We selected ReferenceEdge for two main reasons. First, the previous program we used was not language localized. We are a global program, but not everybody necessarily speaks English. So they're not going to navigate the same way everywhere throughout the world. In addition, people weren't able to submit reference requests and they weren't able to submit nominations for the program. We wanted to be truly global and support everyone; ReferenceEdge allowed us to do that.Second, ReferenceEdge is fully integrated into Salesforce, which our previous program was not. Everyone works in Salesforce. To pop in and out of Salesforce to do anything with references was inconvenient and inefficient. We love being able to say you can do this right from where you're working all day. That was really important to us, too–the Salesforce integration.

Because ReferenceEdge integrates with Salesforce, it's easier to track influenced revenue. It's easier to know that we're looking at the correct contacts because it's all in Salesforce. Last year we added several custom fields in our dashboard so we can track all the pertinent information and then be able to say, “Hey, look! This group is giving us exactly what we need!” We then highlight those specific groups that are really working to help the entire organization by getting us the references we need to help close deals.

ReferenceEdge brings a lot of value; the convenience of being native to Salesforce and the language localization for our global program really sold it for us.

ReferenceEdge helps track who uses the reference program the most in terms of approving nominations, approving usage of their advocates, and requesting references. We are able to show the correlation between folks who used references generated by our program and ReferenceEdge, and their overall sales performance. Many of those members of the sales team are in our President's club, the highest sales performers. It inspires others to use the program and ReferenceEdge.

Influencing revenue is the fastest way advocacy professionals can grow their career, obviously. But, being able to work with others is key. I know a lot of reference programs sit within marketing; ours does not. We sit within sales enablement. So as a result, I work with a lot of other teams. I love being able to help contribute to other teams’ successes. For example, I will pass on leads to marketing that they can turn into case studies that have been published and shared and used over and over again. And we work with our implementation team and they give us leads from there. Being able to help each other, share, and collaborate makes us a stronger organization and strengthens our customer-focused agenda.

I think the best place to find advocates is through our sales team. They have established relationships and they're able to point us in the right direction for leads.Our implementation team is another great resource. Once a customer has been fully implemented, we send them implementation surveys. And then we follow up on those and say, “Hey, I heard everything went great, and you're happy with it. Would you like to be a customer reference?”We work directly with each business unit as well to try to get advocates from them. And several of our executives have very close relationships with our customers and provide us with those insights. I feel fortunate that at Iron Mountain we have a ton of resources to get advocates.

We use ReferenceEdge in a variety of ways. We started with Reference Lead Finder late last year and it’s been helpful targeting specific areas and being able to do a thorough gap analysis via reporting. We can easily see when the last time a reference was used. We can ask questions that impact referenceability such as, “Does this contact still exist within this company?” Being able to track all of this through ReferenceEdge, which is directly connected to Salesforce, is key. I also love the feature in ReferenceEdge when you can put a caution on a customer to say, “Hey, don’t use this customer right now.” Maybe we’re focused on a renewal or trying to turn things around, but in the future they’ll be back.Also, being able to cross reference data with marketing surveys, identify supporters and detractors, and follow up on specific people that we do have in the program and nurture the ones that we really use pretty regularly is important. With ReferenceEdge, I’m able to do it.Overall, the reporting and the cross referencing with other teams and leverage Reference Lead Finder really help us grow the program and keep it under control.

Reference and advocacy programs have to be continuously nurtured for adoption. We need to make sure it's part of the employee onboarding process. We need to make sure that we are constantly in front of people so they know we're here. We have to advertise ourselves: This is what we do, this is how you can use ReferenceEdge and our program. It’s constant change management within our organization.

I think one of the common misconceptions about customer advocacy is that we have this huge database, and you can just pick anyone you want to use and use them as a reference. And the turnaround also should be [snap] in the salesperson's mind, and that's just not the case. It's important to constantly make sure customers are happy with us; it’s a priority to gain approval each and every time we want to leverage an advocate.It’s important to explain that to sales, so they do have that clarity, and they understand the reason for our seven-day turnaround. If I get it sooner, I'm going to give it to them, but it’s important to set that expectation for them. So, they aren't following up in five minutes after they ask.I also think it’s a misconception that we shouldn’t care about unhappy customers. It's not only important to care about our happy customers but understand why someone may be unhappy with us. So, if we do come across somebody who isn't happy that gives us the ability to work with them and turn that relationship around and remedy it. Sometimes you have an opportunity and the ability to turn the relationship around. That’s really rewarding.