# Reference customer match: happy customers in the prospect's industry

Source: https://mcpforgtm.com/recipes/reference-match (StackMCP, independent directory of official MCP servers)

## Goal

AEs who need a reference customer that looks like their prospect, and want a shortlist backed by G2 reviews and support history before they ask the account owner. HubSpot can be swapped for Salesforce, Attio or Pipedrive. Intercom EU works the same way for EU-hosted workspaces.

## Connected tools

- HubSpot: https://mcp.hubspot.com (setup: https://mcpforgtm.com/tools/hubspot)
- G2: https://mcp.g2.com/mcp (setup: https://mcpforgtm.com/tools/g2)
- Intercom: https://mcp.intercom.com/mcp (setup: https://mcpforgtm.com/tools/intercom)

## Guardrails

- Never contact a customer. The output is a shortlist for me to take to the account owner.
- Read only in HubSpot, G2 and Intercom. Don't edit records, add Intercom notes, or create G2 research boards.
- Use only reviews whose company name matches a HubSpot customer, and quote them exactly.
- Show the account owner for every customer on the shortlist, and flag open issues, open renewals and escalations.
- Write the note to the account owner as text only. Never send it.

## Steps

1. Find {prospect} in HubSpot and tell me its industry and size. Then find our current customers in the same industry: company, owner, customer since, deal amount, and any open deals. Show me a table. Don't change any records.
2. Find G2 reviews of {our_product}. Match them to the customers in the table by company name only, and quote the matching reviews with the date, and the star rating if G2 shows one. List reviews from this industry that don't name a company separately, and don't guess who wrote them.
3. For each customer in the table, look up the company in Intercom and summarize its conversations from the last {months} months: how many, how many are still open, and any complaint or escalation, with one short quote. Don't add notes or change anything in Intercom.
4. Rank the customers as Strong, Ask owner first, or Leave out, with one line of evidence each from HubSpot, G2 and Intercom. Then write a short note I can send to the account owner of the top pick, asking if their customer would be open to a reference call. Text only. Don't contact anyone.

## Expected output

Reference shortlist for a logistics prospect. Example (all names fictional):

```
Prospect: Tidewell Robotics (fictional), industry Logistics, about 400 employees.

HubSpot customers in Logistics: 7. With a G2 review we could match by company: 3. Checked in Intercom: all 7.

| Customer | Owner | Customer since | G2 | Intercom, last 6 months | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larkspur Freightworks (fictional) | Priya Raman | Mar 2024 | 5 stars, Jun 2026: "Cut our month-end close from 6 days to 2." | 4 conversations, all closed, no complaints | Strong |
| Mossgate Labs (fictional) | Sam Whitlock | Nov 2024 | 4 stars, Feb 2026: "Setup took longer than planned, but support was quick." | 11 conversations, 1 open billing issue since Sep 28 | Ask owner first |
| Brindle Harbor Co. (fictional) | Dana Okafor | Jan 2025 | No review found | 2 conversations, both closed | Possible, no public proof |

Left out: Quarry Lane Analytics (fictional). Two escalations about data sync in August and an open renewal deal in HubSpot.
Not matched: 2 G2 reviews from Logistics reviewers with no company name. Not counted.

Next step for you (text only):
"Hi Priya, I'm working a logistics deal with Tidewell Robotics. Would Larkspur Freightworks be open to a 20-minute reference call in the next few weeks? Happy to work around their schedule."

No one was contacted and nothing was changed in HubSpot, G2 or Intercom.
```

## Watch for

- An anonymous review matched to the wrong customer: Many reviews don't name the company. Count a G2 review only when its company name matches a HubSpot customer, and list unmatched reviews on their own.
- A quiet support history read as a happy customer: Few Intercom conversations can mean low usage, not satisfaction. Show the conversation count and the date of the last one, and mark customers with no recent contact as 'unknown', not 'happy'.
- Suggesting a customer in a sensitive moment: A customer with an open renewal, an escalation or a churn risk is a bad reference. Check HubSpot for open deals and Intercom for open or escalated conversations, and move those to 'Ask owner first' or leave them out.
- Industry labels that don't match: HubSpot's industry field may be empty or set differently from the prospect's. Show the industry value used for each match, and list customers with an empty industry field so you can check them by hand.