Customer Testimonials are great at establishing credibility and authority, which are two key elements in a customer’s buying behavior. As long as the testimonial is genuine and can relate to the prospective buyer. As an example, if you see a local small business owner giving praise for your customer service or product support and you yourself are a small business owner looking for better customer service from your supplier this will resonate with your prospect. Even better yet if the testimonial is from a business in the same industry as your buyer, because that will help to tip the sale in your favor.

Testimonials are also perceived to be unbiased because they are from a third party, and can motivate your buyer to act.

Key points to remember when providing Testimonials:

1) Website Coverage
When adding testimonials to your website many companies place these on their homepage beside head shots of people to represent the customer.  If you have a bunch of testimonials you could place them in a sidebar or even in a dedicated section on your website for testimonials.

2) Great for Sales Copy
Testimonials help to cut their the clutter of your sales brochure and help to show how your business helps your customers. From the voice of the customer directly. This is almost as good as a customer reference speaking to a prospective buyer directly.

3) Newsletters
You can add testimonials section to your newsletter  for “what customers have to say”, to further convey what sets your business apart.

4) Email and Confirmation Messages
Adding testimonials in your order confirmation email, or shipping notice emails you could provide additional testimonials to remind customers why they are buying from you. Which will add that extra perceived satisfaction.  Perhaps your testimonials talked about your return policy or fast shipping, the testimonials inserted in these communications will drive home that your business is easy to work with and stands by their claims.

5) Endorsements
Endorsements are actually the best kind of testimonial because they add credibility to your business. Industry leaders, public figures, writers or even bloggers if they are known in your industry and have an established following. You better use an endorsement to your advantage as they can be hard to get.

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If you have ever been in the Direct Marketing business or even watched TV you have seen Billy Mays.  He was one of the most entertaining pitchmen in modern direct marketing television.

What you should learn from Billy Mays

The Secret Behind Great Salesmanship is simply put, behind every great salesman is a great product. And Billy Mays understood that better than most.

We came across this fantastic blog post over on CopyBlogger: The Billy Mays 5-Step Guide to Easy Selling

According to Billy Mays… Your product needs these key traits.

1. It Must Solve a Problem
2. It Must have Mass Appeal
3. It Must be Unique
4. It Must offer Instant Gratification
5. It Must be demonstrable

For details around these key points visit: CopyBlogger: The Billy Mays 5-Step Guide to Easy Selling

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