We’re Moving!

Hello there customer advocacy community,

Referential has officially moved our blog to our company website, https://www.referentialinc.com/blog-page. Head on over and check out the new customer advocacy content that is being published all the time.

We hope you’ll join us in conversation on our website, where we are continuing to discuss the latest tips, best practices, and learnings in customer advocacy.

You’re also invited to use this form to sign-up for email updates about new content published to our customer advocacy blog.

See you all soon!

Referential

Meet the Referential Founders: David Feber

Being one of the Managing Partners of Referential, David Feber has invested enormous amounts of time and effort in building the company up to where it is today. In 2001, he had become burned-out after years of corporate life – responsible for a $1B sub-business in a high-tech corporation and overseeing 3,000 employees – so he decided to join his wife’s consultancy business and help take it to the next level.

David wine tasting in Napa

Dave’s academic background as an engineer serves as an inspiration and motivation to continually measure all aspects of advocacy, which always keeps it intellectually interesting and intriguing for him. It’s also what makes Referential a unique player in the market!

Apart from helping steer the company from a business perspective, he also handles the company’s IT strategy and oversees the asset creation team. To date, he’s edited well over a thousand case studies and he finds his hybrid technical/business background helps him train the writing team to translate the impact and success of clients’ offerings in a way that people can easily understand.

Dave stressed that it’s important to respect and do the right thing for employees; creating an organization where colleagues can have a good standard of living, and find it gratifying to be part of something significant. Dave gets a kick out of being able to work with people he enjoys being with. He takes his role as a mentor very seriously. He gets to see people steadily build their expertise; and loves witnessing the contrast of when they first started with Referential to becoming a seasoned customer advocacy professional.

Dave really likes the agility that Referential provides, enabling everyone to be nimble. For instance, if an opportunity suddenly arises, the team can decide on a course of action immediately without having to go through any complex pecking order. In a large corporation, it can take weeks or even months to make a similar decision. Having the flexibility enables Referential to do the right things for customers without having tons of bureaucracy.

David and his family on a 10-day safari!

Referential manages to maintain a very collaborative, supportive, and efficient environment. There’s a comfortable level of comradery without any overbearing formality, but it’s still professional at the same time. It has the key factors of a healthy workplace with the addition of a family-style atmosphere. Dave said it might sound like a cliché but he emphasized the importance of being inclusive to ensure that everyone feels part of the extended Referential family.

On a more personal note, Dave enjoys wine tasting, music, playing the guitar, flying (the family keeps a high-performance aircraft at a local airport), and practically anything to do with cars, mechanics, and woodworking. In fact, he built the majority of the family home; it serves as a tactile outlet for expression while also putting his engineering background to good use.

He wants all current and potential clients to know that he’s truly passionate about advocacy and showcasing their customers’ achievements through case studies, videos, blogs and award submissions. He says it’s a pleasure to connect with people and establish bonds, and he’s grateful for the positive feedback and appreciation Referential receives in return. Dave is excited to see what the future holds!

Meet the Referential Founders: Helen Feber

Perhaps one of the strongest driving forces behind Referential’s daily operations is Helen Feber, who also happens to be a Managing Partner alongside her husband and business partner, David Feber. She originally started the company in 1994, and from that point on the rest is history!

Helen wine tasting at Robert Mondavi Winery

Helen built up her skillset and experience in customer advocacy after she “fell in” (as she puts it) to being a consultant after having left Hewlett Packard. Through a project she was asked to work on, she came to recognize the obvious lack of customers who would be able to talk about and provide insight on a product. And she credits that experience bringing her awareness to the absence of customer advocacy in so many corporations, and to the absolute necessity for these programs.

Helen is responsible for a wide range of tasks, from handling communicating with clients to fulfilling HR functions, to even being a handywoman when needed. One minute she could be replacing a lightbulb in the boardroom and the next she could be making a sales call or conducting a performance evaluation. She said, “Running a business requires flexibility to keep it operating optimally: It means tackling anything and everything but it makes life interesting!” This trait is prominent in her character and personality, she mentioned she was raised to have a mantra of ‘there’s nothing you can’t do if you put your mind to it.’

She especially feels a strong sense of responsibility for her colleagues, and really does take both their well-being and input into consideration. She says that there’s a pressure in keeping the business flowing and bringing in new clients and talent but it’s rewarding seeing efforts pay off. A goal of hers is to keep everyone part of the Referential team living happily, healthily, and comfortably. She feels that it’s important they’re content in their roles and passionate about supporting clients’ advocacy programs.

