Why Testimonials Are Such A Powerful Business Marketing Tool

When you say it, you are making a claim. When other people say it, or better still, write it, then it changes from being a business claim to being a fact.

It is virtually impossible to overuse testimonials because the more testimonials that you have, the more powerful they become. They carry more weight about your business in the mind of the prospective customer.

If you collect and use as many relevant testimonials as you can possibly gather, your business will have a huge competitive edge in your marketplace. It has been said that a good testimonial is 20 times more powerful than anything that you can say. Furthermore, testimonials can say things which you cannot. If you said the same things would be perceived as a self-serving and bragging. This perception would not help you to convert your prospect into a customer.

Every type of business can use testimonials to underpin all their marketing. A good testimonial is basically in two parts. The "initial perception" and then the "experience." The "initial perception" is the problem, difficulty, situation and then the " experience" which is the solution or the positive result.
Think about testimonials as a strategic weapon. Take a little bit of time and write down every objection you have ever heard to your products or service. Use testimonials to counter those fears which may be in the customer's mind. The next thing you can do is to make a list of every claim or benefit that you make about your product or services and collect testimonials to verify and highlight those claims. The testimonials change your claims into facts.

We are social creatures and behave in a way to fit in with the behaviour of other people. We rely on them to give us guidance on how to think, feel and act. The principle of social proof states that we determine what is correct when we find out what other people think is correct. If a lot of people are doing a certain thing, then we will follow their example. The more people that are performing a certain behavior, the more we are certain that it is correct.

If a lot of people signed a petition we are more likely to also sign it. Social proof has a powerful effect on our behavior.

A good example of how charities have harnessed the concept of social proof is shown on telethons. At the bottom of the screen you will see a never ending list of families and people who have contributed money to the good cause. The idea is that this will stimulate you to pick up the telephone and pledge some money. It is very effective and again, has a powerful effect on our behavior.

It has been said that 95 percent of people are imitators and only five percent are initiators. This shows the effect testimonials have in shaping behavior
One study discovered that a school-based anti-smoking program was immensely successful when it used the same age group as examples. Another study discovered that children who were shown a film emphasizing a child's positive visit to the dentist work best in lowering dental anxieties when the viewers were the same age as the child in the film

For people in business, there is a way to use the powerful effects of social proof. Testimonials from satisfied customers work best when the satisfied customer and prospective customer share similar circumstances. So the secret is to find happy customers who will give you testimonials from a range of different businesses and perspectives.

The more relevant the testimonial, the more effect it will have on the buying pattern of the individual. A testimonial can not only say good things about yourself but also has much more influence. This means that your prospective customer will believe the testimonial before they believe you. The more testimonials that you can acquire, the more credible you are in the eyes of your potential customer.

Peter Mitchell is a business consultant who has helped many businesses to lift their labor productivity in the workplace at little or low cost. His practical guide The Key To Productivity should be on every manager's desk and used to install your productivity improvement program. To find out more go to www.thekeytoproductivity.com.