. A customer that can say how your solution is changing their business is more compelling than the one that says the really like a certain feature, or their account manager.

* Level - Generally you want to provide references of equivalent level, or seniority, to the contacts at the prospective customer organization. That might include c-level, director-level, manager-level and even front line people who are influencers. Having a good mix of reference resources allows for peer matching and higher relevancy.

* Activity Threshold - At what point do you define a customer as a reference? Is it when they agree to a press release about selecting you as a partner? Is it when they agree to their first phone reference? Is it when you have a focused conversation with them and gain participation in a variety of activities such as speaking opportunities, guest blogging, or giving a video interview, etc.? Will their availability and responsiveness be adequate or will getting a hold of the Queen of England be easier? You need to decide what level commitment equates to program membership.

* Personality & Passion – We’ve always said that an energetic and passionate manager-level reference is more compelling than a tentative, dry c-level reference. But that’s not meant to be blanket statement. It depends a lot on how you intend to use a customer reference. For live events and for video the more personality and passion, the better. For written case studies, on the other hand, it’s not as important because the writer can take artistic license.

It’s common to fall into a “beggars can’t be choosers” mindset when embarking on your recruiting project. But if you take a moment to develop a more deliberate approach the end result will be a higher quality pool and a more efficient program.