Today’s marketers use numerous strategies and techniques for increasing advertising response rates, but none can replace that tried-and-true power tool of persuasion: customer testimonials.
Real people speaking favorably about your product or service can have a potent influence on others who wouldn’t necessarily be receptive to a polished, calculated message crafted by a professional.
If you haven’t taken the time lately to collect and incorporate customer testimonials into your marketing messages, consider the value-added benefits to be gained.
The ring of truth. Testimonials draw their “juice” from the true-to-life flavor of real people sharing their opinions and firsthand experiences. Even if the wording is more casual or less precise than you would prefer, using the actual words of your customer will make a strong connection with other potential customers.
Birds of a feather. Just as people more easily put themselves in the shoes of someone they find sincere and believable, it’s human nature to value the opinions of those with whom we relate. Always go for as direct a match as possible in your testimonials and the audience you want to reach. Boat owners trust other boat owners. Runners trust other runners. Seniors trust seniors.
Revitalized features and benefits. You’ve no doubt spent some serious time fine-tuning how you talk about your product or service’s features and benefits. Nothing wrong there. But things take on a fresh new feel when customers speak openly about what that means to them. Because of the personal nature of testimonials, they can make the most popular aspects of what you have to offer come alive in a way that jumps off the page.
So how do you begin using the power of testimonials? It all starts by simply contacting your customers to ask what they think about your product, service or organization. Start building a collection of good testimonials. You’ll soon see how frequently they add credibility to your marketing efforts.
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