One component that plays an important role in helping you promote your business (while enabling you to build trust and buy-in from potential clients) is to get feedback from existing clients that identify the results they have experienced through working with you. I’m talking about a ‘Testimonial’.
Like many of my clients, you too may dread having to seek feedback from your customers and therefore find this task to be quite daunting. Or, you may already be compiling testimonials from your clients that read something like this: “Thank you [your name here]. I’m thrilled with your service and would highly recommend you to my friends and family”, which unfortunately does little in terms of building rapport, trust and the desire to work with you when potential clients read it.
If you fall into either of these categories then it’s important for you to read today’s article. You are missing out on valuable opportunities either because you’re not proactively seeking feedback from your clients, OR you’re getting testimonials that are ineffective and don’t position you as a credible service provider who is worth investing in.
Incorporating powerful testimonials into your marketing will help you to:
- Create credibility
- Build believability
- Deepen desirability
Reading about how you have supported the people who have already invested in your services/products, confirms to potential clients that you are a credible authority in your field. Becoming known as an expert is vital for any service-based business particularly if you are operating within a competitive marketplace.
Receiving a testimonial from a client acts as proof that what you are claiming in your marketing material is not just an empty promise – but is achievable. Why? Because someone else (your client) has achieved it.
Seeing the results that your clients are receiving (often in an area that a potential client is struggling with) increases their desire to invest in you and your services. The thought of finally being able to overcome their problems and finally begin to experience similar outcomes, deepens their desire to work with you!
I’m sure you too would like to create credibility, build believability and deepen the desirability of potential clients to invest in your services – YES?
Remember that people are very busy so you want to ensure the process is simple and easy. So here are 6 simple questions that I’ve asked my clients which have supported them in providing me information that I could turn into a valuable testimonial. [Feel free to tweak them to suit your business].
- What were you experiencing previously that prompted you to work with me?
- How has working through this program helped you in terms of developing your brand and marketing/communications material?
- What are the results you are now seeing with your clients because of this? [Please include facts and figures if possible].
- How will this help you and your business moving forward?
- If someone is considering joining this program and is a little hesitant – what would you say to them, based on your experience and results?
- Is there anything else you’d like to comment on?
Once your client sends you back their response you can develop the content into a powerful testimonial that you can include on your website copy, your brochures or any other marketing documentation.
Remember to run it by your client first before publishing it to get their approval, and ask them whether you could include a recent photo of them. This also increases believability as you are confirming that this is a ‘real’ person and not something you have fabricated.
Let me know how you go!
