A FREE marketing tactic that will help boost sales in any industry

If you were walking down the street, and stumbled upon a $100 bill, would you pick it up?

Sure you would!

That’s easy money, and unless someone was around who could have possibly dropped it, you have no reason to search for its owner. Sometimes good things happen to good people, and I am sure you were shouting your new found luck from the roof tops!

So then why aren’t you capturing customer testimonials?

It’s just as easy as picking loose bills off the street. And even better, one solid testimonial could be worth thousands of extra dollars in your pocket.

The power of a testimonial is widely known to be the “magic ingredient” in the recipe for business success. But the really sad story is in the lack of businesses stocking up on this sweet sauce! It’s even safe to say that most businesses don’t even ask their customers if they like the product which they bought over two weeks ago.

OK. I’ve vacated my soap box for a second, and want to focus this message back to my intended audience, those that are capturing testimonials, and are looking to use them to increase their sales and triple their monthly profits.

A testimonial is only as good as its origins. Celebrities have been used for years to help promote clothing, cologne, automobiles and even life insurance. But are their statements genuine, or were they purchased? More than likely, the latter option is accurate. Moving further down the line of testimonial structuring, we get to the fancy dressed businessman who offers his testimonial in the form of a scripted play-by-play. His robotic voice lulls us into a deep sleep, and we instinctively acknowledge that his words are meaningless. The authors are indeed those that have the most to gain from his penned compliments.

With these two options proving counterproductive, where does that leave us?

Old faithful! A genuine, non-scripted testimonial from a real life customer.

Seems simple enough, but too many businesses focus on the testimonials that appeal to the owners, rather than the bare bones, seemingly lack luster testimonial that will tug on the heart-strings of its everyday viewers.

A testimonial only works if it is shared. Facebook, YouTube, print advertising, news releases, radio commercials are all great speak boxes for your testimonial. But the question always remains, “how do I get them?”

Do you own a smart phone or a cheap digital camera that has a video option?

Do you have an email address?

The next time a satisfied customer walks in, and verbally expresses the overwhelming satisfaction they feel towards your product, ask them to write that down in an email, or even better, ask if you can quickly film them providing that same statement of gratitude.

Not to get all lawyer on you, but here’s a link to a general release form I use in order to secure their approval to use the images in my advertising. Better safe than sorry!

After you have their permission, slap that video on your YouTube page, Facebook, website and even use the audio as your on-hold message for your store phone. If you do have a website, and feature products for sale, be sure to include product specific testimonials. Just think of the power associated with Amazon.com’s five star review system. I know for a fact that I make purchases based solely on customer reviews.

That’s some powerful stuff!

Everything we do in life is a result of others input or advice. The shoes, homes, music, food, bars all of that stuff can be directly linked to the suggestions of our peers. The same applies to your business.

Take my advice, and start generating some testimonials from your customers. Nothing is more persuasive than the approval of others!

 P.S. Consider leaving us a testimonial on our Facebook page! ~Andy #themarketingguy