To your success

The truth about testimonials

One of the most effective (and affordable) marketing tools you can have is a heartfelt testimonial from a happy customer. Why? Because if you tell the world how amazing you are, few people will believe it. But if someone else raves about you, it's a whole other ball game. Here are a few suggestions that will help you get testimonials from your customers.

	Call your first witness. Even the happiest customers will rarely send unsolicited praise, so if you want a testimonial you have to ask for it. Personally call or email your best clients to request a testimonial. If your client base is larger, conduct an open-ended survey or hold a "biggest fan" contest to collect testimonials.
	Capture off-the-cuff remarks. Most positive feedback from customers happens on the fly. The next time a customer tells you something great about your product or service, ask this golden question, "Can I quote you on that?" Then write up their quote, email it to them for their approval, and voila! You've got a great testimonial!
	Leverage the power of pictures. Whenever possible, ask your customers for a picture that can accompany their testimonial, or better yet, get a video testimonial. You can share these videos on your website, YouTube page, and in emails. Whether professionally produced or taken with a Flip camera, video testimonials go a long way in establishing trust with prospects.
	Seek neutral ground. Your website visitors will take everything on your site with a grain of salt but a testimonial posted on a third party site can be incredibly powerful. Encourage your customers to send praises via Twitter, Facebook, blog entries, or forum comments. To feature these comments on your site, add a live Twitter feed to your homepage or link to blogs and other places where customers have left favorable comments.