Comments on: Quick…Define a Customer Reference

By: Joshua Horwitz

Joshua Horwitz — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:43:25 +0000

Thanks Maeve and Robin. Your comments help highlight the differences in definition.

- At Maeve’s organization, a Customer Reference is a *person* who is an advocate.

- At Robin’s, a Customer Reference is *words* in some published format.

There is no wrong answer, but the bottom line is that it is probably worth the effort for program managers to communicate their definition so all stakeholders have a common understanding.

By: robin hamilton

robin hamilton — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:36:52 +0000

oooh, tricky but here goes…

A customer reference is some packaged & approved words (irrespective of format) from a Reference Customer. A Reference Customer is someone prepared to remark (in lots of different ways we hope) about something remarkable achieved by working with your company :o)

By: Maeve Naughton

Maeve Naughton — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:43:11 +0000

We define a customer reference as “an advocate for our products and services”. It doesn’t matter how the story is told as long as it’s being told. As you mentioned, each group within the company has different needs and different ways of telling their story. It’s the job of the reference professional to meet the needs of those groups whether it be via a press release, customer call, case study, video testimonial, quote or any other form.