Do you love the reference management system your company uses? Finding what you need, when you need it? Getting great data out of it that helps support the company’s strategic objectives? Enjoying the intuitive user interface?

No? Well, most of your peers don’t love theirs either, as it turns out. A precious few would recommend whatever system they use, whether it’s a humble spreadsheet or a custom-developed system with all the bells and whistles. But most feel stuck – they’ll be using those not-so-great systems for years to come.

That’s all according to our 2007 Customer Reference Benchmarking Study, which we released last week. It’s got lots of great data (check it out in our resources section, or join us for a webcast next week, or read about it in MarketingSherpa), but that lack of satisfaction with basic reference program infrastructure, coupled with resignation that it’s not likely to change, really struck me.

Customer reference programs are no strangers to making do with what they’ve got, whether it’s headcount, budget, or systems. Does it have to be that way, though? Does the reference management system have to slip down the priority list of IT projects for another quarter? This is critical stuff – the home for data about one of your company’s most precious resources, your referable customers. Everybody needs it: sales, marketing, executives, even customers.

So get a coalition together and agitate. Stop thinking of these systems as belonging to the customer reference program and start talking about them as critical company assets that drive sales effectiveness and market presence. There’s an extremely compelling case to be made for greater investment here – so start making it.

Whitney Wood, Senior Consultant
whitney.wood@phelongroup.com