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Many wellness businesses spend thousands of dollars on slick
marketing campaigns while overlooking a powerful - and free - resource right
in front of them. That resource is testimonials.
In this feature, we tell you why testimonials are so valuable and how your
business can get them and put them to use to attract more clients and
customers.
What is a testimonial?
A testimonial is a statement describing a positive
experience or belief about:
Why are testimonials important?
Potential customers want satisfactory answers to three key questions
before they'll buy from you:
1. Can I trust you and your business?
2. Do you understand what I want to do?
3. Can you help me solve my problem or reach my goal?
Testimonials help
future customers answer these questions.
What are the major types of testimonials?
Endorsements, recommendations, proof statements and
customer experience testimonials are the four most common types of
testimonials:
Endorsements - a recommendation from someone with
special standing - an expert or authority, or a celebrity, for example.
They may comment on their own experience as a customer of
your business, or they may comment favorably on your team's qualifications
and credentials or what they've heard from others about your business.
They might also comment favorably on the approaches incorporated into your
programs and services.
Here's an example of a testimonial regarding the
credentials for the head of medical services at LoveOfLife, a hypothetical
weight management program:
"Dr. Kinnard's insights into weight issues for people over 40 are
top-notch...
Dr. Lucy Smith, chair, BigState School of Medicine."
Recommendations - a positive comment from a prior
or current customer or client. These testimonials are often general
compared to proof statements or customer experience testimonials.
"The LoveOfLife program is fabulous!"
Proof statements - a positive customer comment
specifically about the customer's outcome or results. This type of
testimonial shows potential customers that your busines does understand what
they want to accomplish and is actually able to do it - Questions 1 and 2
above.
"I learned five great ways to handle
emotional eating in the LoveOfLife program and made it through my wedding
with no problems."
Customer experience testimonials -
a positive customer comment specifically about the customer's experience
with your business. This type of testimonial shows potential customers
that the way you market your business is an accurate indication of what they
can expect if they buy from you. It often gives prospects insight into
how your business helps them accomplish their goals.
"The other people in the LoveOfLife program were so kind and supportive -
no one ever guilted me about anything."
How should our business get testimonials?
Spontaneous and unprompted praise is solid gold. And if you're
doing a great job of serving your clients and customers, you're probably
hearing frequent compliments.
Whenever a prospect, customer or client says something complimentary to your or
your employees, immediately thank them and ask if it would be okay for you
to share that with other customers. We've literally never seen a
customer say "no" to that request!
When they agree, write it down promptly, note who said it, and date it. If
you have a marketing manager or department, forward it to them.
Don't limit yourself to face-to-face or telephone conversations.
Review customer emails, suggestion cards, survey comments and similar
communications for positive comments. Follow-up on these potential testimonials and ask the sender if
you can use their feedback. Can you ask for a testimonial?
Sure. Here's a graceful way to ask for either general or specific
testimonials:
First, choose your time. The best time to ask is when your client
or customer feels that his objective in choosing your business has been
reached. For example, perhaps your client has maintained her weight
goal for three months.
Then use these talking points:
For a general testimonial:
Just ask your customer something like "How do you feel the program's
been working for you?"
She'll probably say "It's been fabulous...I'm hardly ever hungry
because of all the great snack ideas you gave me."
Then you say "Wow, that's great to hear. Would it be OK if we
shared that with other customers?"
For a testimonial about a specific aspect of your program or service:
Say something like "How has the stress reduction aspect of the
program worked for you?"
Your client will say something like "Oh, that part's been great - I
just use the tips you taught me when I feel myself getting tense."
And you say ""Wow, that's wonderful news. Would it be OK if we shared
that with other people?"
When your customer agrees that it's fine for you to share the
comment, ask her if it's OK to use her full name or if she'd rather you
just used her first name.
That's all there is to it!
What's the best source for a testimonial?
Think broadly. Customers are only the first place to
start looking for testimonials.
Customers - current and previous (and
don't overlook comments from their friends, family, and coworkers...)
Celebrities - people
who are well-known locally, regionally or nationally who influence the
opinions or buying behaviors of potential customers although they have
no special expertise in your field. They're most effective in
providing testimonials when they've actually used your product, service or
program.
Experts and authorities
in your area of expertise - for example, a well-regarded physician in
your community
Members of professional
associations - associations of business owners and
managers in your industry, like the American Dietetic Association, the
Medical Fitness Association, the American Physical Therapy Association,
IHRSA or the Yoga Alliance.
Members of business organizations - networking organizations like BNI, Kiwanis,
NAWBO, Altrusa and others
Members of community assistance
organizations - local volunteer organizations that
work with domestic violence victims, teens in need, etc.
Vendors and suppliers
- key professionals like CPAs and attorneys plus the companies you buy
materials and supplies from
Board of directors and
business advisors - often well-connected individuals who are
well-respected in your physical or online community
What do the best testimonials accomplish?
The most effective testimonials do one or more of the following:
-
Remind
potential customers about the emotional pain or benefit of tackling the
problem they'd like to solve or the opportunity they'd like to
capitalize on.
-
Reflect a
real-life experience that other prospective clients can relate to
-
Share an
unexpected benefit or payoff that would appeal to others
-
Spark
curiosity or interest from others in similar situations
-
Address
potential anxieties, fears or concerns that potential customers may have
about making this purchase decision
What format should our testimonials follow?
These guidelines will help you present your testimonials for maximum
effect:
Date each testimonial ("4/04"). It's a very effective way to subtly reinforce
your track record.
Use the customer's real words.
Edit only for clarity and space. Don't rewrite their positive comments to
sound more "corporate" or more "salesy".
Use customer's names - either the full name, or first name + last initial.
Include a company affiliation if that will reflect well on your business.
When possible, include a small photo of the customer.
Caption each testimonial with the customer's name and a very brief
description of their situation - for example, "Debbie L., 45 and busy mom of 3,
conquered emotional eating." It makes it easy for potential customers to see
similarities between their situation and your customer's.
Printed and online written testimonials are traditional and very effective.
Include
a quick digital photograph of the customer next to his or her
testimonial to personalize their feedback.
Audio and video recordings are also terrific options that are
increasingly available to even small low-tech businesses. Simple
do-it-yourself audio and video clips are quite effective if you have basic
mastery of the equipment and good aesthetic judgment. The cost of more
elaborate professionally-produced video testimonials can make sense for larger
wellness businesses, or for use with more sophisticated corporate prospects.
And a smaller wellness business might choose 2-3
testimonials that get "top of the line" treatment by a professional videographer
and then provide additional ones using simpler do-it-yourself techniques.
How can we use testimonials?
Fifteen possibilities to get you started:
-
On the back
of your business cards
-
In your
newsletter
-
In your
advertising
-
On your
website
-
Your on-hold
message
-
In your
brochure
-
In your
e-mail signature
-
In proposals
to corporate customers
-
On any
direct-mail materials
-
In printed
products
-
Your company
voice-mail announcement
-
Case studies
of successful clients and customers
-
Display
boards and bulletin boards
-
Inserts in
pocket folders
-
Playback on
in-store monitors
Put a reminder on the appropriate employee's calendar to
rotate testimonials in frequently-revised places like your newsletter and
website. For business cards and marketing materials published less
frequently, make sure you rotate testimonials every time you order a new
batch.
Just remember: Practically every wellness business -
whether you employ one person or hundreds - can improve its use of
testimonials. Follow these tips and you'll empower your customers to
do your marketing for you. |
