Due to requests from several folks, we're extending early registration for the 2008 Customer Reference Forum by one week. To take advantage of the early registration discount, please register by 5 p.m. EST, Wednesday, January 16.

Below, please find an interview with this week's featured presenter at the 2008 Forum, Microsoft's Paolo Tosolini. Paolo describes how his firm is embracing social media tools to market case studies and customer references directly to sales and other internal stakeholders. This new initiative - called Academy Mobile - provides RSS capability to receive targeted, automatic updates on reference resources and allows sales people with simple recording devices to upload new reference audio/video for immediate access by the entire community. It's a very cool tool and is gaining substantial traction at Microsoft.

Key quote: "I'm witnessing an interesting trend with New Media. Blogs, podcasts and social networks are inherently less formal than traditional case studies and customer evidence. There is a space for these new deliverables and collecting them is easy, affordable and quick."

Register for the 2008 Customer Reference Forum

More information about our Keynote and other presenters

More information about the event or please see below

See you in Berkeley!

Bill

************
"The Customer Reference Forum was incredibly valuable. I learned more in two days at the conference than I have in my first 9 months on the job!"
Liz Pedro, Customer Programs Manager, LANDesk

A very inspiring and well organized event. It is really a key event for reference marketing professionals."
Oguzhan Genis, Director Customer Value & Reference Services, SAP
************
2008 CUSTOMER REFERENCE FORUM

WHEN: February 18-20

WHERE: Claremont Resort, Berkeley, CA, a fabulous hilltop resort with great views of the San Francisco Bay.

KEYNOTE: "Uncovering the Hidden Impact of Customer Referrals on Profitability," based on the powerful new metric Customer Referral Value (CRV), by the top researcher in the world on the subject, Prof. V. Kumar, ING Chair Professor in Marketing, University of Connecticut, and Chairman & CEO, IMC International

WHO: Network, exchange best practices and build relationships with reference pros from top programs including Microsoft, SAP, Intel, Blackbaud, EMC, Juniper Networks, Oracle, Qwest Communications, SAS Institute, Siemens, CA, PGP, HP, Intrepid, CompuCom, MarkMonitor, Amdocs, Research in Motion, RightNow Technologies, Ariba, DayJet, NetApp, Genesys, Symantec and dozens of other great firms.

TOP 5 REASONS TO ATTEND:

- Gain a support network of your peers from the world's top programs
- Learn how to gain respect - and resources - from senior management
- Stay abreast of rapid changes in the profession, such as the impact of references on social media
- Establish your program's business value
- Get tips on stretching scarce budget dollars
- Learn vendor offerings in a no-pressure environment.

CASE STUDIES: You'll learn:

- how Intel has raised the strategic importance of its reference program with Sales and Marketing, based on a recently completed 18-month trial.

- how SAP has revamped its reference management system to provide "the right reference at the right time."

- how Microsoft is using podcasts and other social media to market and enhance its reference program internally.

- why SAS' reference program is regarded by Sales as essential to the sales process.

- how Oracle is cracking the code on embracing and engaging customers online.

If you're just starting your reference program:
- how Qwest Communications took its reference program "From 0 to 60" in less than a year.

If you're overwhelmed by the constant stream of incessant demands on your reference program, new initiatives and ever-evolving tool:
- straight talk from Unisys's Wayne Fenstermacher on what's real and what matters in running a reference program - based on his eight years of experience in the profession.

Register

More information

**************
HOW MICROSOFT IS USING PODCASTS AND SOCIAL MEDIA TO MARKET AND ENHANCE A REFERENCE PROGRAM

AN INTERVIEW WITH Paolo Tosolini, New Media Business Manager, Microsoft

Q. Paolo, could you tell us a bit about your role at Microsoft, and how you interface with the reference programs and other customer programs there?

