How Important Are Testimonials?
You have a great Web site, brochures, sales flyers, POP displays, maybe even a weekly e-newsletter. But are you overlooking the most important marketing piece – a customer testimonial?
Testimonials – third-party endorsements of your products or service – add credibility and help alleviate any worries or concerns prospective customers may have.
Before you can use testimonials in your brochures, Web site, and sales letters, you first need to get them. There are two different types of testimonials: unsolicited and solicited.
Unsolicited testimonials are those little nuggets that arrive in your email or regular mail that sing praises about your employees, service and/or products. You probably have already collected quite a few. Now all you need to do is get the writer’s permission to use their letter as a testimonial. When you contact them, make sure to explain how you plan on using their testimonial, and make sure you get permission to use their name and company (if applicable).
Solicited testimonials can arrive in a variety of ways, depending on how you actively pursue them: comment or warranty cards, follow-up surveys, Web site comment sections or direct requests.
It is hard to get a well-written testimonial. It takes a long time to get busy customers to write it, and when they do, it often doesn't speak to what you want to promote in your business.
There are options: you can interview customers about what they liked about your dealership, products or service. It is best to hire someone – like a PR, marketing or freelance writer – to conduct these interviews, transcribe them, and edit them down to the most salient points. They can also get the customers to sign releases approving use of their testimonial.
There are three things every testimonial should include:
1. Names. Get the green light to use your customer's name (and company, if applicable).
2. Short, readable sentences. Testimonials should be three sentences or less and stick to one major point with a definable benefit.
3. Emotion. Toss out any flat testimonials such as "XZY Tire did a great job." Replace it with testimonials like this: "Wow! I never thought I could get our tires so fast! XZY Tire really earned our future business.”
With testimonials in hand, you can use them in direct mailers, on your Web site and e-newsletter, print ads, radio or TV spots, or even create your own POP displays featuring the testimonials.