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>> Small Business >> Using Customer Testimonials to Break Down Fear and Skepticism
Let’s face it, today’s consumers are skeptical. Can
you blame them? With all the marketing hype and
sales pitches people receive each day, we are all a bit
jaded.
However, to make the sale we must overcome our
prospect’s natural skepticism and create a relationship
of trust. One of the most powerful tools in your
marketing arsenal is customer testimonials.
It’s one thing to toot your own horn. People expect you
to sing praises about your own products or services.
Because of this, there is an inherent disbelief in any
marketing message that comes from you.
But when other people, who have nothing to gain from
your success, say good things about your products or
services, your believability shoots skyward. Providing
third-party testimonials do just that and should be a
part of your marketing message.
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Testimonials and the Magic Power of Persuasion
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Testimonials are powerful. They create believability,
credibility, and a sense of security for your customer.
They help to break down the natural barriers and
distrust that most buyers feel towards you or your
business.
Watch any infomercial and you will see that they are
loaded with customer testimonials. Why? Because
they work!
Testimonials have the magic power of persuasion.
Look at the success of the George Foreman grill. He
has sold millions of dollars worth of this product.
Better said, the company that developed the grill has
sold millions of dollars worth of grills by using George
Foreman’s testimonial.
People have an inbred automatic response to mimic
what other people do. Why do you think television
producers play recordings of laughter when a punch line
is said during a sitcom. Because they know that it will
make the live audience laugh, even if the punch line
wasn’t funny.
Strange? Even stranger is that the people in the
audience know that it’s just a recording of fake laughter
but producers have found that when the recorded
laughter is turned up, the live crowd laughs even louder.
It’s a natural instinct to mimic what others are doing.
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Customers Who Give Testimonials Are More Loyal
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An extra bonus is that testimonials will also create
more loyalty in your customers. Once people have put
their name and reputation on the line by publicly
endorsing a product or service (or person), they will
stand behind that decision even if they find out it’s a
bad one.
* Sidebar *
It reminds me of the time when Bill Clinton when “on
record” saying “I never had sex with that woman.” Even
after overwhelming evidence he continued to deny it
until he was forced to admit his wrongdoing.
* End Sidebar *
In addition, when you ask your customer for a
testimonial, they will feel as though they are helping
you and your business grow. Because they feel as
though they have a direct hand in the success of your
business, they will stay loyal.
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Ten Strategies for Successful Customer Testimonials
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There’s more to obtaining testimonials than just asking
your customers for their comments and feedback. If
you want to have powerful testimonials that catch your
prospects attention and build a relationship of trust, you
should consider the following testimonial strategies.
Strategy # 1: Try to get a testimonial from your
customer as soon as possible. This could be the day
you make the sale or within the first week after you
make the sale.
Your customer will be at their “giddiest” and most
motivated to write you a great testimonial during this
time period. Don’t wait until the honeymoon period is
over. Consider having them write the testimonial before
they leave your office or store.
Strategy # 2: Always ask your customers to include
your unique selling proposition (USP) in the testimonial.
For instance, if your USP includes exceptional
customer service, same day installation, and a money-
back guarantee then ask your customer to attest to
those qualities.
Strategy # 4: Have your customers be specific in their
testimonials. For instance, if you delivered your
product the same day your customer purchased it, tell
your customer to include the time that it arrived.
If you delivered some kind of outrageous act of
customer service have them write specifically about
what you did and how it helped your customer.
Strategy # 5: Ask your customer to talk about the
struggles they were having previous to receiving the
benefits of your product or service. Most likely, the
reader will have had the same or similar struggles and
will empathize. This will only make your prospect more
interested in receiving the benefits of your product or
service.
Strategy # 6: Have your customer state their
credentials. This will make their testimonial even more
persuasive because their comments will be perceived to
come from a credible source. People tend to believe
people in positions of perceived authority.
