Using Testimonials in Your Marketing

Building trust quickly is a key component of effective marketing. Without trust, barriers become insurmountable and negotiations go nowhere.

Of course, you can’t just come right out and say, “Trust us, we’re honest.” Not only does it sound tacky, it really doesn’t mean a thing to your potential client, because they don’t trust you yet. Breaking out of the mistrust cycle relies heavily on getting others to recommend you first.

When you say it, they don’t believe you

While there are certainly things you can do to increase the odds and occurrences of satisfied clients passing your name along to friends and family, it’s generally too inconsistent a channel to rely on as sole source for new business and clients.

And there comes the crux that testimonials bridge.

Given that the best person to talk about your business is not you, but the people you have served through your business, testimonials become an exciting and effective way of increasing the credibility of your message in less trusted mediums.

There are three major ways that testimonials can ease your way towards a sale or strategic business deal.

1. Increase Credibility

Trust, Credibility, Confidence…whatever you call it, testimonials help build it. Whether your testimonials are based on a specific product or the overall service experience you provided, what the prospect sees is that it was a positive experience. They can move forward with a sense of confidence that you will deliver what you promise because you have in the past.

2. Reduce Skepticism

When your testimonials show what your product or service accomplished for someone else with the same (or similar) problem, prospects are more inclined to believe that you can help them to. Having a track record you are proud of communicates your expertise instills confidence in “tough customers”. The more specific the results shared, the more effective in reducing the natural skepticism about dealing with the new and unfamiliar.

3. Erase Objections

It’s hard to argue with proven results and testimonials are a perfect platform for expressing those results in terms your potential client can relate to. Testimonials from satisfied clients that answer common questions you encounter can be incredibly helpful in eliminating potential objections to your offer.

Skillful application of testimonials will increase the impact of all your marketing channels. From your website to your newspaper and radio ads, the more you can have customers speaking about you and for you, the better. Look for the upcoming article on key components of a good testimonial, so you can get started using testimonials in your marketing efforts.