To run a successful Customer Reference Program you need have a co-operative sales organisation in order to aid the customer relationship – the obvious way to get a sales team on board with anything is to compensate them.
In my experience incentive programs can be hit or miss – they seem to work well if you need short term references, for example customers to support a product launch, or customer quotes for an article or press release. Not so well when your aim is to have a long-term relationship with a reference customer, how can you reward an account manager for this? Would you pay per item delivered? For the time the relationship continues? Or maybe just for the initial introduction?
I once had a conversation with a Global Sales VP on how we could incentivise the field to support the launch of a Reference Program and thus hit the ground running, his response was that the only encouragement the sales team should need is that a reference would be available to them as and when they needed one. He suggested that each time a rep asked for a reference, he should have to provide one to get one! Not conducive to productive relationship with sales!
At the end of the day – as with the majority of marketing programs – the sales organisation is our number one customer. In my experience, the only way that we can get them on board is to provide them with a good service, treat their customers well and most importantly of all earn their trust. This does take time and is like a ripple effect, one happy rep will tell his friend all about you and gradually word will get out.
What experiences have you had? Have you found an incentive program that truly works in your company?
Sarah Burrows is a seasoned marketing professional who over the last 7 years has specialised in Customer Reference Programs. Her experience spans from starting them from scratch through to managing regional and global programs. She now uses her expertise to help organisations set up new reference programs or optimise existing ones.