Helen and her family enjoying a camping trip in Half Moon Bay

All of this contributes to the emphasis of family and bonds that’s so ingrained into the Referential culture. It is an organization built through connections and word-of-mouth; the company’s growth to a multi-million-dollar agency has been entirely due to its own customers’ advocacy. New clients come to Referential through recommendations and Helen along with all of the staff are very proud to be a working demonstration of the power of customer advocacy.

When time allows, you can find Helen gardening, tinkering, and doing almost any kind of hands-on work. Her relaxation time is laying down with a good book under a tree in the shade. As of now, she’s starting to make her own wine and hoping to get into bee-keeping, and business-wise she’s always excited about developing even more client relationships in the future!

How to Create a Pivot Table in Excel

By Saravanan Sakthivel, Advocacy Consultant, Referential Inc.
Connect with Sara on LinkedIn

Pivot tables are one of Excel’s most powerful Microsoft tools. A pivot table allows you to extract the significant data and trends from a large, detailed data set. When analyzing data about your customer advocacy program, pivot tables can be excellent tools for efficiently gathering insights on your customer advocates and advocacy assets.

For example, have you ever tried sorting through a spreadsheet with hundreds, or perhaps thousands of rows of data to determine an insight about your program? Perhaps you needed to calculate the number of customer advocates in your program for a specific product within a specific geographical region.

Without a pivot table, you may have spent precious time applying filters, separating segments of data into different worksheets, and applying various calculation functions to transform a general report from your reference management system into valuable insights about your advocacy program.

Pivot tables replace all that fuss with a simple process for analyzing your data. Follow along below for a quick crash course in streamlining your reporting with pivot tables.

For the following examples, we are using a dataset that has an Order ID #, product name, category (fruit or vegetable), amount, date, and country.

Insert a Pivot Table

To insert a pivot table, execute the following steps.

1. Click any single cell inside the data set.
2. On the “Insert” tab, in the “Tables” group, click “PivotTable”.

The dialog box shown to the right appears. Excel automatically selects the data for you. The default location for a new pivot table is “New Worksheet”.

3. Click OK.

Note: You should select the entire data in the sheet, so that if you add any additional data, you can refresh the pivot table to get updated.

Drag Fields

The “PivotTable Fields” pane appears, as shown in the image to the right. For the first example we want to find the total amount exported of each product, so we will drag the following fields to the different areas.

1. “Product” field to the “Rows” area: This will list each product in a separate row.
2. “Amount” field to the “Values” area: This field will default to “Sum”, which will sum the amount of each row. In our example, it is the sum of each product.
3. “Country” field to the “Filters” area: This allows us to filter the table to see the total amount of exported product for a specific country.

Below you can find the pivot table, which is automatically sorted A-Z based on the rows. That’s how easy pivot tables can be!

Sort

If we want to see the products in order from largest amount to smallest, then we need to sort the pivot table.

1. Click any cell inside the “Sum of Amount” column.
2. Right click and click on “Sort”.
3. Select “Sort Largest to Smallest”.

Note: You can use the standard filter (triangle next to Row Labels) to only show the amounts of specific products.

Change Summary Calculation

By default, Excel summarizes your data by either summing or counting the items. To change the type of calculation that you want to use, execute the following steps.

1. Click any cell inside the “Sum of Amount” column.

2. Right click and click on “Value Field Settings”.

3. Choose the type of calculation you want to use. For example, click “Count”.

Pivot Chart

A pivot chart is the visual representation of a pivot table in Excel. Pivot charts and pivot tables are connected with each other. Follow the steps below to learn how to transform the pivot table below into a pivot chart.

Insert Pivot Chart

To insert a pivot chart, execute the following steps.

1. Click any cell inside the pivot table.

2. On the “PivotTable Analyze” tab, in the “Tools” group, click “PivotChart”.

3. The “Insert Chart” dialog box shown to the right appears. Select the type of chart you would like to create and then click OK.

4. To add data labels to the chart, click on “Chart Elements” and check “Data Labels” to show the numbers above each bar.

