"Get 'em While
They're Hot!"
by Dave Balch, "The
Stay-at-Home CEO"™
(c) 2002, A Few Good
People, Inc.
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What do you do when a customer compliments you on your product or service?
(If you don’t get any compliments, you need to read all of my other
articles… NOW!) The correct answer is "I get it in writing!"
It’s wonderful when your customers appreciate you; it’s even more
wonderful when you can share that appreciation with others. After all,
what gives you more credibility than a happy customer? And who better to
spread the word than that customer?
The word of the day, then, is "Testimonial". Here are some
tips and tricks to getting good testimonials and using them to your
advantage.
- If you get a compliment on your product or service, ask if
you can get it in writing, preferably on their letterhead.
- If you have what you feel is a good customer and you don’t
yet have a testimonial from them, ASK FOR ONE!
- Regardless of how the subject comes up, ask them some
questions that will clarify the benefit they enjoyed from your
product or service.
- Offer to put it in writing for them to save them time (and
to word it the way you feel is best). Naturally, you will ask
them for approval of what you wrote and then, if appropriate,
they can put it on their letterhead.
- A good testimonial gives specific results; the more
specific the better. For example, "Our productivity
increased 35%" is much more powerful than "You saved
us a lot of time".
- Try to get the letter addressed directly to you rather than "To
Whom it May Concern" i.e., "Dear Dave" or "Dear
Sally" is better than "Dear Person" or
"Gentlemen". That personal touch makes the letter
appear more sincere.
- Use the testimonials everywhere you can. Every piece of
literature, every brochure, every flyer should have at least
one. And don’t forget to use them generously on your website!
(Don’t include your customer’s email address though, because
that would make it available to spammers who comb the web
looking for addresses to steal.)
- Organize the originals in a binder where customers can see
them, or so you can bring them with you on calls.
- Make a separate piece of literature that contains nothing
but your best testimonials… call it "Our brag sheet"
or "People are talking about us… and we LOVE it!"
- If possible, eliminate dates on your testimonials; if it’s
too old it loses some of it’s punch, even though everything
they said is still just as valid as when it was first written.
- Can you take photos of your happy customers with your
product? Some products lend themselves better to photographs
than others; that’s something only you can decide, but if it’s
a particularly large or well-known customer a photo could add
more impact. (Remember, though, that if you use a photo of
someone you will probably need some sort of release from them
allowing you to use it for promotional purposes. And, if you
didn’t take the photo yourself, there could be some copyright
issues to consider, so get some legal advice before you use
photos in your marketing materials. It sounds like a lot of
trouble, but a good photo is pretty powerful in establishing
credibility for you and/or your product or service.)
Start collecting testimonials today, even if you’re not quite sure
how you’re going to use them. Then, when you’re ready, you’ll have a
boatload to choose from.
GO FOR IT!
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