I don’t think I’ve ever had a client without a customer reference problem.  Let me know if you’re an exception – I’d love to know how you found the path to reference nirvana.

Let’s face it, it’s not going to be easy. At the same time, nurturing customer references might be the most important part of your marketing program. Every study I’ve ever read about what influences B2B business buyers puts the personal recommendations of peers and colleagues at No. 1, and it’s not even close. So let’s just roll up our sleeves and accept we’re going to have to work at this.

from jasonkeath on Flickr

My theory is that customer references are more sustainable and have more influence on your prospects if there’s something in it for the reference. But it’s not just the obvious. Yes, a thank you in the form of a dinner or a gift is a nice gesture.  But for your best references, it’s ultimately about access and networking:  access to your senior leadership and experts, and networking with peers.

Well this is exactly what you should want!  If you want to maximize the ability of your best customers to help create new ones, they need to know more than just the details of their own project. They need to know your strategy and where you’re headed. Their conception of that strategy may be two years out of date (valid when they originally bought your product or service). That means they may very well be spreading the word about a company strategy or product direction that’s no longer valid and that may as a result attract the wrong prospects and deflect the right ones. More than that, senior-level decision makers in particular know that the most valuable commodity they and your leaders have is time, and investing it tells both parties they are important to each other and breeds loyalty.

Your customers value access to peers to network and learn. It can be difficult to form those relationships, especially when those organizations are separated by thousands of miles and every day seems so busy it’s just about survival. You bring a lot of value when you creating opportunities to bring these individuals together in interactive settings. (And by the way, by interactive, I don’t mean to suggest that this can be a webex or conference call – there’s a place for some virtual engagement but it’s face-to-face that cements relationships.)

Of course, some customers, for whatever reason, won’t be particularly interested in participating in your program even if their experience with your product has been positive.  That’s okay. Keep them happy – because they may find they get their voice back as a badvocate – but move on to others to be the lead customer advocates for your company.

That’s the relationship side of the success equation.  There’s also the process side, which is equally important.  You’ll need someone to manage all this.  Check out Kyle Flaherty on his Dances With Strangers blog for more on that: “These programs are important.  They are the lifeblood of supporting numerous sales and marketing activities, plan accordingly and have someone dedicated to making sure that things are done right. “  Technology tools are helpful, like Boulder Logic’s customer reference program add-on for Salesforce.com.

Best wishes.  As long as this is going to be a significant undertaking, let’s try to get the best possible customer engaged in the program.