5. Right click on any Field and then select “Hide All Field Buttons on Chart” to hide all fields.

Note: Any changes you make to the pivot chart are immediately reflected in the pivot table and vice versa.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

There is a treasure trove of valuable insights about your customer advocacy program that can be uncovered with pivot tables. Whether you’re trying to gather more detailed information about the makeup of your advocacy program for a specific industry or working to determine the breakdown of your voice-of-the-customer assets by product, pivot tables can help you reach that golden nugget of information in a fraction of the time of other approaches.

Pivot tables can seem overwhelming but hopefully this guide has helped to get you started. Once you know how to use them, they are a great tool to have in your arsenal.

Curious if there’s a better way to analyze your program data? Contact us! We’d love to discuss reporting strategies with you.

On-Demand ICCAP: A Perfect Pick-Me-Up for the Post-Pandemic Professional

By: Ryan Quackenbush, Advocacy Consultant, Referential Inc.
Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn

It’s 2021 and collectively we’re all beginning to heave sighs of relief about that, and more and more of us are fortunate enough to be able to do so behind closed doors, in small groups, without having to wear a mask! Things are starting to improve, right? Spring is around the corner, we’re all anxiously waiting for the “ok” to open our doors and windows again, and also: we’ve been able to “Spring” forward our clocks, so an extra hour of light! The light at the end of the tunnel literally and metaphorically is upon us.

With that said, I’m sure I’m not alone in looking back on the pandemic lockdown and observing ways in which I’ve tried to improve myself and my surroundings. I started working out, I learned a ton of new recipes (if you don’t have an Instapot or Air Fryer, I have some recommendations for you), and I also earned a couple of professional certifications that look very nice on my updated profile.

I bring this up to ask: have you considered what potential employers look for in employees? Especially in the advocate marketing industry, a quick search for jobs at Indeed.com clues me in that companies, like all of us, are starting to come out from their pandemic cocoons. Budgets are being approved, hires are being sought after; This is the perfect time to consider how to make yourself stand out!

One way to do so is by showcasing your expertise. I’m sure, like me, that you’re on LinkedIn. Have you polished up your profile, recently? You should really think about enhancing your page!

In finance, and in marketing to a lesser extent, a client will often ask advisors to see their credentials – so when you earn them, show them off. Going after expanded professional education is something to hold on a pedestal; it establishes confidence in you from your clients and employers. It shows initiative, character and drive!

If you’re reading this, it’s very likely that you’re also working in advocacy. If so, you should really consider signing up for Referential’s Customer Advocacy On-Demand Training. When the world was normal these classes were held in person, but you are now able to take them online from anywhere, at times convenient for you!

Our peer-designed courses are created by and taught by industry professionals with decades of in-the-weeds experience. We can teach you about what it takes to build robust customer reference programs from the bottom up because we have all, individually and as a group, experienced it.

Are you looking to build a database of active customer references but don’t know where to start? Are you having trouble determining the ‘what, which and how’ of metrics you should track? Are there more questions than answers? …Or are you looking for a real, in-depth refresher course to help polish your resume and knowledge base?

These courses are designed for professional development and skills-building for advocacy practitioners like yourself. There are currently two separate courses available (with almost 100 classes combined between them!), and a third course is on the way. Each level supports the ICCAP.Expert certifications and even has practice exams to help you be ready for the corresponding ICCAP examination.

Invest the time and effort in yourself, today. Speaking from personal experience, you will not regret doing so. I look forward to seeing you there!

Tips for Looking Your Best on Video

By: Alex Feber, Communications Manager, Referential Inc.

Connect with Alex on

With video meetings being our new normal, we want to present at least our top halves in the best way possible. So here are some tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your video conferencing!

For a High-Def Experience…

When you first get into your Zoom meeting, look for the camera icon in the bottom left corner:

Next, click the up arrow that is on the right side of the video camera and then select “Video Settings”. From there you will see a new box open. Make sure that you have HD clicked:

You can also have the computer “Touch up your appearance” and “Adjust for low light” but those can sometimes take a while to load and might not be the best to have on all the time.

These tricks will help you get the best picture quality from the software side.

To Look Like a Pro at Virtual Backgrounds…

When participating in meetings, you’ll want to try and avoid using the Virtual Backgrounds that Zoom offers unless you really need to use one or are able to set up a green screen behind yourself. The software is great for attempting to cut your background out, but if you are a dynamic speaker and move a lot, the virtual background will struggle to keep up with you.