Strategy # 7: Always try to get a picture with them
using your product or service. As a matter of fact, try
to take the picture yourself so that you know you’ll get
a good one. Take several and make sure they are
showing the benefits of the product or service. Pictures
double the effectiveness of your testimonial and bring
the testimonials to life.
Strategy # 8: Make sure you get permission from your
customers to use their testimonials in your advertising.
Thank them profusely and let them know that it is
testimonials like theirs that help your business grow.
Strategy # 9: Ask them if you cannot only use their
name but the town (suburb) they live in. Addresses,
even if it’s just a city name, increase the believability of
the testimonial. It demonstrates that they are real
people who live in the same community as your
prospects.
Strategy # 10: Now here is a controversial tactic but it
has worked every time for me. Let’s suppose your
customer procrastinates to send in their testimonial.
Call them up and mention that you know they are very
busy but that you value them as a customer and their
testimonial is important to you.
Suggest that to save them time and hassle, you will
draft a testimonial to them and they can make any
editing changes they want. Then send it back.
Of course, you’ll want to send a self-addressed
envelope. You get the perfect testimonial and they
don’t have to do any work. Again, this tactic has
worked 100% of the time for me.
Here’s a sample letter from the spa industry asking for
a testimonial from a customer:
Dear Frank:
Thank your for purchasing your spa at Spa City
USA. It was a great experience helping you in your
selection process. You were well informed which
made our job easy.
We wish we had more customers such as you who
take the time to make a good decision.We know
you had several choices from which to purchase
your spa and we were flattered and grateful that you
chose to purchase your spa from us.
We consider it an honor when someone shops
around and comes back to purchase at Spa
City.From time to time we ask a few of our special
customers for their feedback.
We often use this feedback as a testimonial in our
marketing material. Because we had such a
pleasurable time with you
Frank, could I ask you to jot down a few words
about your experience at Spa City and the people
that helped you so that we can use it in our
marketing material?
You would be helping us tremendously in our
marketing efforts.You might want to include
specifics such as names, positive incidents, and
how you feel today about owning your spa. Again,
this will help us as we market our products and
services here in the Seattle area.
Enclosed you will find a form to use and a pre-paid
envelope with which to mail it back to us.Thank you
so much for your help and for being a great
customer.Cordially yours,
David Frey
This testimonial request letter butters up your customer
and makes him feel as though he is really helping out
your business (and he is!). It makes him feel special
and that his comments will count.
It also makes it easy for him to fill out and send back.
The easier it is to respond, the higher your response
rate will be. Always follow-up a testimonial request
letter with a phone call and a letter, especially if it
hasn’t come back after a couple of weeks.
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Always Thank Your Customer for Their Testimonial
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If you thank your customer for their testimonial it will
increase the good will you already enjoy and confirm
the customer’s choice for extending their good name
and giving you a testimonial.
Take a moment to send a personal letter thanking them
for their time and effort. The following are a couple of
example letters you might use as a guideline for
thanking your customer.
This sample letter is designed to go to people who have
given you an unsolicited testimonial after purchasing
their spa or pool (or your product or service).
Dear Mr. Jones:
I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your
kind remarks in the letter I just received from you.
Your praise of our store and its people is most
gratifying.
It is unusual for someone to take the time to
express his satisfaction with a product or services.
It’s people like you who make our special effort
worthwhile.I am very pleased that you like your new
Maxis spa as much as you do.
When I sold it to you, I really believed it would help
your back problems and allow you to relax after a
long days work. I hope it gives you many years of
enjoyment.
Thank you again for your kind words. I’m proud to
know I’ve been of service. If you need anything
don’t hesitate to call.
Cordially yours,
David Frey
Thanking your customer always tends to improve your
rapport and solidify your relationship. Besides, it’s
common courtesy.
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How To Use Customer Testimonials Once You Get
Them
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It’s not enough to receive customer testimonials but
knowing how to use them in your marketing activities is
what makes the difference. The following are seven
ideas you can use to implement testimonials into your
marketing program.
