Infor Demonstrates ROI of Customer Reference Management

Effectively Managed Program and Key Metrics Illustrate Business Value Achieved

Infor is a global provider of enterprise application software with approximately 2,000 sales professionals around the world. The company uses Boulder Logic Reference Manager to drive their enterprise customer reference program. Armed with metrics showing their program activity and simple formulas, Infor was able to show dramatic cost savings for the company through their effective use of references.

Situation

Infor acquires and develops functionally rich software backed by thousands of domain experts and then makes it better through continuous innovation, faster implementations, global enablement, and flexible buying options. It has over 70,000 customers world-wide. The company’s organic success and acquisitions in the past several years have fueled growth and also the need for a formalized customer reference management system.

Two years ago Infor’s Senior Director, Abby Atkinson pioneered the Infor Ambassador Reference Program. Together with management, she researched and selected a hosted software solution from Boulder Logic that would serve as the foundation and main tool to drive the results of the program. Boulder Logic specializes in customer reference management and provides an enterprise solution that connects customers and new prospects, making reference-based selling easier.

In determining the overall strategy Infor decided to provide a “butler service” where the program is managed by a centralized reference department rather than allowing sales professionals to use the software in a self service mode. This allowed the reference team tighter control over reference usage and ensured more accurate documentation of reference account details. Infor staffed the department appropriately to handle all the reference activities – from requests and fulfillment to nomination and reporting.

Recently, due to the tougher economy, Atkinson had to defend the value of the program in order to keep it staffed and active at the right levels that would help the company achieve success through this tough selling climate.

Solution

Infor analyzed the data collected in Boulder Logic Reference Manager to develop a business case and demonstrate the ROI of this program. Using sales targets, Atkinson projected the company’s reference demands and demonstrated the negative impact on sales if the company did not continue to fully fund the reference program to fulfill those needs.

In order to demonstrate the overall value of the program she began by identifying some key metrics:

  • Hours spent by sales completing customer reference activities on their own
  • The average hourly wage os sales professionals at Infor.
  • Investment required to maintain the customer reference program.

Armed with these figures and a simple formula, she was able to estimate the savings Infor was achieving by having a program.

Value of Infor Customer Reference Program   equals   Hours spent by sales doing reference activity (not selling)   multiplied by   Average Hourly Wage of Sales Professionals at Infor   minus   Investment required to maintain the customer reference program

 

Next, Atkinson extracted data from Boulder Logic Reference Manager and manipulated it graphically to demonstrate several metrics showing the current reference team’s activity and results relating to reference request fulfillment as well as customer reference usage and sign-up.

Fulfillment Metrics:

  • Number of requests (inception of program to date)
  • Number of requests (year to date)
  • % of requests fulfilled (average fulfillment is 75-80%)
  • Average time to fulfill requests
  • Number of requests by region/product
  • Source of majority of requests (by region)
  • Most common request types this month
  • Request per month rate
  • Dollar value of deals closed (tied to reference activity)

Customer reference account metrics included: 

  • Number of approved references worldwide
  • Number of approved references by region
  • Trend in reference nominations/approval workflow
  • Number of references in nomination pipeline
  • Gap analysis by product

Return on Investment

With all the metrics now identified and mapped out, Atkinson was in a position to use historically accurate data to assemble trend charts, graphs and solid projections for Infor’s current and future return on investment of the customer reference program. In addition, Atkinson was able to use these statistics to develop specific, targeted and measurable goals and objectives for her team’s performance reviews.

Since inception, Atkinson projected the program has influenced millions in new sales deals and has saved Infor hundreds of thousands of dollars (the use of the program is only 25% of the cost of sales reps finding their own references). In fact, without having presented the ROI, Atkinson would have been asked to cut her budget for the program for the 2009 Fiscal Year. But with the compelling evidence, she was actually able to increase it by more than 60%.

Lessons Learned

Throughout this process, Atkinson learned some very valuable lessons and gained important insight. First she uncovered that during an economic downturn prospects will spend more time in due diligence, so companies should expect more emphasis on reference activities. Next she learned that the best way to validate the success and positive impact of a customer reference program is to do so with the right tools and metrics. She recommends other reference program managers to develop a business case with as much relevant data as possible, and align program goals and metrics with the organization’s business model. "The more tangible your business case is, the more weight it holds," advises Atkinson. She also learned that utilizing benchmarks and industry standards are an excellent way to support a case for more funding. And finally, Atkinson says "the bottom line is to believe in the value of your program and prove it with metrics."