A. I'm a New Media Business Manager at Microsoft responsible for a new internal corporate initiative called Academy Mobile. Funded by the Microsoft Enterprise & Partner Group, Academy Mobile is a social media platform available to all Microsoft employees to share knowledge and best practices using podcasts. Marketing Managers use Academy Mobile to announce new case studies to Microsoft sales, marketing, and advertising managers who can send the video, audio, and written case studies onto prospects, press, or analysts.

Q. You've said that one of the most interesting and important applications of new media is in INTERNAL communications -- allowing Microsoft employees to capture, upload and disseminate customer information to anyone in the company. Can you give us some of the more exciting ways in which Microsoft is doing this?

A. There are so many product launches and so many sales, marketing, channel, and partner groups within Microsoft. Academy Mobile is providing an exciting way for marketing managers to reach the internal customers that need to know about new customer references and case studies, and for internal customers to view and download that content. People have different preferences for consuming information. Academy Mobile will ultimately allow internal customers to subscribe to information on key customer types (verticals, sizes, products used) and have that content automatically sent to them or downloaded onto their MP3 player. Then the audience can view or listen to the content on the road, and even share with a customer.

Q. You've been testing these internal new media applications over the last year. Can you share with us how you're evaluating their effectiveness, and what results you've been achieving against those benchmarks?

A. There are a several benchmarks, but two of them are probably the most important. The first one is about content, and more precisely the number of podcasts available on our platform. When we started we had a goal of 750 podcasts hosted in the first year. We reached that number just after 4 months. The second benchmark is about adoption, that is a combination of number of downloads with reach. As we are just 4 months old, we see a positive trend overall, but it's early to draw conclusions. Our main challenge is increase podcast consumption outside our headquarters and that will take time.

Q. If you would, please walk us through the process of how a Microsoft sales person, or tech support person, for example (or whomever), might capture reference information from a customer, upload it into your new system, and get other people who may be interested to find it?

A. There are different ways to capture reference information in podcast format. A great project for people to experiment with creating videos is to present a PowerPoint presentation on camera. We also take advantage of existing events and dispatch a roaming crew on site to interview customers in informal settings. This allows us to create immediately useful and authentic content, at a cost that is much less than having to travel to each customer site or creating a professional video case study. Once the media content gets created, the author uploads it on our platform directly, like you would do with YouTube. And it's immediately available to all Microsoft employees who can download it on their PC and view it on their mobile device.

Q. How are the new media apps at Microsoft integrated into your existing CRM (and/ or Customer Reference Management System)?

A. They are not integrated at this time.

Q. For other companies that want to integrate new media into their customer programs, what advise would you give them? What would you do different now if you had it to do over again?

A. I'm witnessing an interesting trend with New Media. Blogs, podcasts, social networks are inherently less formal than traditional case studies and customer evidence. There is a space for these new deliverables and collecting them is easy, affordable and quick. As an example, our sales force can collect a customer testimonial (in this case for internal use) just by picking up the phone and calling our phone-to-podcast line while they are right there with the customer at an event together. We love the immediacy of New Media, and it's our intention to continue utilizing different media to capture valuable soundbites and positive snapshots of interactions that may be of interest to our internal audience.

Q. Are Microsoft customers engaging with the new media tools you've implemented? If so, how? If not, do you have plans for them to do so? Can you elaborate?

A. Customers cannot currently access Academy Mobile. We want to get some experience working with internal customers before we open it up to external customers. We would not want to allow customers to see all of the content we share with Microsoft employees. Nor do I think they would be interested in all the content. Our initial implementation requires a sales person find the content and take it to the customer. The next evolution will probably involve opening up Academy Mobile to Microsoft Partners.

Reference Point is a Customer Reference Forum newsletter about reference programs and how to improve them. To subscribe, please contact me (contact information is below or just respond to this email). To unsubscribe at any time, just reply to this email with "unsubscribe" in the subject line. This email list and your name will never be made available to anyone else, not even to others on the list, unless by mutual request and agreement.