Idea # 1 – Create a “What People Are Saying…” report.
I once heard the story of an independent consultant
who after proposing on a project, was asked for his
resume. Instead of sending his resume, he made
copies of all the testimonials people had sent him
(hundreds) and put them in a shoe box and sent them
to the company. Needless to say, he got the project.
Create your own “What People Are Saying…” report
by putting copies of your best testimonials together in
a booklet and giving them to prospects. This will
become a very powerful marketing tool for you.
Idea # 2 – Put testimonials on your website.
Scatter testimonials from customers all over your
website. Many webmasters make the mistake of
creating a testimonial page and putting all the
testimonials one page.
Place testimonials wherever you make bold claims. If
you have testimonials pertaining to a specific product,
place those testimonials under that product.
Another great area to place testimonials on your
website is on the right and left borders. They will be a
constant reminder of your credibility.
If you have a sign-up page of any sort, consider
including a testimonial that talks specifically about
what you are asking your visitor to sign up to, whether
it be your newsletter or access to special information.
Idea # 3 – Always include a testimonial in your
advertising.
You’ll never see an ad for a weight loss product
without a testimonial. Why? Because those
advertisers know that people are skeptical of all ads
(not just weight loss ads) and testimonials overcome
skepticism more than any other marketing tool.
Idea # 4 – In every direct mail piece you send, include a
one or two page full of testimonials.
This gives automatic credence to whatever offer you
are sending. You can make the testimonials a part of
the sales letter but from my experience, sending loose
leaf pages of testimonials make a persuasive
statement.
Idea # 5 – Include customer testimonials on an
audiotape.
It’s one thing to read a testimonial but another to hear
a real live person. You can even include the pictures
and bios of those people on the tape in your mailer.
I know of one marketer who sells information products
who includes an audiocassette tape with his sales
letter. All the audio tape contains is a recording of
customers praising his product. It’s powerful.
Idea # 6 – Do joint endorsed mailings.
If you have an associate that has customers who
might be good prospects for what you sell, ask if he
would like to participate in a joint endorsed mailing in
which your associate would send a letter to his
customers endorsing (giving a testimonial) you and
your products and services. In return you send a
letter to your customers endorsing your associate’s
products and services. It’s a win-win.
Idea # 7 – Do an endorsed referral letter promotion.
This tactic is similar to Idea # 7 but the promotion is
done with your customers. Hold a contest of some
sort and award prizes (incentives) to those customers
who send in the names and addresses of three friends
who they know would benefit from your products or
services.
Then send each of the three friends a letter with the
testimonial of the person who referred them. This
could give your referral program a jolt.
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Start a “Testimonial Drive” Today
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Chances are, you have not been diligent in asking for
customer testimonials. I would urge you to make a
commitment today to start asking for testimonials from
100% of your customers. You can’t have enough
customer testimonials.
Make a plan today to begin a “Customer Testimonial
Drive” and set a goal to obtain 100 customer
testimonials within the next three months.
Put a thermometer on the wall if you have to, but start
today. Draft your testimonial request letter and send it
out this week. Then start following up on your requests
by phone next week.
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Conclusion
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Testimonials are a powerful tool in helping you to break
down your prospects skepticism and fear. When
customers give you a testimonial it works to solidify
your relationship with them because they have “gone
public” with their statement of support for your
business.
Ask for testimonials from your customers as soon as
they purchase your product or service. Ensure that
their testimonial is very specific. Always get a picture
of your customer to use with your testimonial.
Don’t forget to thank your customer for pledging their
public support for your business. Find innovative ways
to integrate your customer testimonials into your
marketing program.
Now go and get some great testimonials!
David Frey
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David Frey, President, Marketing Best Practices Inc., a
Houston small business consulting firm. To get your
lifetime FREE subscription to the web's leading small
business marketing newsletters just send an email to
subscribe@MarketingBestPractices.com or visit
http://www.MarketingBestPractices.com
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