 Marketing
Best Practices
Cheering In The Press Box
The Marketing Power of
Testimonials
By Dale W. Hutchings
For nearly every client
(except those that have confidentiality issues), I
strongly recommend using testimonials as a marketing
tool. Testimonials are an excellent way to build
credibility for your business. They don’t cost you a
dime to produce, and you can use them in so many ways.
Put them on your Web site, in your advertisements, as
part of your presentations, as support messages in your
brochures, etc. Basically, use them whenever and
wherever you see fit and have the space to use them!
(Yes, that might even be on the back of a business
card!)
How do you get all these
great testimonials that you see other companies use in
promoting their businesses? Here are several ways to do
so, but the bottom line is that you simply have to ask.
1. Whenever a
client/patient has something great to say about your
product or service, ask them to write it down for you.
Tell them you would like to have those words on their
company letterhead, with his or her signature. If they
really like your product or service they will be more
than happy to do it.
2. Ask your clientele to
fill out a brief customer satisfaction survey.
Design the survey so there is room for comments. At the
end of the survey, simply ask if you may use their
comments for marketing purposes, by circling either YES
or NO. Again, if they are pleased with what you did for
them, nine times out of ten the answer will be YES.
3. Encourage your
clientele to write letters or e-mails expressing their
delight with your product or service. Actual written
letters or e-mails are another way to get testimonials.
Of course, you need to make it clear you would like to
use their words to help promote your company, and when
soliciting for such letters or e-mails, make absolutely
sure the customer is truly satisfied.
4. Offer to write copy
for customers. There is nothing wrong in taking this
approach and actually it might help you get more
testimonials. In general, satisfied customers always
want to help, but as we all know, most people are busier
than ever these days. So make it easy for them. Give
them a draft. Allow them to edit the copy as they so
wish. You’ll be surprised how often your copy is
approved with no changes at all!
5. Use the satisfied
customer’s full name whenever possible. I don’t like
to see testimonials on any kind of marketing materials
with only the person’s first name. For many businesses,
there is absolutely no reason why you cannot get a
person’s full name, the person’s company title, or where
he or she lives (and even their age) depending on the
kind of products or service your business has.
Testimonials said by someone named “John” or “Mary”
really look fictitious, even if they are true
testimonials. Therefore, do your best to get John or
Mary’s last name. It will make all the difference in the
world to the reader.
6. Use testimonials when
public speaking and pass out evaluations to your
audience whenever you speak. Testimonials can be
wonderful little stories or anecdotes in support of your
talk. To gather more testimonials, hand out an
evaluation form to your audience for their opinions of
your speech, again allowing space for their comments.
Then ask for their okay to use their words to promote
your business. If they circle YES rather than NO on the
card and give you their signature, their comments are
all yours.
So if you aren’t using
testimonials in your marketing materials, shame on you.
Take the initiative to start collecting them. They can
be powerful words in marketing your business. And they
don’t cost you a thing. Just ask.
Dale W. Hutchings, APR,
specializes in “out of the box” marketing and has more
than 30 years of Public Relations, Marketing and
Advertising experience. Known for his outstanding
brainstorming ability, and excellence as a copywriter
and marketing consultant, Dale has had his own practice
since 2001. He can be reached at
hutch7@verizon.net
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