Referrals > Awards

Not to get all math-y on you

Awards are cool. We have a bunch. They sit, somewhere. And they mean something, in that our work was determined by someone or a collection of someones to be exceptional, either on its own or by comparison.

We were happy when we got them. Who isn’t? But, they don’t drive our creativity, our strategy, our direction, our grit or our relationships right this minute. They sit. And look pretty. Somewhere.

That’s why we like making eyes at referrals better. Referrals, in our minds, are the ultimate compliment. Aren’t they? When someone wants us to do for them what we did for someone else — as it relates to success — that’s the golden ticket. It’s like the kindest way to be blindsided.  

That’s the best award.

A referral doesn’t sit anywhere, either. It doesn’t need a shelf or a glass case. Referrals only need energy because they are in motion, pushing us to uncover pain points, dig into faulty connections, discover opportunities and design an approach distinctly customized to achieve that client’s goals.

To us, referrals rock way more than awards. It’s our work speaking for itself, with some help from the client we worked with, but without us blabbing on about ourselves. It’s just organic goodness.

We’re working, right now, with a client who came to us by referral — more specifically, if we’re being honest, which we always like to be — it came by a “Hey. Who did that for you?” kind of inquiry.

We were the answer. And since then, we’ve poured our energy into this new relationship in genuine, strategic, metrics-driven ways as we learn more every day about how to propel them forward. Because, we care about their outcomes more than which award category our work for them would fit.

“From our first meeting with WHYFOR, something was very different,” Lauren Lashbrook, our client contact with innovaTel, said. “They really understood what we were looking for in a partner, not an agency, a true partner. And they didn’t just say they could be a partner like everyone else says, they proved it in every meeting by going above and beyond time and time again.”

See? That kind of thing never needs dusting. Or a glamorous outfit, especially during a pandemic, which is when we started working with them.

It just requires us. And what we do. We’ll take that all day.