Testimonials are known across the business world to be one of the most powerful marketing tools in existence. As an addition to conventional advertising practices, testimonials provide an unsurpassed level of honesty, credibility, security and, possibly most important of all, transparency for the customer. Read column by Rys Fairbrother of Bend.
Unlike standard public communication tools, testimonials transcend the barrier between businesses and the customer, providing a duality of viewpoints which can be combined into an accurate and balanced overall picture of the company and its services. Needless to say, the benefits of testimonial inclusion are numerous to both business and customer alike.
The use of testimonials is geared primarily towards increasing business by the strengthening of credibility, ultimately resulting in increased loyalty. When implemented efficiently, testimonials have been proven to potentially increase website activity by up to 30% in a relatively short period of time. The ability to promote a business through the voice of existing customers is quite simply the best way of creating and developing a trust-worth reputation, which is something neither money nor conventional advertising can ever buy.
Aside from the invaluable and considerable increases in business inherent with the successful incorporation of testimonials, a number of other benefits are realized by the business owner. Inviting feedback is the only way to create an open forum through which the customer can communicate the image and reputation of the company from their side. Any successful business will know that the only way to grow is to accept shortcomings and learn from them, therefore, while it may only be effective to communicate positive feedback to the public, it is the negative or constructive testimonials which hold the greatest potential for company’s expansion and development.
Furthermore, the more feedback a business accepts in both positive and negative forms, the clearer the image will be as to how the company appears to the public, allowing future testimonials to be adapted specifically to the most important requirements and concerns of the public. The higher the relevance of the testimonial, the bigger the impact and better the response.
Do you and your business a favor, and tap your existing customer base for feedback, suggestions and overall impressions of your business, you won’t be sorry.
Founder of Customers-Say.com, Rys Fairbrother helps companies create their value propositions, utilizing media and social media to spread the good news of customers. Rys can be reached at rys@Customers-Say.com or 541-306-3961
