Tapping Into Testimonials
Positive, believable comments from real life customers with real names who live in real places about their experience with your business and your products are proof positive to potential buyers that you can be trusted. And with that foundation in place to overcome their natural skepticism, selling to them becomes so much easier.
Here are 5 tips to help you get persuasive testimonials and use them to convert prospects into buyers.
1. Go after testimonials Unsolicited casual comments from customers in conversation or over the phone, or comments in correspondence with them are good, but you should have no hesitation in coming right out and asking for a testimonial when you know you have a happy customer.
You can actively stimulate customers to give you testimonials. For example, send a postcard or email message to recent customers asking them what they liked best about your product or service or offer a free sample to a select group of your customers in exchange for their thoughts on the product.
Customer focus groups are another great opportunity to get customers talking about your products and services and what they appreciate most about them.
One easy way to collect testimonials is to include a link on your website with a form that allows your customers to give you their vote of confidence.
2. Get them for all your products and their different benefits
All of your prospects and customers are not exactly the same. They don't buy the same products and may even buy from you for different reasons. Different aspects of your products and services are likely to appeal to different prospects just as they do to different customers.
Try to get testimonials that mention a variety of different benefits your customers derive from using your product and get them for products across your entire range.
3. Use only testimonials with the right characteristics
- The message should mention benefits rather than features – that's what people really buy. " This product doubled our profits in a month!" rather than " This product is easily installed ".
- It must substantiate your marketing claims – if you say your product can do something, your testimonials should back up your claim, complete with actual facts and figures.
- It must sound credible – accompany each testimonial with the first name, last name and hometown of each testimonial-giver. You should get their permission first of course.
4. Don't fudge it Don't edit or rewrite your testimonials to exclude a negative comment or to elaborate on what is there. If you can't use the testimonial pretty much as the person offered it then either ask them, if you can, to rephrase it themselves or don't use it.
5. If you've got it, flaunt it Where do you use testimonials? Where don't you!
- On all marketing – your website, ads, newsletter, brochures, on your product packaging, etc.
- In your store, especially in product displays
- In your office / waiting area
- On the back of your business cards
Testimonials are a great persuader. Start applying them now in your business and you will quickly start converting more prospects into buyers. |
