Use Testimonials to Pump Up Your Marketing
One of the most powerful marketing tools you can use is the
customer testimonial. Since the person giving the testimonial
has actually paid for your product or service, prospective
customers often give these more weight than other marketing
materials you may produce.
Who should use testimonials? Anyone. Contractors can have a
folder of written testimonials to show clients when they are
quoting on a job. A clothing store can use excepts from
testimonials in its newspaper advertisements. An interior
decorator could have testimonials throughout her portfolio. If
you have satisfied customers, use them to sell to future
customers.
If you don't have stacks of glowing letters from happy customers
to pick from, don't think you're out of luck. It just means you
have to dig a bit. Search through e-mails and letters for
unsolicited praise. While an entire letter praising your company
is nice, even a single line that is honest and not taken out of
context can be used.
Call your best clients and ask them why they continue to choose
your company. If you want comments about a specific result or
product, ask. "How much money did you save by using our
product?" You are trying to get detailed benefits in your
testimonials. "My heating bill was cut by 50% after your furnace
was installed," is more powerful than, "Your company is nice to
work with." Once you have the comments you want to use, write
them up and sent them to the customer to make sure they are okay
with the wording.
Distribute a customer survey and ask what they like about doing
business with your company. Be specific and ask open-ended
questions. "What are the top three reasons you chose our
company?" or "Would you recommend our service and why?" Make it
easy for your customers to reply. Include a self-addressed
stamped envelope. Be sure customers are aware you may use their
comments in your marketing message.
Once you have some testimonials you are ready to start using
them. Some letters can be used in their entirety. Others will
need to be excerpted or edited. Just make sure you have the
person's permission to use their testimonial and run any major
edits by them first. Try to include the person's full name,
company or hometown. Using the full name and details such as CEO
of ABC Corporation or grandmother of five shows readers these
are real testimonials from real people.
If you have a number of testimonials that are hand written or on
your customer's letterhead, place them in a separate binder to
show potential customers.
Use testimonials in brochures, advertisements and sales letters.
Make them stand out by putting them in italics, a different
colour or in a separate box. If you have space, you can use a
separate page. Try to have at least one testimonial for each
product, service or result you are promoting.
Testimonials on a website are a must. Whether your website is
just an electronic brochure or customers can purchase directly
from your website, testimonials add credibility to your on-line
presence. On-line, customers can't look you in the eye and
decide if you are trustworthy. Having on-line testimonials helps
them get closer to the level of trust they need to make a
purchase.
On your website you can have a page dedicated to testimonials or
spread them throughout. As in print, ensure they testimonials
stand out from the rest of the text. Scanning signatures and
including them with the testimonial adds credibility. So does
using the entire letter rather than just an excerpt. As you get
new testimonials, keep adding them to your website. Many people
visit a website several times before purchasing. Seeing new
testimonials at each visit will add to a prospect's comfort
level.
Once you have incorporated testimonials into your marketing
materials, don't stop. Keep looking for praise. Continue asking
satisfied customers to give a testimonial. By keeping a file of
current testimonials you will be ready with a fresh and current
batch for you next marketing campaign.