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Small Business Marketing – How to Write a Great Testimonial
ByEvery business needs testimonials. A good testimonial is the next best thing to a word of mouth recommendation.
As a prospect, if you are looking to buy from or deal with a business for the first time, there may always be a few doubts in your mind, so anything that the business can do to ensure that those doubts are minimized, is worth looking at in depth.
If you don’t know anyone who has bought from the business before, then you’d like to know that at least someone has and that they had a good experience. That is where the testimonial comes in.
Here are the three key attributes a testimonial must have, to be effective:
1. It must be believable. Your prospects like to feel that other people, just like them have been treated well and fairly and that their buying decision was sound. Make sure that your testimonials reflect this.
If possible include a picture of the customer you are quoting, their full name and, if it’s relevant their authority for saying what they do: in other words, if they run a business that you sell to, mention the name and type of business.
2. It must give detail. Don’t just offer up a one line quote, saying something bland like “These guys are great”. Explain exactly WHY this guy thinks you’re so great.
There is a simple format you can use: state the guy’s initial problem or requirement; explain exactly how your business solved it for him and finally state what his outcome was. Then include the quote at the end. That way, it’s obvious why he’s so enthusiastic.
3. It must be checkable. How many testimonials have you seen that you thought were maybe made up? They probably weren’t, but humans are naturally cynical, so make sure that at the bottom of the testimonial, it is clear that if your prospect wants to, they can speak to your champion and hear the praise from his own mouth.
Now don’t go giving out the guy’s contact deals everywhere. When you take a testimonial you always have to get the giver to agree to be contacted at HIS convenience. This might mean that you get fewer testimonials, but the ones you do get will be all the stronger for it.
Get yourself a handful of testimonials like this and plaster them everywhere; in your ads, in your store, in your brochures and on the website. They are like little salesmen building trust and rapport on your behalf, but unlike salesmen, they don’t expect vacations.
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