The Call that Changed the Week

The past few weeks have been crazy with reference requests…”I need 15 references for…”, “the deal won’t close without a xxxxxx reference”, “the RFP needs 4 references”.  It was just enough for me to  pull my hair out.  As soon as I would complete a request, one or two more would hit my inbox. I kind of hit the point where the last thing I wanted to think about was talking to a customer and asking them if I could use them.

But then on Thursday, that all changed. I got a call from one of my favorite customers. I had convinced myself that he was calling me directly to get references for a new project he was working on, but he wasn’t. He just called to say hi and to see how I was doing. 

It was then that I realized the beauty and the joy of running a reference program – the connections you make with your customers. Mike had no idea what that call meant to me as it helped me put things back in perspective. I love working with customers and helping my PR team, AR team and sales teams out by giving them great customers. 

So thank you Mike for the call!

“Things to Think About” for the Reference Professional

#crlp How do you move customer reference approvals along?

Things to Think About” for the Reference Professional is a blurb to get you thinking. You can find content here on this blog or at Twitter under the hashtag for Customer Reference and Loyalty Professionals #crlp.

Know Your Customer

It’s always interesting to me when I get pitches from companies thinking that I’m a reporter. I’m usually flattered, but clearly the folks haven’t done their homework.  When I get emails with pitches, I always write back and say that I’m not a reporter.  Some of the folks apologize and thank me for getting back to them.  However, just yesterday I had someone pitch me a story, I wrote back saying that I’m not a reporter, and he replied with a question about what my colleagues write about and if any of them would be interested.

Before you do anything with a customer or potential customer, get to know them.  You might not have to know the nitty gritty about them, but give them enough respect to do some research.  Before I do any case study or press release call I always always always (yes, always!) check out their website.  I find out where they have offices, who their customers are and a bit about their business.

Doing your homework will save you time, embarrassment and the possibility of losing a customer!