If you want to add some more style to your background or a business-related backdrop, you can easily select a PowerPoint slide and have it show up behind you. It’s really quite simple!

Click share screen in the middle of the bottom bar:

In the new window that appears, click “Advanced” at the top, and and then you will see “Select PowerPoint as a virtual background” option:

You can now share your slides, and still allow your audience to see you!

For an Easy Glow Up…

We generally recommend sitting somewhere that you have natural light in front of you to help illuminate your face. Within reason, the brighter the room the better, but don’t go putting every lamp you own into a single room just for video conferencing purposes!

For a Bit of Fun…

If you want to have a bit of fun in Zoom, within the settings window, on the left sidebar, there is a tab called “Background & Filters”. Click there, and your screen should look similar to this:

In the bottom right, click “Studio Effects (beta)”.

A new sidebar will appear on the right with a variety of options to help touch up your appearance. Use it sparingly if you plan on keeping it on for all future meetings. Otherwise, have fun looking at what you might look like with different eyebrows, beards, and lipsticks!

What video conferencing tips and tricks have you picked up while working remotely? Share them in the comments section below!

Best Practices for Integrating RO Innovation with Salesforce

Have you ever dived into fulfilling an urgent reference request only to spend the next precious minutes hopping back and forth between your CRM and reference management systems, verifying that you’re using the most up-to-date customer data to identify the best-matching reference? Having easy, seamless access to current, real-time data – like account ownership, product usage, customer location and contact titles – can make a world of difference in how efficiently you can hone in on an ideal match for a reference request.

If you’re using a standalone reference management system (RMS) that hasn’t yet been integrated with your CRM system, there’s a good chance that you’ve encountered the dreaded conundrum of out-of-date, out-of-sync data. There are many strategies for maintaining the accuracy of advocacy program data in an RMS, but integrating with a CRM system can be an efficient, rigorous method for ensuring the basic customer information loaded in your RMS is up to date and ready to use.

RO Innovation – the RMS offered by Upland Software –  is one of a couple of incredibly powerful platforms for managing customer advocacy programs, and it offers users a choice of whether to integrate with a CRM system or not.

While there are many benefits to integration, there also are important considerations to keep in mind when linking the two databases. In a recent ‘Stay Relevant’ session, our team of consultants discussed best practices for integrating RO Innovation with a CRM such as Salesforce, and how to maintain accurate data once the systems have been joined together.

Should I integrate RO Innovation with Salesforce?

It may be tempting to assume that integrating RO Innovation with Salesforce is a standard best practice that every advocacy program should use, but integration may not always be the best strategy for maintaining updated records. The decision truly depends on how clean and accurate your CRM data is – importing bad, inaccurate data is of little use to your program. RO Innovation fields that are synced with Salesforce cannot be edited within the RMS, so if you’re pulling over Salesforce data, you want to be confident that it is accurate and won’t require updating.

Some best practices our team recommended for navigating this nuance included:

• Request Salesforce write permissions – Or become good friends with a colleague that already has them. This will give you the ability to edit Salesforce fields and therefore correct the data that appears in RO Innovation.
• Be strategic and selective with the fields you integrate – You can pick and choose the RO Innovation fields that are synced with Salesforce, and where these fields will reside in the RMS. If there are certain fields that are consistently incorrect in your Salesforce instance, avoid importing that data into your RMS. A good example here is pulling over account team assignments. Since CRM databases are usually updated in real-time with this information, you can be confident you’re integrating the most accurate data available into your RMS. Sales teams can have high turnover or frequent reassignment, so having the current rep name auto-populated is a huge help!
• Use freeform fields to clarify incorrect data that has been imported from Salesforce – If you are pulling over inaccurate data from Salesforce and don’t have the ability to edit those fields in Salesforce, create an accompanying freeform field in RO Innovation where you can manually enter the correct information. For example, you may want to assign different industry types to customers than those set in Salesforce; Creating a custom “Sub-Industry” field in RO Innovation gives you the option to manually assign industry types to customer advocates, which can help you be more strategic when identifying the best-matching advocate for an incoming reference request. 
• If your Salesforce is notorious for having duplicated customer accounts, import data from the most accurate account record  – One key criterion to look for when reviewing duplicated customer accounts and deciding which one to integrate with your RMS is which account record in the CRM contains the most accurate and up-to-date product information for the customer. These product details are essential when identifying a customer for an advocacy activity, so you’ll want to ensure RO Innovation is using the most relevant information.

