Publishing sincere and gracious customer comments about your company is one way of letting people know what others have enjoyed about their experience with your business. These are difficult to come by, especially at first. Putting in the work and resources to seek them out, however, is a great way to use honest testimonials in your marketing strategy.
It is too tempting for some businesses to simply commission the staff to create untrue testimonials. This is not as beneficial as taking the time to seek out real opinions. It is also a bad idea because it only takes one customer to realize you've made a false claim and broadcast that information more widely than your original false testimonial.
To know which of your customers would be well-suited to write a testimonial, offer a survey at the end of their experience. You can get an idea of how happy they were overall and about each part of the process along the way. You will also be able to tell if they are a potential cheerleader of your business.
It helps to provide discounts to people who complete surveys. This is the easiest way to recognize your supporters. You will also have genuine knowledge about your products in the meantime, as long as you include some open-ended questions.
If you don't have any current clientele, build an opt-in feature on your website to capture email subcribers' information. Then you will have a set of warm leads to whom you can propose a free product if they agree to review it. When using this approach, make it clear that you are seeking honest opinions and are not trying to buy a testimonial.
Make it clear that you are inviting all opinions, positive or negative. This will improve your product and improve your chances of getting a response. Generally people enjoy giving their two cents when something matters to them. Solicit the types of testimonials you want from people by giving them the type of service that warrants a fantastic review.
To avoid outright lying in your sales letters yet still compete with those who do, rely on your rock solid business practices and your high quality product to generate testimonials for you. It is often an unbudgeted expense and many new business owners are dismayed at having to put out even more money in giveaways to generate a buzz. But it's worth it to your reputation and longevity as a supplier.
An effective sales letter containing testimonials can strongly persuade one buyer to follow in another's footsteps. If you have a high quality product or service that you believe in, it will not be long before others feel the same way. Then it is just a matter of finding a few happy customers and allowing them to share their satisfaction with others.
About the Author:
Jason Pearson is an online marketing expert who wants to share his secrets with the world. To find out more...
