5 Ways to Mine Gold From Your Testimonials

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 by: Roger C. Parker

One
often-overlooked asset of your business is the testimonials you receive
from happy, satisfied customers. Most businesses receive favorable
customer comments and testimonials, but few translate these powerful
marketing weapons into additional sales.

Testimonials work
because customer comments are more credible than your words. When you
say something about your business, your words are viewed as claims. But
when your customer says them, their words are viewed as truth.

When
a customer says something nice about you, your business, or one of your
employees, how you respond is critical. Customer testimonials come in
many forms, including conversations, emails and letters. Few
testimonials are ready-to-use, however. Most can benefit from a little
effort before you can put them to work.

Although you may
receive testimonial letters that include permission to use the
customer’s words and name, in most cases you’re best off contacting the
customer, verifying the quote and asking permission to use their words
and their name.

This is especially true if you are going
to quote from a conversation or an email. Customers will appreciate
your integrity. More important, verifying gives you a chance to clean
up the customer’s grammar and also improve upon the customer’s original
quote. For example, when verifying (or rewording) their comments, you
might also ask: “Were there other aspects of buying from us that you
might care to comment on?”

Simply showing an interest in the customer’s words is often enough to open the testimonial floodgates.

Here are five ways to get the most from your testimonials:

1.
3-ring binders. Letters and emails tend to get lost. One of the best
ways to prevent this is to immediately place the original in
transparent sleeves stores in a 3-ring binder.

2. Bulletin
board. Hang copies on a bulletin board - or better - frame and display
them behind glass in a prominent location in your place of business.
Use a colored background to highlight the most recent letter you’ve
received.

3. Computer file. Save excerpts from customer
letters in a special computer file. Enter just the most relevant words
along with the customer’s name and city. (Excerpting focuses on the
most important parts of the letter.)

4. Copies and
printouts. Copy customer letters and insert them in your press kits and
customer presentation folders. Format your customer testimonial file
and include printouts with proposals.

5. Newsletter and
website. Include customer testimonials in your newsletters and on your
website. When appropriate, place testimonials next to descriptions of
specific products or services.

Whenever possible,
include photographs with your testimonials. Many car dealers, for
example, photograph customers taking delivery of their new car. Since
this is generally a happy time for customers, displays of these
photographs project a positive image.

Even better,
create posters for display at the point of sale. Simply create a
collage of customer comments and photographs professionally typeset and
laid out.

Use testimonials as the basis for your firms’
advertising. Nothing beats ads written in your customer’s own words.
The ads inevitably attract attention and communicate with credibility
unavailable in any other way. Create a variety of ads, reflecting the
different marketing segments your business serves.

Thank
your customers for their support and time. However, avoid paying
customers. This could detract from the credibility of their words. Feel
free, however, to show your appreciation with gift certificates or
coupons worth savings or discounts.

About the Author

Roger C. Parker is the $32,000,000 author with over 1.6 million books in print. Do you make these marketing and design mistakes? Find out at www.gmarketing-design.com

roger@gmarketing-design.com

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