Integrating RO Innovation with Salesforce can be an efficient, impactful method for maintaining the accuracy of your reference database but as mentioned, may not always be the best option for your advocacy program. We’ve helped clients through integration, but we’ve also supported clients as they unlinked RO Innovation from Salesforce because data from the CRM system wasn’t reliable.

If your company has recently experienced an acquisition, or multiple, make a serious evaluation of your Salesforce instance and if its data is reliable enough to sync with RO Innovation. If your organization has recently implemented Salesforce, consider waiting a couple of months to allow time for details of the configuration to be finalized and for your Salesforce administrators to have more bandwidth to support integration with RO Innovation.

And, in case you’ve determined that integration is not the best option for your program at this time but would still like to pull specific information from Salesforce into RO Innovation, you can opt to have the Data Uploader tool installed to mass import select information into your RMS. For specific fields that are important to regularly update, such as account ownership, create a custom free-form field in RO Innovation and use the Data Uploader tool to do a monthly import of this information from Salesforce. Just remember to stay mindful of these fields, which should be checked on a regular basis to ensure you’re using the most accurate, up-to-date data.

Have questions about which Salesforce fields to integrate with RO Innovation? Considering alternative strategies than integration to update your reference database? Comment below or contact us!

Because a Team of Consultants is Better than One – Thoughts from Referential’s Lauren Ruffin

One of the many benefits of being a customer advocacy consulting company is having insight into dozens of different programs and the opportunity to create and refine strategies to support their unique goals. Our cohort of advocacy professionals are embedded in reference marketing initiatives of every shape and size, applying proven tactics and developing new ones to help the program managers we support thrive.

Some of our consultants boast impressive experience in asset expediting while others are uniquely versed in the nuances of multi-tier program development. Our team also comprises experts in community management, aficionados of customer engagement, veterans of database migrations, and connoisseurs of customer voice.

Though each of our consultants dedicate their time and focus to the programs of specific clients, our team regularly exchanges tips and best practices with one another. As a result, we’re constantly building on our collective knowledge and enhancing our ability to serve the needs of different clients.

One of the ways we amass the strategies and best practices our team develops in the field is through Shelf.io: our chosen knowledge management platform. Here, our consultants upload all variety of customer advocacy resources, including process documents, research papers, skills-sharing articles, and learnings from different initiatives. Whenever a member of our team needs to scope a new project or is looking for tips on taking an alternate approach, they can visit Shelf and learn from the resources others have shared.

We also host a monthly ‘Stay Relevant’ meeting, which brings all our consultants together to discuss their recent experience and strategies around a specific topic, like recruitment or reference request fulfillment. When COVID-19 upended life as usual and demanded companies reevaluate how they engaged with customers, we were able to use our Stay Relevant meetings to discuss how organizations across different verticals were approaching the situation, and how we could leverage these learnings to tailor strategies for the advocacy programs we individually support.

Our team has benefitted immensely from our knowledge sharing practices, and we’re excited to share our learnings with you! Follow our blog for highlights from our latest Stay Relevant sessions. Our next discussion will focus on best practices for integrating RO Innovation with Salesforce.

Staying Healthy While Working Remotely During Covid-19 and Beyond – Thoughts from Referential’s Kim Olson

The number of employees working remotely has increased with the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak and social distancing measures that have been put in place.

While there are benefits to working from home, there also are challenges. It can be a difficult adjustment for many employees – even for those like me that have been working remotely for years – that can impact work productivity and health.

Everyone has their own methods for working remotely but it’s easy to slip into bad habits. There are, however, simple things you can do to make working at home as productive and healthy as possible.

In case your New Year’s resolutions include finding better, more fulfilling ways to telecommute, here are some tips experts recommend to maintaining a healthy work-from-home environment.

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Create a dedicated workspace. A recent article in Inc. magazine notes “Forty-one percent of Americans have had new or increased back, neck, or shoulder pain since they began working from home…” Working from a bed, couch or kitchen counter in awkward positions can contribute to these issues as well as a number of other health problems. Instead, try to create a designated workspace, ideally working at a table or desk and using an adjustable chair – set up in an ergonomically-correct position. Even better is having a dedicated room with a window that provides natural light and a door where you can work without distraction or interruptions, which allows you to remain productive and professional. I’m lucky enough to have my own office space.

