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In addition to having substantial experience with Hitachi Data Systems' customer reference program, Jeremiah Owyang is a rapidly rising star in the world of social media. His own blog is in the top 1% according to Technorati. In his video show for the Pod network he has interviewed luminaries such... read more →

In addition to having substantial experience with Hitachi Data Systems' customer reference program, Jeremiah Owyang is a rapidly rising star in the world of social media. His own blog is in the top 1% according to Technorati. In his video show for the Pod network he has interviewed luminaries such... read more →

Early registration is underway for the Spring 2007 Customer Reference Forum. It will be held in Berkeley, CA at the fabulous Claremont Resort (attendees who register early can stay for $200 a night -- a great deal). We plan terrific presentations on: customer communities; developing effective reference deliverables; getting beyond... read more →

Barb Krasner chairs our Special Interest Group (SIG) on Metrics for Measuring the Effectiveness of a Reference Program. Its goal is to develop best practices in this critical area, and it's been up and running now for six months with a talented and diverse group of reference pros. I touched... read more →

David Held at Microsoft needs a sales tool template and is asking for help on this from the community. Please see below for more information. Project Knowledge Exchange is a collaboration between customer reference professionals. You can ask for advice from your peers, provide such advice, exchange forms and templates,... read more →

His may seem like the wrong topic for a blog post so early in the year, since you're probably still digging out from the holiday season and have a 2-page task list plus 200 emails to get through. But I'd suggest you step back every now and then - particularly... read more →

It's been a busy 2006 for yours truly. I was in London in October for our first Customer Reference Forum Europe, then back in Dallas just two weeks later for our Fall US Customer Reference Forum. Whew! After intense face time with top reference professionals on both sides of the... read more →

Todd Berger from Autodesk is seeking information on how to leverage customer references acquired by resellers/ partners Hi Bill -- The majority of our sales are closed through resellers who are reluctant to pass on their customers for reference activities. Or at least until they feel that they’ve leveraged them... read more →

Kim Nelson from Quantum is looking for Sales Survey Templates people have used to determine what sales needs from a reference program. Here are the specifics. Hi Bill: I am looking for surveys or questionnaires that customer reference managers have sent to their sales teams in order to assess what... read more →

We just finished our first Customer Reference Forum Europe, in London on October 23-24. What an engaged, passionate group! As in the states, several of the world's top technology firms sent representatives -- including SAP, Hewlett-Packard, EMC, IBM, Dell, Intel, Microsoft, Business Objects, Lucent Technologies, SAS, Hyperion and other major... read more →