WebBySab » The importance of good testimonials http://www.webbysab.com Mon, 13 Sep 2010 08:16:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 en hourly 1 The importance of good testimonials http://www.webbysab.com/%topics%/the-importance-of-good-testimonials/ http://www.webbysab.com/%topics%/the-importance-of-good-testimonials/#comments Mon, 13 Sep 2010 08:00:41 +0000 admin http://www.webbysab.com/?p=120 If your clients have positive feedback about your business, then why not publicize them for the world to see? People don’t consider requests for testimonials as awkward as asking for referrals or leads. So go ahead and ask your past and present clients for a testimonial, bearing the following in mind:

Testimonials are a powerful marketing tool. However their overuse and too often lack of authenticity have impacted on their ability to influence or reassure prospects. To really promote your business, your testimonials should be:

1. Authentic:

When you see the number of websites offering ‘genuine testimonials’ generators, it is no wonder that prospects may hesitate to believe what they read.

To make your (real) testimonials sound as trustworthy as possible, include as many credibility indicators as possible, such as the authors’ full name, business name, web address of the business and a photo. Video testimonials bear even further integrity. After all, would you give a fake video testimonial?

2. Specific:

Good testimonials go beyond “They did a great job” or “The product made my life better” by explaining why and how the service/product made a difference.

To get valuable feedback on your work, help your clients by asking specific questions such as:

Feedback form

1. How was your overall experience of working with us on this project?

Excellent Very good OK Bad Very bad

2. How would you rate our ability to communicate?

Excellent Very good OK Bad Very bad

3. Was there any aspect of our work which particularly impressed you?

4. What have we helped you achieve with the product or service we provided?

5. What results have you seen come from working with us?

6. How did you feel after receiving our product/service?

7. What objections did you have before working with us? What reassured you?

8.I am looking for success stories from customers like you. If you have a success story to share, please summarize it or give testimonial.

9. What aspects of the project or our work could we improve?

10. Would you consider using us for a future project?

Yes No

Reason (if you answered no):

11. Do you know of any organisations similar to yourselves, who might benefit from the work which was used or developed for this project?

3. Diverse:

It is best to display varied testimonials from a diverse panel of people: These reviews should be provided by a range of individuals (companies, positions, background) your prospects can relate to and cover a variety of experiences and benefits that are meaningful to them.

4. Approved:

Always obtain authorization and written consent to use any client’s testimonial, name and other details in your marketing and business materials.

5. Published:

Once you’ve collected some valuable testimonials, what to do with them? – Post them on your web site. Placement matters, as this Marketing Experiments study shows.

- Publish them on your marketing materials.

- Add them to your social network profiles.

- Upload video testimonials to services like YouTube.

- Write a success story blog entry that explains a problem and how you solved it. Use the clients’ quotes in the story.

Effective testimonials cost nothing except the time to collect and publish them, which is more than paid off by the credibility you gain in return.

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