This is a guest post by Nathan Hangen. Be sure to let him know what you think of it in the comments!
Businesses rely on trust and authority to survive. If your customers don’t trust you or believe that you have the goods, then they aren’t going to buy from you.
Big corporations generally don’t suffer from this because they have money to throw around. This allows them to create the illusion of authority, which for most people is good enough. Small businesses though, especially those based solely on the internet, don’t have it quite so easy.
Overcoming these issues can be tough for new businesses especially, which is why blogs are such an excellent marketing vehicle. Over time, you get the chance to display your knowledge and expertise, winning your prospects over one by one.
It works.
From Slow to Fast
The problem though, is that it takes time. You have to keep your foot on the pedal and keep grinding away until you reach critical mass or the level at which word of mouth and buzz marketing takes over for you.
Considering that sales are the lifeline for any business, the longer this process takes, the more you’ll struggle to improve that bottom line.
But what if I told you there was a way to speed up that process, and build trust and authority almost overnight? What if I told you that you have access to a resource that can not only help you create social proof, but was also free?
Sounds good, right?
Let Your Customers Speak for You
Well, the good news is that if you’ve ever sold a product or service, then you’re in luck, because all you need in order to take advantage of this strategy is customers.
Sure, you can let your web copy or direct mail convert your leads into clients and customers, or you could simply let your satisfied customers do it for you. Consumers trust each other more than they trust the guy trying to make a sale, so it’s a natural fit.
By placing your customers in front of your prospects, they immediately put down their guard and listen to the message, and not the methods. As an example, just take a look on Amazon.com or any other site that lists product reviews. I don’t know about you, but when I’m considering a purchase, I scroll through the reviews before I do anything else. If they’re good, then I move on to the product details, and eventually…become a customer.
The same is true for your products or services. Reviews speak louder than bullet points.
How to Get the Goods
The easiest way to do this is to simply ask for a review, but if you haven’t been building an email list, then it’s going to be tough to reach your customers…so make that a priority if you haven’t already. You could also use a simple contact form on your website that allows customers to submit reviews. Contact Form 7 is a great plugin for this.
You could also open up for comments on your product pages, and let the reviews come in uncensored, which might sound scary at first, but proves that you aren’t hiding anything.
The big kahuna
Although text reviews are great, the most powerful reviews are those in audio or video format. When prospects can see and/or hear your satisfied customers, they are much more likely to identify with them. Video reviews especially, are an extremely powerful way to create social proof and disarm those that are loaded with objections.
Incentive
If your customers aren’t biting, consider offering an incentive in exchange for a review, such as a discount coupon or a free sample of another product. I’ve had success just offering to link to their blog or website on my review page.
However, if you’ve really delivered and your customers are satisfied, then you should have no problem getting at least a few reviews.
Create a showcase
Reviews are only powerful if they are easy to find, so highlight them whenever possible. Link to them on all of your sales and product pages, and consider embedding them in the sidebar or footer of your blog. Create a separate page just for customer testimonials. Make them easy to find…first impressions mean everything.
The Authority Hack
I know this sounds simple, but the truth is that most people aren’t tapping into their biggest resource, and it’s costing them time and money. Your products are great and your customers are happy, so why not show them off? The more you have the better you’ll be, especially if you can get your hands on a few video or audio reviews.
Reviews act as the social proof needed to convince your prospects to give you a shot. They help struggling businesses get over the hump, and help strong businesses become even stronger.
So, what are you waiting for?
Nathan Hangen is an entrepreneur, social media consultant, and co-authored the book Beyond Blogging. You can follow him on Twitter @nhangen.
Nathan – I really like the idea of creating a separate page for testimonials. One thing Michael's done is feature testimonials on specific pages which, when clicked on, link to the page of testimonials.
Question: What do you think about the use of logos or avatars along with testimonials?
John, I think the more you can distinguish the person behind the testimonial, the better the result.
I would imagine that to be true. Thanks!
If you like the concept, you can see what exists on my blog at http://ariwriter.com/testimonials/– which is linked off 1) my contact page and 2) an automatic thankyou page that appears when someone adds a comment.
I like the comment thank you. A post explaining how to set that up would
probably go over well. If it's not appropriate for your own blog, you're
welcome to guest post here, Ari.
