Welcome to the Referential Blog!
As a team of consultants embedded in dozens of unique customer advocacy programs at any given moment, Referential is constantly exploring, implementing, and improving on strategies and best practices.
Join us as we discuss the latest tips, tricks, and techniques in customer advocacy and customer marketing.
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Meet the Referential Founders: Helen Feber
Perhaps one of the strongest driving forces behind Referential’s daily operations is Helen Feber, who also happens to be a Managing Partner alongside her husband and business partner, David Feber. She originally started the company in 1994, and from that point on the rest is history!
Helen built up her skill set and experience in customer advocacy after she “fell in” (as she puts it) to being a consultant after having left Hewlett Packard. Through a project she was asked to work on, she came to recognize the obvious lack of customers who would be able to talk about and provide insight on a product. And she credits that experience bringing her awareness to the absence of customer advocacy in so many corporations, and to the absolute necessity for these programs.
How to Create a Pivot Table in Excel
Pivot tables are one of Excel's most powerful Microsoft tools. A pivot table allows you to extract the significant data and trends from a large, detailed data set. When analyzing your customer advocacy program data, pivot tables can be excellent tools for efficiently gathering insights on your customer advocates and advocacy assets.
On-Demand ICCAP: A Perfect Pick-Me-Up for the Post-Pandemic Professional
Are you looking to build a database of active customer references but don’t know where to start? Are you having trouble determining the ‘what, which and how’ of metrics you should track? Are there more questions than answers? …Or are you looking for a real, in-depth refresher course to help polish your resume and knowledge base?
Tips for Looking Your Best on Video
With video meetings being our new normal, we want to present at least our top halves in the best way possible. So here are some tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your video conferencing!
Best Practices for Integrating RO Innovation with Salesforce
Have you ever dived into fulfilling an urgent reference request only to spend the next precious minutes hopping back and forth between your CRM and reference management systems, verifying that you’re using the most up-to-date customer data to identify the best-matching reference? Having easy, seamless access to current, real-time data – like account ownership, product usage, customer location and contact titles – can make a world of difference in how efficiently you can hone in on an ideal match for a reference request.
Because a Team of Consultants is Better than One
Though each of our consultants dedicate their time and focus to the programs of specific clients, our team regularly exchanges tips and best practices with one another. As a result, we’re constantly building on our collective knowledge and enhancing our ability to serve the needs of different clients.
Staying Healthy While Working Remotely During Covid-19 and Beyond
Everyone has their own methods for working remotely but it’s easy to slip into bad habits. There are, however, simple things you can do to make working at home as productive and healthy as possible.
Capturing Customer Testimonials During a Pandemic
As the US slowly starts to get back on its feet from the Covid-19 quarantine, businesses just like ours are starting to look at how we can adapt and overcome new social etiquettes. As the head of our video production team, it has been a challenge for me to develop new ways in which we are able to continue to create customer testimonial videos, but I have developed some strategies for navigating our new normal.
X.ai: A Personal Assistant at Your Disposal
Although most advocacy professionals wouldn’t mind an extra pair of hands to help with the countless responsibilities in a day, not everyone is lucky enough to have personal assistance with general daily tasks. If you are in a position where you are constantly scheduling meetings with customers, you may find that the task is very time-consuming. Going back and forth in email to find a time to meet can be tedious and reduce productivity. In addition, it can be a hassle to determine the correct time zone and the appropriate meeting time when contacts are located in different regions.
The Fundamental Components of a Customer Advocacy Program
Customer advocacy – the process of identifying and sharing the stories of success and delight from satisfied customers to educate prospective buyers about the value a company offers – has enormous potential to meet B2B buyer demand for peer references, and positively impact company revenue. To realize this potential, however, customer advocacy programs must be strategically designed to ensure advocacy efforts support the needs and interests of customers and align to broader business goals.
Jennifer Doyon, a Principal at Referential, shares insights from her 15 years in customer advocacy. In this Q&A, she discusses the key considerations when selecting a Reference Management System (RMS) or Customer Advocacy Platform (CAP), and how Referential helps clients justify their advocacy program budgets, optimize platform performance, and implement best practices.