Do your customers get what they want for participating in your company’s customer reference program? Or do they get what your company wants to give?

What Customers Want (in descending order)	What Customers Get (in descending order)
Ability to network with peers	Team/project/individual promotion
Access to vendor executives	Ability to network with peers
Influence on the vendor’s roadmap	Influence on the vendor’s roadmap
Rewards and discounts	Access to vendor executives
Team/project/individual promotion	Rewards and discounts
(From the 2004 Customer Perspectives Study, The Phelon Group)	(From the 2005 Customer Reference Program Benchmarking Study, The Phelon Group)

These two columns come from recent Phelon Group research that is available on our web site. See the disconnect? Customers want promotion least but are offered it most. Access to executives is high on the customer want-list, but low on the list of programmatic offerings. Every customer is unique and there are no "best practices" of what they should be offered. Bridge the disconnect (among other things) by downloading our complimentary Customer Perspectives Study - 2004. It’s a provocative report that offers a fresh look at what customers really want and need to act as a reference for your company. And, by talking to your customers to understand what really matters to them. Our clients often ask us how they can get their customers to participate in their programs. In some cases, we answer that question by actually doing the work and recruiting the customers. This helps us identify opportunities and diagnose problems. In other cases, we help our clients identify and narrow their value propositions by understanding what is important to their unique customers. If you can’t get a customer to say yes, think of it as a sales opportunity... sometimes the buyer is ready, other times she isn’t. Other thoughts to ponder: - Are you the right person to deliver the pitch? Is there an executive, account manager, technical lead, or a person currently in the reference program (someone your customer respects) who would be a better and more convincing messenger? - Is it the right time? All too often we forget that a customer’s definition of success may be different from that of the program or the company. Timing is everything. We often help our clients perfect the timing of the initial recruitment contact-usually at a point when the customer is excited, when they have a great story to tell and feel good about the relationship. The result: a better and more loyal reference and a more powerful story loaded with metrics-based success. - Are you making the program clear and simple? Customers we’ve spoken with have often been annoyed because they are not sure what they are signing up for and what the rules of engagement will be. It’s got to be crystal clear! - Are you up-selling? Look at each relationship as a strategic partnership. Start small and work your way up to asking a customer to act as an "under-NDA" or as a member of a customer advisory board. You gain great value when you start small because you allow the customer to acclimate to a deeper commitment and signed agreement-you give them a chance to understand the risks and to see first-hand how you will protect their boundaries. Before you do anything though, I recommend you start by reading the Customer Perspectives Study - 2004, which draws conclusions about what customers want based on what they’ve told us. Download your complimentary copy here. And then pick up the phone and start talking to your customers. Promise Phelon, Partner promise.phelon@phelongroup.com