“Things to Think About” for the Reference Professional

#crlp Why do some companies treat new customers better than loyal customers? ie. cell phone providers giving discounts to new customers but charging older ones more?

“Things to Think About” for the Reference Professional is a weekly 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.

“The New Medicine” and How it Relates to References

I recently watched the movie “The New Medicine” which is a documentary hosted by Dana Reeve (Christopher Reeve’s wife). I have no idea how it got in my queue but I was pleasantly surprised by it. Granted, I had no idea what to expect and the thought of watching a medical movie for 2 plus hours did not initially appeal to me. However, I did find myself engaged in it.

Simply put, the movie makes the case that your mind plays a huge role in your health and the way in which we recover and/or fight illness and disease. With many real case studies of how people made themselves better with positive thinking, the documentary is pretty moving. It’s repeated over and over again that stress and tearing down your body doesn’t help you at all.

Throughout the documentary, there were many points that were made that I’m going to bring up here. Some may be far fetched, but I couldn’t help think about customer references when I heard these. So stick with me for a few more paragraphs while I explain. Here we go…

- Know the patient history in order to find out why they are acting the way they are. It is very important to know all about a customer before you use them for a reference – especially a large one. For extremely important ones like key media opportunities or analyst references, I will speak with the customer and see if there are any roadblocks or bumps in the road they may have. They might not be entirely related to the current opportunity, but it is best not to be blind sided when it’s too late. If I know that a reporter wants to talk to a customer about consolidation but has a habit of asking about support issues, I’ll make sure I’ve got a happy customer and one that loves our support.

- There is a partnership between the patients and the physicians. It doesn’t matter if you sell tires, shoes, software or routers, if you want to use your customers as a reference, you’re going to have to build a partnership with them. I’m not talking about legal documentation, but you’ll both have to get something out of it. You will get good publicity or a good reference (hopefully) while the customer may just want his/her name in print or you to escalate a question that they’re having. It’s a two way street and we as reference professionals have to remember that there are lots of other vendors that our customers are working with. He/she doesn’t have to do you any favors!

- “It is much more important to know what sort of a patient has a disease than what sort of a disease a patient has” by William Osler. This might be a stretch, but this quote resonated with me so I’m sharing my knowledge. This is such a critical part of running a reference program. At the end of interviews, I ask my customer what they feel comfortable talking about. I put them in interviews that they feel comfortable with. Just because a customer is using product X, Y and Z doesn’t mean they feel comfortable speaking about product X. They also might feel comfortable being a reference for something I had no idea about. Sounds kinda crazy, but customers sometimes use products differently than we intend them too. By asking what they want to talk about, I put power in their hands and let them realize that it’s a partnership we have, not me just telling them what they’ll be doing (see above bullet). No one likes being told what to do.

- Understand each other and have trust in each other. Understanding your customers is a key point to this bullet. Realize that what’s important to you, might not be important to them. Sometimes this sucks when you think you’ve got the perfect customer for a cover story for one of your top tier publications, but it might not be so important to the customer. They have other aspects of their jobs that don’t include helping to make your company look good. You can’t have a good relationship with anyone without trust. Treat your customer as you want to be treated because as I mentioned before, they don’t have to do you any favors.

- Allow humanity to enter into the relationship with the patient. Your customers are people too. Yes, I know, simple comment, but remember it! Put in your calendar their wedding anniversary or birthday or when they’re going on vacation and ask them about it later. If they don’t want to tell you how their honeymoon was, that’s fine, but take an interest in them outside of work related things. I’m not saying go to their kids’ baseball games (that would be weird and borderline stalking), but in an email tell them that you hope they had a good Father’s Day or wish them a happy birthday. It’s the little things that build relationships that build trust.

Now go out there, be healthy and stress-free.

“Things to Think About” for the Reference Professional

#crlp Does corporate philanthropy help create customer loyalty?

“Things to Think About” for the Reference Professional is a weekly 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.

A Little Self Serving

This past November we lost my Uncle Jerry to cancer. He was an amazing man who loved to give people a hard time, loved to BBQ and loved his family.

