Referrals from happy customers have always been the best method for generating new customers. The next-best source is well-written, satisfied customer reviews and testimonials, another kind of referral. Small businesses are uniquely positioned to obtain and leverage this form of referral being so close to their customers.
This brief article describes how small businesses can obtain customer reviews and testimonials, why they work so well, how and when to best motivate satisfied customers to provide them and how to leverage them on the Internet. Special pages on websites make it easy for satisfied customers to write reviews on the popular consumer review websites which receive millions of monthly visitors from prospective buyers. Consumer reviews are one key ingredient in local search ranking results on Google, Yahoo and other local search engines.
Why are Customer Reviews and Testimonials so Effective?
They are a powerful first step in establishing believability, credibility, and a sense of security for new customers. They help to break down natural barriers and distrust new consumers feel with an unfamiliar merchant.
Any opinion coming from a third party, not the business itself, instills confidence in prospective customers and dissolves buyer skepticism. Buyers increasingly tune out the mind-boggling flood of commercial messages that present themselves everywhere all the time. On the other hand when customers with no economic interest say good things, it breaks down skepticism laying a foundation for trust.
Local Business Competitive Advantage
Local business is much closer to its customers and their needs than large business. Dealing directly with customers allows a smaller business to be sensitive to what is on a customer-s mind. Satisfying customers is done through direct contact not through after-the-fact standardized surveys. Obtaining great customer reviews and testimonials should be that much easier.
Testimonials in Advertising
You-ll never see an ad for a weight-loss product without a testimonial. Why? Because those advertisers know that people are skeptical of all ads (not just weight-loss ads) and testimonials overcome skepticism more than any other marketing tool.
In every direct mail piece you send, include a one or two pages full of testimonials. This lends automatic credence to whatever offer you are sending. You can make the testimonials a part of the sales letter, but from my experience, sending loose-leaf pages of testimonials make a persuasive statement.
Testimonial How-To-s
Several simple methods and habits will generate well-crafted persuasive testimonials that will generate new customers naturally. Learning and practicing them should be automatic for every small business. Small business has several natural advantages over the big guys in this regard since they live closer to their customers. Delivering overwhelming good service is easier and can generate unrivaled enthusiasm. This should not be a one-time event. Collecting testimonials should be a constant pursuit, an essential part of your marketing DNA.
The challenge is to leverage the enthusiasm of satisfied customers into goodwill in well-written testimonials, whether used for promotional materials or as an all-important new category of local business recommendations, review websites, or portals that now generate many millions of monthly visitors. These review websites range from restaurants, contractors, or virtually any business in any category.
If you are a new business or a startup with few or no sales, let several friends try the product or service for free. If they honestly like it, ask them to give you a testimonial that you can use in your marketing.
#1: Point of Sale: Try to get customer testimonials as soon as possible, even at point of sale or within the first week. Satisfied customers are most motivated during this time period. Develop a natural process for obtaining the testimonial before they leave your office or store.
Ask them if they would share their happiness. Help them by putting into words the nice things already said and ask if that accurately reflects how they feels. Add, if relevant, your unique selling proposition (USP) such as over-the-top-customer service, same-day installation, low price value, or a money-back guarantee. If the customer agrees, then have the customer agree to or write the testimonial. When done, thank them.
#2: Telephone/Email: Contact the customer as soon as possible after the sale, whether as a customer satisfaction follow-up or other. Make sure the customer still has the same warm feelings. Ask if he/she would be willing to share those feelings with others in the form of a testimonial. Repeat what the customer said or suggested.
Suggest that, to save time, you will draft a testimonial and the customer can make any changes desired. Send the draft as an email. Ask for additional comments and get permission to use the testimonial.
#3: Persuasive Testimonials: Be discriminating. Personal and specific testimonials work successfully. Focus on key benefits. Vague, even enthusiastic testimonials do not have any impact. Have your customers be specific. For instance, if you delivered your product the same day your customer purchased it, then ask your customer to include that detail, even the exact time that it arrived. If you delivered some kind of incredible act of customer service, have the customer write specifically about what you did and how it helped.
Ask your customer to talk about the struggles he/she was having previous to receiving the benefits of your product or service. Most likely, the reader will have had the same or similar struggles and will empathize. This will only make your prospective customer more interested in receiving the benefits of your product or service.
Have your customer state his/her relevant background. This will make the testimonial even more persuasive because the comments will be perceived to come from a credible source. People tend to believe people in positions of perceived authority.
Sometimes it is difficult, but try to get a picture or even a video with the customer using your product or service. Make sure the video shows the benefits of the product or service. Pictures double the effectiveness of a testimonial and bring it to life.
#4: Testimonial Mechanics: Make sure you get permission to use you customers' testimonials in your advertising. Ask them if you can not only use their name, but also the town (suburb) they live in. Addresses, even if it-s just a city name, increase the believability of the testimonial. It demonstrates that they are real people who live in the same community as your prospects. Thank them sincerely.
#5: Leveraging Testimonials: It-s not enough just to receive customer testimonials. It's knowing how to use them in your marketing activities that makes the difference. The following are several ideas you can use to implement testimonials into your marketing program.
Consumer reviews are equally important for search engine rankings. A good consumer review appears where it is posted and is often pulled into many of the local search engines or aggregators and, therefore, can appear in many places.
It is one thing to obtain a solid testimonial and another to get motivate customers to take the time and trouble to visits local consumer review websites, register and submit a review, but there are methods to simplify the process (as discussed below).
Make It Easy for Your Customers to Provide Testimonials
Add any or all of the following local business consumer review websites to a newly dedicated "Local Resources" section of your website. Satisfied customers will now more easily be able to review your business on well-trafficked websites that can attract local buyers, and at no additional cost or work. It does, however, take a little time to register if customers have not used these valuable resources before, so incentivize them in a manner that is suitable to your type of business.
Well Trafficked Websites & Local Business Reviews
In addition, there are many industry specific consumer review websites dedicated to food, restaurants, contractors and others.
Bonus: Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Are Good for Local Search Rankings
What more can a local business do than get twin benefits from one activity. Consumer reviews have a favorable impact on local search rankings, not only as persuasive additions for the ultimate consumer. Some of the major local search engines spider other consumer review websites and include those reviews in its results. Higher rankings mean more traffic. More traffic should mean more happy consumers and more traffic and so it goes, steps leading directly to marketing heaven.
Conclusion
Testimonials are powerful tools that help to establish your credibility with buyers and higher search results with local search engines. For customers, they are as close as a business can get to high quality referrals on electronic steroids. They break down a prospect's skepticism and doubts. When customers give you a testimonial, it helps to solidify your relationship with them because they have "gone public" with their statement of support for your business.
Small businesses have natural advantages in generating powerful testimonials as the businesses (and business owners) are generally close to their customer base.
The Internet and the web offer many new ways to leverage your reputation by strategically placing, at key customer decision-making moments on your website, local business consumer review websites and even a resource section that lists local search engines, city-specific directories, and dedicated consumer review websites in one convenient place-your website.
If you would like an email template we use to motivate satisfied customer to take action and make it easier to write a review please request an email template we use from
Steven Brier is a local marketing expert from Local Internet USA, read his other post on Search Engine Journal;
