“A Pragmatic Leader”

Although admittedly a frequently overused cliché, Referential is often heralded as having all the positive traits of being a family, albeit a large one spread worldwide. Leveraging her experiences from larger companies to identify and expand on best-in-class practices, Helen Feber, Managing Partner, has nurtured a pervasive atmosphere of trust, collaboration and transparency throughout the team. The appeal and advantages of this culture are evidenced by the continual stream of clients seeking positions within the company, and by the lengthy average tenure of the current Referential employees. Helen’s instinctively caring, supportive and, at times, protective nature permeates all aspects of the company and its operations. As a result of the Referential family spirit, the team is willing to do whatever it takes to deliver professional, world-class services to further the company's reputation.

Helen earned an honors degree in Electronic, Computer and Systems Engineering from one of the top engineering universities in Europe and holds metalwork Industrial Studies certifications – both significant achievements in heavily male-dominated disciplines. She has applied her analytical skills to business areas where results have traditionally been very subjective: With Helen’s expertise, Referential has spearheaded the revolution of using innovative and pervasive metrics that enable customer advocacy program leaders to harness data to manage their operations in a highly analytical and controlled fashion.

Moving beyond the typical ‘smiley face’ measures that have habitually been associated with legacy marketing initiatives, Referential is equipping managers with the tools and knowledge to quantify their teams' business impact. Recently, Referential has donated substantial time to helping the Institute of Certified Customer Advocacy Professionals (ICCAP.Expert) establish three levels of certification. These efforts have tangibly elevated the standing of advocacy-related initiatives in even the biggest of companies; programs that were once irretrievably buried in the depths of marketing organizations now frequently report directly to a C-suite executive. Under Helen’s guidance and vocally corroborated by countless appreciative clients, Referential has been instrumental in fueling this metamorphosis.

““Helen is definitely one of the founders and molders of the customer advocacy domain. She and team Referential have helped so many companies build great programs.” – Gal Biran, CEO, Crowdvocate”

Helen has personally coached numerous professionals to instill a core belief in themselves and their natural abilities. Leading by example, Helen has been a role model in repeatedly demonstrating the mentality and skills necessary to be successful, irrespective of gender. Helen maintains a broad network of many hundreds of professionals that she encourages, collaborates with and learns from. Being an active participant in this strong confederation of practitioners energizes Helen and inspires her to share her expertise and experiences whenever it can make a difference.

Referential has delivered strategic guidance to some of the biggest and best-known companies globally, including Microsoft, Cisco, HP, Alcatel-Lucent, Novell, Rackspace, RSA and Time-Warner, to name just a few. It provides customer marketing services to the full gamete of organizations, from Fortune 50 behemoths to fledging startups. Irrespective of company size, the approach to becoming a trusted advisor has always been built on the same underpinning tenet; having a broad understanding of the subject areas to be able to take a meta-view of dependencies and predicates but being honest where expertise and experience lies, and where it doesn’t.

Helen’s pragmatic, collaborative, lead-by-doing style of engaging with clients has been the driving force behind Referential’s almost three decades of success – starting as an individual contributor and growing the company to a multi-million-dollar agency with clients, employees and fans around the world.

The Referential team's fundamental philosophy is to impart the knowledge needed for clients to become ‘rock stars’ in their respective companies. Many clients have felt ill-equipped and unable to articulate the true impact of their programs in a way that resonates with their management. Referential’s metrics-centric approach enables program managers to use data to convey the value objectively in an irrefutable and powerful way. Knowledge transfer techniques are used to empower clients further to continue their professional growth even after an engagement with Referential.

More recently, inspired by Tami Forman’s work with Path Forward, Referential has started a ‘return to work’ initiative. This effort – aimed at parents that want to return to the workforce after taking time out to raise children – seeks to identify interested individuals that are intrigued by the possibility of a career in customer marketing and advocacy. Helen loves the thrill of mentoring an individual in a way that tangibly improves that person’s trajectory. IEWL