Because a customer will only see the benefit of the product they are buying from you, days, weeks or even months after they purchase it they have to believe that what you are saying (when promoting the product) is correct and trustworthy – otherwise they will ‘click off’ and move onto another site.

We have all seen (and read!) those long (long) sales pages ‘brimming’ with testimonials endorsing the product that you are reading about. The more testimonials you read the more you start to believe in the product and the person who is selling it – this is the power of testimonials!

Testimonials are extremely valuable for this very reason – they convince your potential customer that you can deliver on your promises and recommendations. Testimonials also build credibility and they add value to your product, website or blog – This is commonly known as Social Proof.

What is a testimonial?

A testimonial is simply a statement of praise and acknowledgment from a satisfied customer.

What makes a good testimonial?

Using any testimonial is better than using none but the more effective a testimonial is the greater the credibility you will gain leading to increased customer retainment and more sales!

A good testimonial should;

• Be specific – if someone says your product was ‘interesting and informative’ ask them to be more specific and detail what they learnt and what was interesting about it.

• Be positive – I know this sounds obvious but instead of ‘not a waste of money’ change it to ‘every penny spent was worth it!’ (I think you understand what I mean here?!)

• Be clear & concise to the reader

• Have at least an email address (and preferably a web address) at the end of the testimonial – this adds incredible strength and believability to the testimonial

• Always be in quotations marks “This shows that the customer actually said these things”

A testimonial is always stronger if accompanied by a photo – this isn’t always easy but if possible it is definitely worth the effort!

The absolute top accolade would be to get an audio (or video) testimonial – there is nothing more believable to a customer than to hear (or see) someone recommending your product or service.

So now we know the power of testimonials we need to discuss how to get good quality ones!

Here are some proven methods in obtaining them;

• Ask for one – once you have made a sale, contact the person and providing they are happy with their purchase ask them to write a few words about the product.

• Follow up any positive feedback you receive via your blog website and turn this into a testimonial, make sure you contact the customer for endorsement.

• Write the testimonial yourself and send to the customer for his her endorsement.

• Contact well known people (or websites) in your market area and ask them to write a testimonial for you – this can add great impact to your product service.

• Send a ‘broadcast email’ to your list offering a FREE eBook if they send a return email completing the following sentence “After purchasing XYZ (product) I have seen the following results to my business…” (or something along those lines!)

You can change testimonials received from a customer making them ’snappier’ and more specific but do ensure that you ask your customer for their approval or permission.

Once you have some testimonials you need to start using them immediately, please remember you can never use testimonials enough and you can never have enough of them!

As a summary, if you use testimonials in every marketing strategy and communication you have with your customers (and prospects) you will get more traffic, enquiries and sales, guaranteed!

Andy