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By:
Allyn
Testimonials
play an important part in advertising - especially for
small businesses. Yeah, big businesses with well-known
names don't have to worry about it, but small companies
can use testimonials as marketing tools to build
credibility.
Think about it...how else can we gain credibility than
by creating a group of satisfied customers and shouting
what they have to say? Let's look at some ways we can
make testimonials an effective part of our marketing
campaigns.
Collect Them
It would be nice if customers just wrote out wonderful
testimonials on their own, walked into your business and
slapped them on the counter.
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Yep,
that would be too easy...it just doesn't happen that
way. So what you need to do is pay attention to your
everyday conversations with customers. Set up a file of
the positive comments you hear - both in person and on
the phone.
Why
not fish for compliments? Send your customers and email
or postcard that asks them what they think about your
product or service. You'll be pleased at the positive
comments that are out there just waiting to be netted!
Mix it Up
Different things appeal to different people. Yep, it's
different strokes for different folks. If you want to
catch the attention of a varied audience, use a variety
of testimonials. You'll be showcasing a spectrum of
benefits that your business generates while putting
different "flavours" out to attract a wide
range of customer tastes.
Get Specific.
I liked this product a lot...is a nice thank you, but
tells absolutely nothing to the readers you're trying to
capture. Yep, you want to be a little picky about the
testimonials you use. Choose testimonials that are
specific...I used your product for 2 weeks and now I'm
acne free...or I used your weight loss product for 30
days and I'm 14 pounds lighter and feel sexy
again...Yeah you want to pick testimonials that will
motivate the readers to pick up the phone or get in the
car!
Identify Customers Giving the Testimonial
How do you feel when you see your name blazoned across a
newspaper advertisement or across a web page? Yeah, most
of us puff up a little bit...you know, the ego thing.
Your customers will be happy to let you use their name
and comments as part of your advertising campaign and
will be only too happy to show it off to friends and
family.
Don't forget that when you are gathering permission that
the city, state, and occupation of the customer adds
interest.
Hey, businesses like to find themselves in print just as
much as an individual...a bit of free advertisement,
right? If you sell to a business don't be afraid to
include their testimonial in your advertisements along
with the type of industry and location or anything else
that might be of interest to your readers.
Testimonials Should Stand Out
Once you've gone through all of the effort to gather up
interesting testimonials, you might as well make them
shine. Yeah, highlight, use bold text or italics,
quotation marks ...whatever it takes to make them
outstanding.
Web pages are great for highlighting testimonials. It's
easy put them in attention getting coloured boxes, or
accent with clip art. You might want to even spread them
out in groups to add interest to your page.
Think about this...testimonials are like pure gold for
marketers. Yeah, the time you spend digging them up
definitely pays off. Marketing research has shown that
testimonials can increase sales by as much as 250%!
Yep...testimonials really are worth their weight in
gold!
Article
Source:
http://articles-4-free.com
Who
is Allyn Cutts, and why should you care? Allyn has spent
over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new
customers and increase sales to current customers. Allyn
is a marketing and sales fanatic, providing measurable
marketing solutions that drive huge results for small-to
mid-size business clients. Allyn works personally with
clients to design and deliver off-line and on-line
direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and
measurable results. You can learn more about Allyn Cutts
at www.AllynCutts.com and you can call 610.437.4106
between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and
Thursdays. Submitted with Article
Distributor.
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