We've begun planning our next Customer Reference Forum. It's scheduled for March 30 and 31 in San Francisco and we've already been very busy behind the scenes!

--We've picked a very cool location: In fact, I think it's the coolest hotel in San Francisco.

--We're planning much more interaction between attendees. Whatever issues you're facing in your reference program, you can get answers from the largest available collection of leading reference professionals in the world.

To read more, please click here.

The Ultimate Question: A Quickie Review (Net Promoters® is about to change your job.)

Customer loyalty guru Fred Reichheld is about to come out with his new book, The Ultimate Question, this month. Fred has graciously provided me with a galley proof. Here's an early review.

First and foremost, the book is mandatory reading for customer reference professionals. I've never said this about any publication, but I'm saying it now. Here are a few reasons why:

-- It sets out a very powerful and deeply researched business case for customer references ("promoters" in Reichheld's terminology).

-- It shows the incredible potential of references/ promoters to influence growth and market share of a business.

-- Here's one tantalizing stat: 25 percent of Dell's sales in one year were driven by customer referrals.

-- Great companies that are embracing Net Promoters include General Electric - year after year arguably the most respected firm in the world, Intuit and, though not mentioned in Reichheld's book, SAP (as attendees at our late event learned). Where great companies like GE, Intuit and SAP lead, others -- including very possibly yours -- will follow.

-- As you read the book, you'll find that customer reference programs can and should play a key role in implementing a Net Prompters initiative.

To read more, please click here.