How to Cut Through Competitors' Claims with Customer References and Advocacy

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HOW TO CUT THROUGH

COMPETITORS' CLAIMS WITH

CUSTOMER REFERENCES

AND ADVOCACY

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TODAY’S SPEAKERS

Chris NewtonVP, Business Development

Tony DeLollisCTO

Jenny BerthiaumeDirector, Customer Culture

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HOUSEKEEPING

• Q&A panel on your right

• Recording for those who couldn’t make it

• All attendees will receive slides

• Twitter hashtags #advocatemktg #salesenablement

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WHAT WE’LL COVER

• Why references matter

• Getting the right references

• Keeping references engaged

• Best practices spotlight – Oracle Marketing Cloud

• Solution overview

• Q&A

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WHY REFERENCES MATTER

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COMPETITORS FIGHT HARD

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Trust

Issues

WE’VE GOT

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COMPETITOR KRYPTONITE

References help you win;

Advocates get you on the shortlist

- Peter O’Neill

Forrester Research

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BUYERS BUY – NO MORE SELLERS

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MAXIMIZE THE REFERENCE

Leverage Advocates and References

• Right Voice, Right Time

• Track ROI, Track Conversions

“The delivery of the right information to the right person at the right time in the right formatand in the right place to assist in moving a specific sales opportunity forward.”

Source: CSO Insights

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GOOD REFERENCE – BEST ASSET

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REFERENCES IMPACT REVENUE

First part of 2014:

• $96 Million at Fortune 500 Security Hardware company

• $28.7 Million & 239 deals at rapidly growing Communications company

• $550K & 35 deals at mid-sized Medical Software company

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CSO INSIGHTS DATA

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GETTING THE RIGHT REFERENCES

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MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO ASK

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BEST PRACTICES TO DEVELOP

• Human in the loop

• Protect the Reference

• Don’t ‘waste’ on a mismatch

• Manage your process

• Channel enthusiasm

• Lead into the reference

• Tie references to revenue!

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MATCHING REFERENCES DEAL BY DEAL

• Days or hours?

• Old school reference?

• Real-time advocate?

• Tags and categories: CRM, MA

• Pre-match your references

– Industry, deal size, geo, etc …

– Personality, role, title, status

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KEEPING REFERENCES ENGAGED

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RELATIONSHIPS MATTER

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A LITTLE “THANK YOU” HELPS

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BEST ARE THINGS THEY CAN’T BUY

Part of the Team

Access

Recognition

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BEST PRACTICES SPOTLIGHT

Copyright © 2014 Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. |Oracle Confidential – Internal/Restricted/Highly Restricted 23

Foundation of a Customer Advocate Program

1. Authentic, distinctive, and valuable

2. Thoughtful and proactive in serving customer interests

3. Educate, inspire, and celebrate success

@jennycb

Copyright © 2014 Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. |

An Advocate Program fuels advocacy across the entire organization and into the marketplace

Oracle Confidential – Internal/Restricted/Highly Restricted 24

CUSTOMER ADVOCACY

Educator

Sales Reference Lead User Group

CommunityMentor

@jennycb

Connections

Copyright © 2014 Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. |

Oracle Marketing Cloud Advocate Marketing Toolbox

Influitive (AdvocateHQ)

• External Advocate platform

• Centralized portal to serve, nurture, mobilize, and reward Advocates

RO Innovation (Customer Knowledge Base)

• Internal customer intelligence & reference management tool

• Holistic view on customer engagement, status, collateral & content, and history

Oracle Confidential – Internal/Restricted/Highly Restricted 25

Activate & Mobilize Advocates Identify & Manage Advocates

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SOLUTION OVERVIEW

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INFLUITIVE ADVOCATEHUB RO | INNOVATION

ADVOCATE ENGAGEMENT REFERENCE ASSET MANAGEMENT

Discover

Mobilize

Recognize

Align with Opportunity

Content Sharing

Tracking

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CREATE REFERENCE ASSETS

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DELIVER A REFERENCE CALL

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SALES ASKS FOR HELP

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MARKETING SERVICES THE REQUEST

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REQUEST A REFERENCE CHALLENGE

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PUBLISH THE REFERENCE CHALLENGE

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ADVOCATE AGREES TO BE REFERENCE

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SALES HAS THEIR REFERENCE

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ADVOCATE RECEIVES REWARD

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UP YOUR REFERENCE GAME IN 2015

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QUESTIONS?

Chris NewtonVP, Business Development

Tony DeLollisCTO

Jenny BerthiaumeDirector, Customer Culture

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WANT TO LEARN MORE?