It's probably appropriate in both places. I'll email you on your offer.
Fantastic read Nathan. In the age of communities and reviews, leads and future customers want nothing more than to hear what the current customer experience is. And as you said, by putting customers out in front of prospects, they get this.
Thanks Chuck. It's also a lot easier (requires less selling) to let customers speak for you. Consider it “the lazy marketer's approach.”
Nathan thanks for the post. I think a big mistake business owners make with their testimonials is that they are not results based. In other words a testimonial that says, “Hey, I love what Nathan is doing and he's really smart and I love his blog” is NOT as powerful as say, ” Before I started using Nathans “blank”, I was “blank” and now that I've been using it I'm “blank.” Before and after and results driven testimonials are the best.
You are absolutely right, thanks for bringing that up.
Excellent advice. My focus this year is to incorporate video reviews from our clients on our blog. I'm kicking myself for not doing this sooner.
Always a learning process…took me a while too
Nathan:
Thanks for your post: it was an eye-opener.
Your point about testimonials really resonated with me.
A lot of business people keep on requesting me to provide testimonials for them.
“Thanks for your comment. Would it be okay if I used it as a testimonial (for my product/service).” Your insight cleared the cobwebs in my mind. I wasn't even aware that so many customers actually read such testimonials and take it seriously–and make purchasing decisions based on such testimonials.
Many times, however, testimonials can backfire, because your tastes and preferences may be different than the person writing the testimonial–something worth thinking about.
And sometimes, even if big companies throw money, it won't really help: maybe only in the short-term. Over time, what's gonna happen is that people will see through it and consider it a “cheap publicity stunt.” It has happened so often in the past.
Many fortune 500 companies are floundering and have been upset by smaller start-ups (in Silicone Valley and elsewhere) because the product/service they sold just was not good enough. No matter how much money they spent on adverts and PR, the word got out.
And word-of-mouth from disgruntled customers can really bury you. Once you lose your credibility, even if you are a hare, the tortoise will eventually win the race.
And that's where you use listening channels to respond and try to put out fires…but that's for another post
Nathan, thanks so much for the guest post. Let me tell you guys a little story. A few years ago, Jonathan Fields ran a little drawing through Freelance Switch that I won, where he would give marketing advice to the winner. What he told me (among other things) was to start gathering testimonials from clients and display them prominently as soon as possible. Damn good advice, helped me get my business off the ground faster.
Thanks for the spot Michael.
I remember reading that post I think (well after it was published) and that was something that resonated with me. I started toying around with it for my Twitter course, and then made it a key strategy for our Beyond Blogging launch. You're right, it makes a huge difference.
Great points in here, but you've missed a huge point: the new FTC guidelines on testimonials.
*I AM NOT A LAWYER AND BELOW IS STRICTLY MY THOUGHTS ON WHAT INTERPRETATIONS ARE FROM OTHERS*
If you offer them a “gift” for their testimonial, it needs to be disclosed they received something in exchange for it.
If they say the results they've gotten from your product, you have to state what the expectation is from everyone who has used it.
It's no long good enough to put a link to a “results are not typical” according to the FTC.
Testimonials are awesome, but be careful
Absolutely right. Thanks for the reminder!
That's true. I don't talk often about this ruling because it's too ambiguous for me to make any claims. Although I think it's geared more towards the “promotional style” testimonials, I'm not comfortable enough to say one way or the other.
“I think it's geared more towards the “promotional style” testimonials”
Are there any other types of testimonials?
Yes, I think so..
Some testimonials are clearly created/obtained for the sole purpose of selling something. i.e. “buy this product!”
Others are much more objective. Take a look at the video on our Beyond Blogging review page http://beyond-blogging.net/reviews and you’ll see an example of that.
A lot of people have their panties in a bunch about this FTC thing, and I think that’s a mistake. I’m taking the “wait and see” approach.
Well said Nathan.
Appreciate unmarketing's comment on the FTC guidelines regarding incentives. This jumped off the page at me too. There is no difference in the type of review.
We have testimonials pages and include a photo of the client with each review which is better than words alone.
That's a good idea, thanks for sharing.
That's a good idea, thanks for sharing.