A close second to his family, Uncle Jerry’s biggest love was the water. Even when he lived in California, he loved to fish and go out on boats. After he moved to Hawaii he fell even more in love with the water. He bought a boat and would spend several days a week on it while trying to catch fish. If you ever had the chance to visit him, I’m sure he asked you when you wanted to go fishing. I was lucky enough to visit him a few times in Hawaii and took him up on the offer. But to me, it was never about the fishing. It was about relaxing on the water, forgetting everything on the shore and spending time with him. If you got a bite on your line, it was an extra bonus. Ironically, the more time he spent on the water, the more his “Popeye the Sailor Man” face would come out and the more often you’d hear him call someone “Fishface!”

In remembrance of Uncle Jerry, I have decided to join the Leukemia and Lymphoma’s sailing team. What better way to honor the man, than to spend time on the water raising money for what eventually took his life – cancer. The Leukemia Cup Regatta will be held in the San Francisco Bay on September 20.

This will be my 5th team and about 10th season with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training. If you can support me and help me raise $3,500 in honor of Uncle Jerry, I would be grateful. If you can’t, please send me good wishes and make sure to hug the ones you love tonight.

Any donation, large or small, is welcomed. You can donate on this page All donations are tax deductible. If your company matches donations, feel free to match.

If you would like me to race in honor of someone who won the battle, is battling or lost the battle, please let me know their name.

“Things to Think About” for the Reference Professional

#crlp Loyalty cards don’t always create loyalty. They sometimes create people who want discounts.

“Things to Think About” for the Reference Professional is a weekly 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.

When Life Hands You Lemons, Make Lemonade

The past year has been pretty crazy for social media followers. What was once a distant concept has been adapted by businesses to reach beyond the traditional marketing campaign. Companies that have a handful of employees are now using social media to reach out to prospects and multi-national and multi-million dollar companies are using social media to build customer loyalty. Some companies are even using it to develop product roadmaps.

Social media has also hit the mainstream. Take a look at these examples;

The Vatican announced last week that they are now using Facebook. You can join their 1,400 fans here.

San Francisco’s mayor, Gavin Newsom, announced his running for California Governor on YouTube and the city now has its 311 Operation Center using Twitter tweeting to its 1,500 followers of what’s going on in the city by the bay.

President Obama’s team brought social media to the masses during the 2008 President campaign with LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and many other social media mediums.

I think we all remember the CNN vs. Ashton Kutcher race to have 1,000,000 followers on Twitter. (personally, I think this was all just a publicity stunt because it’s not about the number of followers you have, but the quality)

Most recently, Lance Armstrong today announced the birth of his son, Max, on Twitter.

My point with this post isn’t to say that everyone is using social media so you should too. My point is that your customers are using social media so you should be there to see what they’re saying, see what interests them and to connect with them. Your customers follow politics, watch CNN and enjoy watching professional athletes. Find the voice of your customers.

I’m signed up for sites, now what?
Although it doesn’t take long to set up a Twitter or Facebook account, it takes time to manage them and to use them strategically. Social media isn’t about putting a check next to things that have to be done this year. If you start a blog, write! If you have a YouTube channel, post things to it. Although it’s a simple concept, make sure that you have the resources to do it properly.

Social media is a chance for you to connect with your customers and prospects in a non-traditional way. When appropriate, make sure that you are letting your constituents/customers/prospects know that you’re listening to what they are posting. You don’t need to respond to every comment, but you need to be aware of every comment.

Social media is also a two way street. It’s not a tool for your customers and prospects to ask you questions and you to do nothing about. Likewise, it’s not for you to just push out information. Ask questions, get folks engaged, have a call to action. Why not post on LinkedIn your new corporate blog and have people respond to it. Ask them if they agree or if they have better solutions. Ask them if they have blog suggestions. Get folks involved. It’s not called “social” media for nothing!

I was on a Webinar yesterday hosted by Social Media Magic and they help companies create social media strategies. They are one of many companies that can help you. If you’re lost and don’t know where to start, ask. There are many companies, books and Websites that can help you get started. Also feel free to check out what other companies are doing and take note of where they are strong and what aspects of their social media campaign are weak.

Simply put, use the tools when given them. When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.

“Things to Think About” for the Reference Professional

#crlp Happy employees have a huge impact on customer loyalty.

“Things to Think About” for the Reference Professional is a weekly 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.