Hey, we all know that business owners
think their product or services are the best thing
going, but it's what the customers think about
it that really matters to you and me. Yep, they're
the ones who see things from our point of view...
what they have to say about the business has an
impact on us.
Testimonials play an important part
in advertising - especially for small businesses.
Yeah, big businesses with well-known names don't
have to worry about it, but small companies can
use testimonials as marketing tools to build credibility.
Think about it...how else can we
gain credibility than by creating a group of satisfied
customers and shouting what they have to say?
Let's look at some ways we can make testimonials
an effective part of our marketing campaigns.
Collect
Them
It would be nice if customers just wrote out wonderful
testimonials on their own, walked into your business
and slapped them on the counter. Yep, that would
be too easy...it just doesn't happen that way.
So what you need to do is pay attention to your
everyday conversations with customers. Set up
a file of the positive comments you hear - both
in person and on the phone.
Why not fish for compliments? Send your customers
and email or postcard that asks them what they
think about your product or service. You'll be
pleased at the positive comments that are out
there just waiting to be netted!
Mix
it Up
Different things appeal to different people. Yep,
it's different strokes for different folks. If
you want to catch the attention of a varied audience,
use a variety of testimonials. You'll be showcasing
a spectrum of benefits that your business generates
while putting different “flavors”
out to attract a wide range of customer tastes.
Get
Specific.
I liked this product a lot...is a nice thank you,
but tells absolutely nothing to the readers you're
trying to capture. Yep, you want to be a little
picky about the testimonials you use. Choose testimonials
that are specific...I used your product for 2
weeks and now I'm acne free...or I used your weight
loss product for 30 days and I'm 14 pounds lighter
and feel sexy again...Yeah you want to pick testimonials
that will motivate the readers to pick up the
phone or get in the car!
Identify
Customers Giving the Testimonial
How do you feel when you see your name blazened
across a newspaper advertisement or across a web
page? Yeah, most of us puff up a little bit...you
know, the ego thing. Your customers will be happy
to let you use their name and comments as part
of your advertising campaign and will be only
too happy to show it off to friends and family.
Don't forget that when you are gathering
permission that the city, state, and occupation
of the customer adds interest.
Hey, businesses like to find themselves
in print just as much as an individual...a bit
of free advertisement, right? If you sell to a
business don't be afraid to include their testimonial
in your advertisements along with the type of
industry and location or anything else that might
be of interest to your readers.
Testimonials
Should Stand Out
Once you've gone through all of the effort to
gather up interesting testimonials, you might
as well make them shine. Yeah, highlight, use
bold text or italics, quotation marks ...whatever
it takes to make them outstanding.
Web pages are great for highlighting
testimonials. It's easy put them in attention
getting colored boxes, or accent with clip art.
You might want to even spread them out in groups
to add interest to your page.
Think about this...testimonials
are like pure gold for marketers. Yeah, the time
you spend digging them up definitely pays off.
Marketing research has shown that testimonials
can increase sales by as much as 250%! Yep...testimonials
really are worth their weight in gold!
Who
is Allyn Cutts, and why should you care?
Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses
like yours find new customers and increase sales
to current customers. Allyn is a marketing and
sales fanatic, providing measurable marketing
solutions that drive huge results for small-to
mid-size business clients. Allyn works personally
with clients to design and deliver off-line and
on-line direct marketing strategies that focus
on metrics and measurable results. You can learn
more about Allyn Cutts at www.AllynCutts.com and
you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4
PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays.