Create a schedule, stick to it and set boundaries. Structuring your day can help you stay focused on your work and maintain a good work-life balance. Try to keep the same schedule, routine and working hours. Take breaks including lunch. Set goals and make a to-do list to help manage your workload, keep you focused, reduce stress and organize and prioritize the tasks that need to get done. I try to take a walk every afternoon with my husband to give each other a mental break from work.

Stay connected. Working remotely doesn’t mean you can’t stay in touch with your coworkers. Leverage technology to virtually check in with them – phone calls, text messages, emails, video meetings and instant messaging are a few ways to stay connected. It can also boost your productivity, improve your overall well-being and help you stay motivated. At Referential we have a Teams “General” channel where we share photos, articles, jokes, and other items with one another for some light relief.

Take care of your eyes. Your eyes can suffer when you spend all day in front of a computer screen, including dryness and headaches. Getting into the habit of following the 20-20-20 rule can be a good idea. It’s simple: stop looking at your computer screen every 20 minutes and stare at a focal point at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds. This technique can give your eyes a break and help reduce eye strain. Some of my coworkers leverage ‘gamers’ glasses’ that have an anti-reflective coating to help reduce glare and a tint that increases contrast for easier viewing.

Move more. Sitting sedentary for long hours may be linked to health issues such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Be sure to take breaks (and lunch away from your desk) during your workday to stand, do stair intervals or ergonomic stretches to reduce strain from sustained awkward postures and repetitive motions. Schedule a workout into your calendar, get some fresh air – go for a run, bike ride, walk the dog, join an online yoga class or simply step out in your backyard, porch or patio to relax. You may even consider an adjustable desk that allows you to change your position – sit, stand – throughout the workday. Using a treadmill desk (or considering purchasing one for your home office)? Check out our blog for tips on working while moving.

Eat well. Fuel your body by drinking plenty of water and eating regular, nutritious meals and snacks – self-prepared at home, carried out or delivered from a local restaurant – to help remain focused, energized and productive during the day. Consider turning health and wellness into a company bonding activity with a themed challenge that encourages better habits. We’ve used Influitive’s AdvocateHub platform to launch a friendly competition amongst the Referential team geared toward adopting healthier diets.

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The Covid-19 pandemic has transformed the way companies and employees work and interact. It’s now more important than ever to better manage your remote work environment and stress to stay healthy. Be sure to have a conversation with your manager to set expectations, set goals and communicate progress to stay as productive and healthy as possible during these times. I wish you every success.

Capturing Customer Testimonials During a Pandemic – Thoughts from Referential’s Alex Feber

As the US slowly starts to get back on its feet from the Covid-19 quarantine, businesses just like ours are starting to look at how we can adapt and overcome new social etiquettes. As the head of our video production team, it has been a challenge for me to develop new ways in which we are able to continue to create customer testimonial videos.

We always want the client to feel comfortable and safe, and with so many people across the country with different comfort levels, we have been working on adapting our processes to make sure that we never put anyone in a situation they aren’t comfortable with.

For those that are uncomfortable with an in-person video shoot, we are able to work with them remotely to capture the testimonial using whatever device they feel most comfortable with such as smartphones, collaboration software and GoPros. Our goal is to be as unobtrusive as possible so that the interviewees stay relaxed and passionate in their responses to our interviewer. While some of these don’t feel as polished as those filmed with top-of-the-line cameras, there’s an authenticity to them that seems to be appreciated in this crazy Covid world.

For in-person video shoots, we have taken care to supplement our 130lbs of camera equipment with a large plethora of cleaning and sanitation products. During our latest shoot, we wore masks for our entire flight time and were careful to sanitize the hire car and hotel rooms. Then on the day of filming, from the car, all the way until we were back in our car leaving at the completion of the shoot, we remained fully masked and stayed 10’ away from the interviewee at all times. We also spent time wiping down all surfaces that were near the interviewee, and provided hand sanitizer that was always within their arms reach.

Finally, for those folks that just can’t face being videoed – home-done haircuts have been an issue – we capture an audio interview and then offer our clients the options of animation, illustration or supporting slide production to provide the visual appeal in video format where the audio is overlaid.

Referential has always put the client first, and even in this new era, we will continue to put our clients’ and their customers’ safety and comfort first.