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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Recruitment and Trust Go Hand-In-Hand: Employee Highlight Series
In this Q&A, we delve into insights shared by Referential's Advocacy Consultants, Kristian Gallego and Rob Lisama, on the challenges and strategies involved in customer recruitment for advocacy programs. They discuss overcoming common hurdles like database management and client engagement, emphasizing the importance of trust-building and leveraging technology effectively to drive successful recruitment outcomes.
Assumptive Recruiting: Getting On Their Calendar
Catch more advocates with a proactive 'assumptive invite' strategy. Referential’s personalized approach respects a would-be participants’ time while highlighting the value of joining an advocacy program. Opt-out options and flexibility ensure a positive experience. Learn how to boost your recruitment rates today!
Employee Highlight: A Look Inside the Numbers Is All You Need
The best way for a customer advocacy program to survive long-term is to establish metrics and reporting functions early on that prove – to stakeholders and upper management – the value of the program, both at a high-level and in-depth. Read through this Q&A with Sr Advocacy Consultant Denise Taylor to learn more!
Predictions for the Year Ahead
Program justification has taken a vocal seat at the table, education across departmental silos and stakeholders has never been more important. Proving the value of what you do is now, perhaps more than ever before, a business imperative. The “so what?” for customer advocacy is a question ringing loudly in everyone’s ears. Luckily, across the industry both the tools in use, and the practitioners using them, can loudly answer this query.
A Look Back on 2023
It has been evident in 2023 that customer advocacy has encountered many ups and downs. Within a year where program cutbacks, re-orgs, budget reviews and department shifts have featured heavily, the age-old question has come up time and time again: “can we do more for less?”
Metrics to Help With Budget Justification
One of the most meaningful and powerful bi-annual metrics that we have in our portfolio, Client Lifetime Total Revenue and Longevity (CLTR-L) was developed to evaluate the dollar value of a client relationship over the length of the contract, and the longevity of the relationship. This metric enables us to quantifiably contrast the average value of active advocates against the average value of non-advocates. From this, we can help our clients demonstrate the tangible business impact that active advocates are making on just their part of the overall revenue.
Program Management of an AdvocateHub: Let’s Talk Naming Conventions
When you become an admin of an Influitive AdvocateHub, it is essential you think both short and long term about overall strategy. This post explains a simple best practice that enables admins to see the dates, target audience, challenge creator and more at a simple glance and, more importantly, with a simple search!
Employee Highlight: Advocacy Program Management at a Fortune 500 Company
This blog features a Q&A with Senior Advocacy Consultant Barbara Leavy, in which she speaks about her experience managing the advocacy program at a fortune 500 company. Topics include navigating acquisitions, setting client expectations, the challenges of massive product portfolios and more!
What My Eighth Grade Graduation and a Multibillion-Dollar Company Have in Common
Filming customer testimonials for our clients is a team process that involves multiple hours of work, which includes reviewing existing case studies and potential client interviewees. Maintaining regular touch points with the client to ensure there is a full understanding of the participants, and also to formulate relevant and valuable interview questions.
Obsession CLG Tour 2023: Speaking, Attending & Sponsoring
Obsession CLG Tour 2023, organized by Base and sponsored by Referential, offered impressive content and opportunities to network. Read on to find our why it was so engaging, and what some companies are doing to succeed using customer marketing and advocacy.
Referential All-Hands ‘23: Using Time Together to Strategize and Optimize
Referential held its annual All-Hands meetings at Bear Lake in Utah this year! A week together spent team building, going over best practices, customer challenges and wins, and forming a game plan for the next year.
The Imposter Syndrome is Real, or, How I Got Out of My Own Head and Back Into the Workforce
It turns out that imposter syndrome is not unique to a stay-at-home parent returning to the workforce – many of us underestimate ourselves and overestimate others.
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.