Never underestimate the power of a great testimonial!
When you’re looking for someone to provide a new service or product, how do you go about it? Do you look up the topic in the yellow pages first, or hit the search engines? If you’re like most people you look for a personal referral first. You ask the folks you know if they can recommend a lawyer, accountant or car mechanic. You don’t want to spend a lot of money or waste time on someone you don't know.
But sometimes no one in your network of friends and acquaintances knows a financial planner or a massage therapist, so . . .
That’s where testimonials come in.
Someone may have just surfed on in to your site — maybe they found you through a hyperlink or a search engine, or saw your name and website address on a message board. What’s going to set you apart from your competition? What’s going to convince them you're not just all hype?
Testimonials. Yup. Anyone can blow their own horn, but endorsements by satisfied customers are better than gold. They say, “I’m really good at what I do, but don't just take my word for it — I have proof!” Testimonials are one of your most effective marketing tools and you may not even be using them. Or you may be using them ineffectively.
How to Get Testimonials
1. Watch your email for unsolicited comments from happy customers.
2. Read your web site guest book entries (mainly used by musicians, artists and anyone with a “fan” base) and pull out the positive quotes.
3. Send out a survey to your clients and ask for comments.
4. Ask for an endorsement from someone in your industry or community who is a “big name.”
5. When you deliver your product or service, provide a form (email, fax, postcard) and ask for feedback.
6. Contact repeat customers and ask them what they like about doing business with you.
7. “Collect all positive praise and press,” Lee Silber writes in Self Promotion for the Creative Person. “Save thank you notes. Don't miss out on an opportunity to get a proof of praise.”
It probably goes without saying, but just in case it doesn’t — always get permission before posting someone's comments and name on your web site or other promotional materials. And never post someone’s email address on your site next to their testimonial. If you do, they’ll eventually receive a barrage of spam, and will no longer be your happy customer. Their web site address is fine though — it may even produce traffic for them.
What to Do With ’Em Once You’ve Got ’Em:
1. Be sure to use the writer's full name:
One of the biggest mistakes that people make is not using the full name of the person giving the testimonial. Initials just don't cut it. We're using testimonials to build trust and credibility. Which one of these sound more believable to you?
“Joe Blow did the most amazing job on my web site! Wow!” – T.S. or
“Joe Blow did the most amazing job on my web site! Wow!” – Tom Smith, owner, Widgets Ltd, Seattle, WA, widgetsbytom.com
2. Include quotes on a variety of topics:
Internet marketing expert Ralph F. Wilson of wilsonweb.com advises us to “make sure you use [testimonials] on a variety of topics — one about your great customer service, another about your selection and prices, a third about how you took special time to explain something, a fourth about how they recommend your site to their friends, and a fifth about the promptness of your e-mails and shipping.” (Source: Web Commerce Today, Issue 40, November 15, 2000)
3. Include quotes from a variety of markets:
If your product or service appeals to various markets or communities, have at least one testimonial from each of them. For example, I specialize in designing web sites for home-based businesses, for creative professionals and for cultural creatives — so I have testimonials from a home-based marketing firm, a writer, a rock n roll band, and a creator of flower essences.
4. Keep ’em short:
Remember — shorter is better, at least on the web! People are much more likely to read a short, pithy quote rather than a long one. (People don't really read web pages — they scan them, until they find the information they're looking for. Then they read.)
5. Edit ’em for more pizzazz:
It's OK to edit the quotes that you collect for clarity and brevity, as long as you retain the original meaning of the writer. If you're unsure, have the writer OK the quote before you use it publicly.
Marketing maven Marcia Yudkin has some great samples of “before and after” testimonials that she rewrote to show how to identify and fix flaws in the quotes as originally written. “Learn and earn!” she writes. Take a look at her Sample Testimonial Makeovers here.
6. Position them strategically – Where to put ’em:
Put your best quotes on the home page, especially if it's an endorsement from someone well known in his or her field.
Put a testimonial next to the product or service praised. For example, place a quote from a previous workshop attendee next to a blurb for the same or similar workshop.
I prefer to scatter the testimonials around the sites that I design, perhaps putting one or two on every page. Not many people will click on a button titled "Testimonials" or "What People are Saying About Us" unless they are nearly sold on your product or service already. You want them to read the testimonials sooner than that and help move them closer to the point of doing business with you.
Give Endorsements, too!
Remember to be available to give positive testimonials to people, services and products that you admire, too. It’s not only good PR for you, it’s good karma! The good that you do, returns to you . . .
So never underestimate the power of a positive testimonial — and don’t forget, the good will and praise of happy customers is something that money can’t buy! |
