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Best Practices for Using Testimonials

Written by: Diana Long

Article Overview: How to get and use great testimonials

Best Practices for Using Testimonials

One of the best ways for business owners to upgrade all types of marketing collateral is to provide compelling testimonials from your enthusiastic and satisfied customers.

Thoughtful placement of testimonials helps your future customers feel more confident and attracted to what you have to offer. Think about your own "buying behavior" for a minute. It's easier to make a decision about your purchase after you've read, heard or seen testimonials!

Here are a few quick and easy tips on how to get and use great testimonials:

1. Be ready for "impromptu" testimonials - When your clients give you glowing, positive feedback, jot it down. Ask your client, "May I quote you on that?" People love to help and are happy to have you quote them.
2. Jazz it up - Get their picture and add it to their testimonial on your web site, newsletter, and other marketing promo material. Creating audio and video testimonials? Huge plus! For high quality audios try Audio Acrobat. Great service. Video testimonials after a workshop are easily done with a "Flip" camera.
3. Best to use client's full name (have you seen testimonials with initials only?) - Using initials doesn't have the same "power" as a person's full name. If they have a web site, all the better!
4. Respect your client's time - People are so busy these days, you can do your client a big favor and create a "sample" testimonial based on the results they experienced with your service. Ask them to tweak it in their own words. This is a nice time saver for you and your client!
5. Concentrate on results and outcomes - This is what we are buying, right? We want to know that if we make this investment we are going to get the results we want. Make sure your testimonials reflect this. Testimonials that speak to what a nice person you are may be pleasant to read, but won't cut it when your potential client is making a buying decision about your service. They are looking for results.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on best practices on testimonials!

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Article Tags: best practices, business owners, concentrate, high quality, initials, jazz, jot, marketing collateral, nice time, positive feedback, sample testimonial, satisfied customers, time saver, types of marketing, video testimonials



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Dramatized the product - Tough one... It's going to have t be a mix of different media. 1. Testimonials of current owners of the product and how it's helped them. This can be done thru Video and print 2. Somehow I believe there will have to be Video of it being "dramatized" 3. People of influence will have to support or sponsor the product. just some that came to mind..
Kevin's Case Study #3 - Promoting something you can't try - [quote="jvprosperity":21pki4fw]Tough one... It's going to have t be a mix of different media. 1. Testimonials of current owners of the product and how it's helped them. This can be done thru Video and print 2. Somehow I believe there will have to be Video of it being "dramatized" 3. People of influence will have to support or sponsor the product. just some that came to mind..[/quote:21pki4fw] Hi Andy, 1. I like this idea of testimonials from current business owners of the product. But what if there aren't any to start? 2. I see your point about there being a need for video dramatization, but as a consumer, do you really buy into them yourself? Where's the authenticity from a dramatization? A security system can be expensive to install for your retail business, so you may not want to invest in something just because someone on TV is telling you to do so. 3. I think your 3rd suggestion has the best potential though! Personally, I would suggest holding a contest to award someone like a marketing student a $500 to $1000 prize for being able to come up with the most creative way to market this security product. It's an inexpensive campaign that could help to generate a lot of buzz (and even be featured as a "story" on a local news channel).
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