Have You Defined The Metrics For Measuring Your Program?

March 18, 2010

The next item on our customer reference program checklist is critical. I can’t emphasize this one enough. You must define your metrics so you that you can measure against your goals, show value and demonstrate success. 

Even if you have not been asked to define your metrics, understand that you should do it. At some point you will need to validate your program to ensure its existence and future growth. In addition, a defined set of metrics that are effectively communicated will elevate your program and help you to secure the executive support necessary for success.
 
It doesn’t need to be difficult or complex. In fact, when initially setting the metrics, we recommend that you start modestly and evolve them over time. You may be able to come up with dozens of dimensions for measuring things, but recognize that reporting takes time to prepare and time to digest. Focus on measuring what matters most. 
 
Consider these areas/categories when beginning to define your metrics:

Portfolio metrics: Portfolio metrics enable gap analysis as they show data for various aspects of your reference portfolio such as where you have references, industry, product, geography, segment, coverage etc. Consider breaking your portfolio metrics down by what types of activities your references are willing to provide (live, content, phone calls, etc.) With these  metrics you can clearly identify the gaps that need to be filled and the areas of strength in your portfolio of references.

Activity metrics: Activity metrics are useful for demonstrating the efficiency of your program to yourself and to management. It is important to consider metrics such as the time it takes to fill a reference, the total number fulfilled, the time it takes to recruit a customer, the percent of customers coming into program, resources in program, service levels, etc. Use this as an opportunity to gauge your own performance and communicate it appropriately.

ROI metrics:  The most important reason to define metrics is to show the financial impact you are having on the business. Choose metrics that show reference activity impact on specific deals. Also when you track this activity you can see the individual deals that are being influenced by the program. Consider comparing sales deals that use references versus those that do not. Trending over time will further validate the program’s significance in generating new revenue.
 
Start with just a handful of key metrics that will speak directly to the needs of your business, then evolve and expand from there. Remember that the reports you think will be most important initially are not always likely to be relevant down the road. Don’t be afraid to discontinue certain measurements as your program evolves. You will learn as you go what is most important at any given point in time, so be flexible and change with new knowledge.

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Posted by Joshua Horwitz

Is Internal Marketing A Core Part Of Your Program?

March 11, 2010

The next point to consider on our checklist for building a successful customer reference program is whether you are doing enough internal marketing. By internal marketing, we mean communicating with management and your fellow employees to establish awareness and understanding about your program. 

Since marketing professionals typically drive the customer reference programs, effective communication activities should be second nature. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case and it ends up like the old story where the cobblers’ children have no shoes. This is particularly unfortunate, because to be successful a customer reference program really needs involvement from multiple groups, requiring coordination and strong communication. Internal marketing is the tool for defining, driving and reinforcing the actions and behaviors needed for success.

Making internal marketing core to your program means thinking about it as an ongoing activity. It means thinking about your different audiences, what messages are needed for each and the best channels to communicate them. Here are a few of the best practices we’ve seen. 

• Brand your program.  Give it a catchy name so that people will take notice and want to be a part of it. Reinforce the brand by including updates and information on the program in company-wide meetings, newsletters and on the Intranet.

• Launch with gusto.  Announce your program internally with enthusiasm by getting your executive sponsors on board, planning a special announcement meeting with fun incentives for participation.

• Highlight achievements.  Send monthly, bi-monthly or weekly emails with updates and accomplishments so that your stakeholders are consistently reminded of the success the program is generating. Tap into the competitive nature of your sales team by bringing visibility to those who are achieving the desired results. Highlight the success of particular individuals –promote these internal champions.

• Create campaigns and promotions.  At least a few times each year, define a campaign that encourages and reinforces one particular behavior that will be beneficial for your program. Use this approach to reach new milestones and highlight the success.

• Maintain regular communication.  Don’t forget to continue the conversation. Use all means of communication at your disposal to keep the momentum going. This can be a good place to let folks know that you are listening to their feedback about your program.

• Elevate the discussion.  Throughout all your communication, remember to keep the discussions focused on demonstrating the real and tangible value of the program. Every chance you get, report on successes made possible by the program and the value of those wins.

There are several ways to deliver your message in consistent, effective and motivating ways. Consider using your corporate Intranet, group emails, company newsletters and a variety of meetings to keep the communications flowing. Also use your executive sponsors to be your advocates and support your message in appropriate venues.

Internal marketing doesn’t need to be time consuming when it is established as a core part of your program. A simple quarterly plan can help keep you on track. Make it a regular activity that helps create the visibility and drive the behavior you need for the success of your customer reference program.

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Posted by Joshua Horwitz

Are You Interacting With Others That Engage Customers?

March 2, 2010

Another important point on the checklist for running a successful customer reference program is working effectively with others that are interacting with customers.

When ramping up any customer reference program, interacting with other internal teams and programs across your organization is essential. Failure to do this can result in a disjointed experience for your customer and missed opportunities to increase the efficiency of your own efforts.

I had the opportunity to speak with Laura Ramos; an analyst at Forrester Research who has been researching customer reference programs. She supports the value of customer reference programs but emphasized the problem of reference programs operating in isolation. This isolation is a major threat to a program’s ability to deliver a positive experience. 

Essentially there are two steps to interacting with others that engage customers:

1)      Understanding the needs and resources available from other groups. Find out who to engage within your company, what your program can provide to them and what they can offer. Understand their interactions with customers and look for opportunity to leverage each other’s efforts. Once you are more familiar with their process you can uncover resources and even develop champions for your program. These relationships are critical.

2)      Creating a single positive experience for (both internal and external) customers. Work to ensure that programs are integrated into customer engagement initiatives and tied in with other groups. This will eliminate costly duplications and create a unified positive experience for everyone involved: happy customers, happy sales teams and ultimately happy executives and shareholders.

When building relationships with your program constituents it is a great idea to engage them in the development process of building the program. Make sure to ask about existing efforts and activities so that you don’t have to build everything from scratch. When people are involved in the creation, they will feel more pride and ownership of the final program, and therefore will be more likely to participate in the way that you need them to. 

Once your plan is in place, hold regular meetings with these groups to update them and keep the momentum going.  Communication and relationship building is key to your efforts. The more you can engage all the groups and individuals in your organization that you need to be involved, the better your program will perform.

Effective interaction with other customer facing groups, allows you to increase service levels to those people internally that your program is designed for, and is what makes an overall well respected program both internally and externally.

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Posted by Joshua Horwitz

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