c3PR - Mar Junge

The most powerful testimonials aren’t about your company; they’re about how a client who is much like your prospect has benefited from doing business with you.

It’s surprising that so many companies post testimonials on their websites that are about as believable as spam. You know the ones I mean – weak vanilla statements that tell you nothing about the company, other than that they’re “good to work with.” The more real the comments, and the more specific, the more power the testimonial will have.

Nothing you can say has as much impact as comments from your clients

Making a direct request (“Would you please give us a testimonial?”) frequently creates tension. Clients’ minds go blank and they don’t respond. It’s much better to ask for “feedback.” That way, you’re having a conversation with your client instead of asking for a favor. Here are seven questions guaranteed to make your client testimonials more powerful:

1. Why did you decide to do business with us? This question can uncover how your client found out about you and why they chose you over the competition.
2. Please list the three things you like most about your program and why. When you imply their ownership of the answer by using phrases such as “your program,” you personalize the response. Positioning questions positively (“What do you like most?”) increases the likelihood of generating a positive response. Requesting three distinct features makes respondents think hard and specifically about their responses. As a result, the answers are likely to be more useful to your organization.
3. What do you see as the most valuable aspect of your relationship with us? By asking your client to pinpoint specific benefits, you’ll learn which ones are most important to them and to prospects.
4. Please tell us about any specific success that your involvement with our organization has helped you achieve, and how. By asking for personal experiences, you’re more likely to hear stories that map directly to the challenges faced by other clients and prospects. Stories make information easy to relate to and are much more engaging.
5. How has your involvement with us benefited you in terms of increasing your professional success, job satisfaction, or the quality of your life? This question brings the relationship to a more personal level and motivates clients to think about how doing business with you has had a positive effect on them.
6. Is there anything about the program or services we provide that you would like to see changed? This question emphasizes how much you care about their feedback and gives you insight into problems that need to be addressed.
7. May we use your comments in our communications, with attribution? Remember that an anonymous testimonial carries far less weight than one attributed to an individual cited by name, title, and organization. If you can feature a photo, all the better. That increases believability tremendously. But always remember to ask for the respondents’ permission.

Editing for Ultimate Impact

• Use only the strongest testimonials. A few really good testimonials are better than several mediocre ones. Just make sure the testimonials cover a range of benefits.
• Keep it conversational. Most people expect their quotes to be edited, as long as you don’t change the intention of the testimonial when you do it. But don’t rewrite testimonials to make it more formal or it will lose impact and credibility.
• Focus on a single benefit in each testimonial. Load in too many and you’ll dilute the message.
• Try to keep the length to two to three sentences – unless you’re telling a story.
• Keep it positive. Edit out negative elements, such as slams on other organizations.
• Write effective headlines to frame a testimonial, capture attention, make content easier to absorb. Headlines increase the likelihood that audiences will digest your full message. Feature a bold-face headline with every testimonial (and include it when you seek permission to use the quote). A well-crafted headline should highlight the value of the testimonial, for example:

Acme Ads Makes It Easy to Reach My Prospects
“Acme’s staff was very supportive helping me start my online advertising program. They’re easy to work with and I know my ads will appear often in front of the prospective clients who matter most to me.” —Nick James, James Consulting Services, Bridgewater, MA

• Send the unedited versions to your sources for confirmation. If you’re gathering testimonials over the phone, send an email follow-up with a transcription of the recording or what you wrote down as soon as possible after the call. Clients have short memories and soon forget what they actually said.
• Send the edited versions to your sources for approval. Show them exactly how the results are going to look, with the photo and attribution included. In about 20 percent of cases, you’ll get back a revised testimonial that’s even more glowing than the original. And be sure to save the email you receive back from your client that gives you their approval to publish.

About the author:
Mar Junge has helped scores of Silicon Valley companies with their marketing and public relations campaigns since founding c3PR in 1982. A prolific writer and thought leader, her original and ghostwritten articles have been published in more than 50 industry publications. To contact Mar, email her or call 408-730-8506.