Helping Your Prospects Overcome ?Buying Fears? By Using Testimonials

You DO use direct marketing for your small business? right? If so, you're taking advantage of the most cost-effective means of advertising available. (Yes? I'm biased? I admit it!)

Let's talk for a minute about how you can make your sales copy and direct marketing more effective.

One of the simplest yet most powerful ways to strengthen your sales copy is to include testimonials. The purpose of having testimonials is to add "objective" credibility to your promises. And when used correctly - - testimonials can do just that.

Good Testimonials Will Separate You from the Crowd

I read a great sales letter this morning. It came from a local heating/cooling service contractor in my area. His headline was perfect. His pitch was superb. His "reasons-why" advertising justified both his offer and his price.

His sales letter lacked only one thing?

? "proof" that he can deliver on his promises by demonstrating he has already delivered on his promises to others.

People want to know who they can trust. Testimonials will do that for you. This is even MORE important if you have a business on the web.

Buying from an unfamiliar seller on the web can be a scary thing. But once you've delivered on your promises to a satisfied customer the trust factor goes up for them exponentially. Your next sale is much easier to make.

Do What Ebay and Amazon Do in Order to Foster Trust

Both of these monster sellers provide a constant stream of customer feedback and testimonials. The testimonials cover both the sellers as individuals and the products themselves. It's all to satisfy the "proof" factor in selling. You've got to prove you can deliver the goods.

Testimonials provide you with a track record. They make the claims in your sales letter or direct mail package down-to-earth and believable.

The Most Effective Testimonials are:

1) Believable. Good testimonials talk about real benefits experienced by real people.

2) To the point. Each one should highlight one main benefit. If your customer has mentioned 3 really good benefits in their testimonial try to break up their 1 testimony into 3 testimonies. Use an ellipsis in the copy ?. like this ? to start and close the testimony where appropriate.

3) Natural. Keep the testimonials as unedited as possible. Clean up the spelling, of course, but for the most part keep things just as your customer has written (or spoken) them.

4) Detailed. The best testimonials aren't vague? they include details? specifics? processed data? juicy numbers? facts? etc.

5) Include the customer's name and where they live. The more information the better? "K. Smith, Pennsville, NJ" is better than "K.S. from N.J." But "Karen Smith (Owner, Styles Dress Shop), Pennsville, NJ" is best of all.

6) Placed next to relevant points in your sales letter. If you have a testimonial raving about the reliability of your product try to place it near any sales copy you have that addresses how reliable your product is. If the testimonial raves about how good your service is then place it near sales copy that compares your service performance with others.'

Final Words on Gathering Testimonials Effectively

Always ask your satisfied customers for testimonials. Create a standard form and at the top of it type in big letters, "Customer Feedback Form."

Then give them out to your customers and ask for comments ? "Did you like our product/service?" ? "Was there anything you didn't like about it?" ? "What was it you liked BEST about doing business with me?"? "Any additional Comments you'd like to make?"

And then, the final important question and request? "May we use your comments for promotional purposes?? please sign it and send back to me at?"

There you have it. Now - - gather some testimonials. Use them in all your sales copy. Watch your sales rise along with your credibility.

Joe Farinaccio is a copywriter and direct marketer. In addition to writing sales letters for online clients Joe specializes in creating successful direct mail packages for small and medium sized businesses. You can learn more about how to market your business successfully and sign up to receive his free monthly Ezine at http://www.sales-letters-and-marketing.com



The Mighty Marketing Brochure

"Brochure" is French, and it comes from brocher, meaning to... Read More

Use a Guarantee In Your Headline To Increase Trust

Sometimes you can use a guarantee effectively in your headline.... Read More

Gaining Business Intelligence

A white paper on how companies should analyse customer data... Read More

9 Highly Effective Marketing Tips

Here are 9 low-cost but highly effective marketing tips to... Read More

Use The Neglected Weapons In Your Marketing Arsenal

Business marketers have a lot of weapons in their arsenals... Read More

Signage for Mobile Car Wash Vehicles

If you are in the mobile car wash business and... Read More

Survival Strategies

1. Do the moneymaking things first.For an entrepreneur, generating income... Read More

The Great Direct Marketing Conundrum

Many a home business owner has spent sleepless nights thinking... Read More

Digital Printing vs. Press Printing ? A Comparison Guide

When it comes time to print your brand identity materials,... Read More

Lead Generation: What Is It worth?

Our business environment has changed dramatically. Companies must now be... Read More

Business Marketing Strategy

The term business marketing strategy might sound like it is... Read More

Seven Secrets For Building Customer Loyalty In Your Restaurant

Imagine how much your sales and profits would increase if... Read More

The Future of Marketing Part 1

It used to be if you were a small business,... Read More

6 Simple Ways to Determine Which Marketing Ideas Are Best for Your Business

Did something catch your eye in a direct mailing this... Read More

Developing A Focused Marketing Strategy

You want all of your marketing messages to have a... Read More

The Surprise Inside!

Think about all those Cracker Jacks you ate as a... Read More

Where to Find New Customers Using B2B Direct Mail

The challenge in business-to-business direct mail is knowing where to... Read More

Direct Mail Marketing Generates Sales Leads: Heres How

1. Personal Unlike an advertisement in a trade publication, which... Read More

How to Convey Trustworthiness in Direct Mail Marketing Sales Letter

A person or business that might buy from you is... Read More

Do You Have This Important Tool in Your Marketing Arsenal?

Many business owners do not understand the authenticity and validation... Read More

Customer Retention with a Personal Touch

Personal contact with customers is a crucial element in the... Read More

Are Your Marketing Efforts Working...Or Could They Use A Little Help?

Marketing is a broad business subject that encompasses a range... Read More

A Perfect Partnership for Business

Too often we small business owners get caught up in... Read More

URL Everywhere? Offline Marketing For Online Success

Your URL (www) should be everywhere and more.I know many... Read More

Top Five 2004 Required Marketing Tips Needed to Succeed

When marketing your practice, as well as designing yourbrochure, web... Read More

If you'd like to keep up-to-date,
please complete the form below and we'll put you on the mailing list
to receive our twice-yearly newsletter for supporters

* Your email address:
* choes your language:
 

العاب منتديات هيدى الزاوية الحمراء

Pharaohs products    egypt products    Egypt shopping   Shopping in Egypt   sho  Egypt Bazaar Pharaohs Shoping Center   Egypt  Pharaohs