The
Power of Testimonials and References
How many times
has a prospect who is evaluating
your product or service asked you for customer
references? For many organizations, this is a required step
in their buying process. Before any purchases are made, they want
to know who has bought from you before and how they’ve
benefited. We’ve found that customer testimonials, references
and client lists are extremely useful. Customers are looking for
proven track records from companies that aren’t going to take their
money and then deliver a sub par product or service.
Listed below are a few ideas you can
use to leverage success
stories and customer
relationships to build more business:
· Ask for Testimonial Letters
– First and foremost, whenever a customer buys a product or service
from you, it is imperative that you follow
up with that customer to get their feedback,
be it positive or negative. When a customer provides you with a
glowing review on their experience with your company, ask them if
they would be willing to write you a testimonial letter. A vast
majority will gladly agree. They understand that buyers want to
see some proof before signing on the bottom line and they may have
asked for testimonials
before working with you. One technique is to supply a customer with
sample letters that you
have received from other clients. This can help get their creative
juices flowing. Ask them to use their own words and to mail you
their letter on company letterhead. These letters can then be used
in advertisements, on web pages or scanned and e-mailed to other
clients. You’ll want to make sure that your client will not need
specific legal permission before using their letter for marketing
purposes.
· Build Client Lists
– Client
lists are very useful marketing
tools. They can be created to show a company’s overall experience
or targeted by industry. Many companies maintain general client
lists and then build documents with lists for the financial industry,
government agencies, high tech companies, etc. Use targeted or
general lists to provide prospects with an idea of your company’s
track record.
· Use Quotes in Materials
– Customer quotes are invaluable on web pages, sales circulars and
brochures. These can be gathered from conversations, e-mails
or letters. In general, when quoting
a client, you may want to refrain from using their name. We’ve
found that simply listing the person’s title, company and city/state
will do the trick. If a customer needs more
information, you can provide it to them.
· Build Reference Lists
– Some customers may be more than happy to act as references when
a prospect would like a personal conversation with a satisfied
customer. It is a good idea to build internal references for
these times. Use them sparingly as you don’t want your valued customers
to receive too many calls. In general, it is best to provide reference
contact information as one of the last steps in the sales process.
Too many calls can ruin positive customer experiences. Of course,
don’t publish these references for anyone to access.
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