What Are Customer Reference Programs And How Can They Help You?

Sales are made when a customer with a need is introduced to the supplier that meets their need, and the role of the customer reference program is to find and point the supplier to that customer, and help manage and develop the ongoing business relationship.

In his book, “The Tipping Point” Malcolm Gladwell talks about how one particular person can affect masses of people and the result is an epidemic of sales of a particular item. He points out that the word of mouth advertising took a shoe brand that was for all practical purposes being phased out to becoming a best seller again and in nearly every mall in America in the space of two years. He writes that the resurgence can be because of one right person “who plays a critical role in the word of mouth epidemics.” The point is that a customer who has a need, and that need is satisfied by a product or services, they will often talk to others with similar needs, and the result is an increase in sales of a product. One goal of a customer reference program is to help identify and develop the satisfied customer.

For most suppliers door-to-door selling is not very productive; therefore, company sales representatives need the identities of the possible customer who can use the product they are selling. Customer reference programs research people, businesses, and consumers to find customers that need the item(s) or product that their client has to sell. This saves valuable time for the sales representative, because they don’t have to spend valuable time trying to find potential customers. The representative knows when they go to the possible customer they already know that potential customer uses or has a need for the type of item they are trying to sell.

This can result in a reduction in sales cycles, and less marketing campaigns, fewer sales events, and less sales representative-to-customer contacts. The end result is less expense which can result in a more competitive edge for your product. They can help develop programs that focus on building strong customer relationships and increase sales to existing customers. They can help streamline customer requests, increase and indentify the number of willing references, and make it easier for sales representatives to approach and recruit new customers. A customer reference program can help a business identify trends and stay ahead by using the most current marketing tools and sales strategies.

There have been times when sales people have been forced to make cold calls in order to try and obtain new clients. Sometimes during a call the sales representative would identify a need that their company did not provide the product to meet the need. Customer reference programs track those identified needs and can provide that information to their clients who can meet the needs.

In today’s marketplace businesses need an edge to be successful. Customer reference programs can be that edge. By identifying potential customers, helping manage sales to existing customers, and managing the relationships with customers by training staff the core business is free to focus on their primary task of providing the product.