Using Testimonials: Getting Others to Communicate Your Value
There are several ways to approach getting support from other people. Far and away the most common is using testimonials.
Using Testimonials and Other Ways to Win Support
One reason testimonials are common is they are easiest to find. They are supportive words from people the reader has not heard of. They are an opportunity for people who have used your service and benefited from it to share their experience with your next generation of clients.
Other forms of support are celebrity focused. You ask someone with an established reputation to risk it to support you. Normally, you would seek this support for a substantial piece of work, eg a book.
Blurbs are the celebrity quotes you see on the back or inside front cover from. They are like testimonials because celebrities give them voluntarily on request. Also, like testimonials, few people actually read them. The names are what counts.
You pay for endorsements and so their impact can be reduced, although they may have a greater impact subconsciously. A further approach is a license, where you use your contact’s brand to aid your sales, possibly with a return based on revenue for the external brand.
These three are specialist and for many businesses rarely encountered. It is worth bearing them in mind should you be in a position to benefit from them. They need to be approached in a different way to testimonials.
Questions to Ask Yourself
- Is your offer worth a testimonial? What do you need to change to make it worthy?
- What would your ideal testimonials say? This may vary if you have several offers.
- How do you use testimonials to help tell your story?
Questions to Ask Others
Broadly two types of testimonial work. Remember your client may have difficulty knowing what to say or write and so may appreciate guidelines.
The first type is to describe a change. Before I did this I was … and now I am able to …
The second type provides detail of what the client has learned from your business.
You are the curator of your testimonials. Make sure they are helpful and work out how to make them available in a way that helps your business.
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