Prove it…with Your
Customers
NoSpin Debunker
#60: February 10, 2003
First take the 5-second NoSpin Survey of the week: “What was your favorite Super Bowl ad this year?” (It’s on the lower left hand side of my homepage.)
One of the cardinal sins of many marketing messages is that companies fail to prove (or even attempt to prove) their claims to their prospect audience(s). Many try to differentiate themselves with ridiculous hyperbole that few believe, and many others make claims that are less outrageous (and perhaps accurate) but never bother to provide any concrete indicators demonstrating WHY they are better, different, unique, and have that thing you should purchase.
Rule One is “If you can’t prove it (your claim), don’t say it.”
Rule Two is “Prove it with your customers.”
Rule
One: “If you can’t
prove it, don’t say it.”
“We’re Number One,” “We’re the leader,” “We’re the greatest,” “We’re tops,” We’re the largest,” “We’re superior,” “We’re fastest,” “We’re the most customer friendly.” We all read this stuff ad nauseam everyday. A small percentage of businesses can actually back up those and other claims of superiority. And admit it, you don’t believe a fraction of the superlatives that you read—and neither do others. State a claim that is accurate and helps differentiate your business. Cut the jargon and spin, and your messages will hit home and stick a lot more.
Prove it with your customer testimonials, success stories, and customer lists on your web site and in your direct mail, ads, multi-media marketing, etc. Web sites, in particular, are great vehicles for testimonials, success stories and customer lists because you can provide short attention-getters and also offer more detailed information if a visitor wants to read more.
While many businesses make no attempt to prove their claim(s), a lot do make half-hearted attempts that don’t do much good. Here are several recommendations to rev up your testimonials, success stories and customer lists that really help prove your marketing claim(s):
q Set expectations early on with customers that---assuming your company performs—you’ll be asking them for testimonials. This also gives the customer some additional confidence in your resolve to produce for them.
q Wait for results. Don’t ask for a testimonial too soon. Make sure that the customer has gotten some tangible benefits from your product/service.
q But do ask. Some testimonials will arrive unsolicited or via a formal survey mechanism that you may use—which is great. But more typically, you need to ask. 9 times out of 10 a customer is happy to write a short testimonial. Asking for testimonials is an excellent way to keep in touch with your customers and remind them of the good things you’ve done.
q Solicit testimonials/stories that are worthwhile. “XYZ company are great guys and did a great job for us” is pretty meaningless. Rather, ask for short (usually 1-4 sentence) testimonials that--
o Mention a concrete, real benefit.
o Include the company’s name (with web site link), person’s name and title (and their link)—otherwise the testimonial looks pretty dubious.
o Publish at least 4-6 or more testimonials that say different things. A couple testimonials that say the same thing don’t cut it.
o And if they ask you to ghost write it, be accurate—and send them the quote for approval.
q Turn some testimonials into meatier customer success stories of a few paragraphs to even better illustrate your unique approach, how you worked with the customer, and what the benefits (and the metrics of those benefits).
q On your web site, think about turning one or more customer stories into an interesting FLASH presentation (especially versus having an obnoxious FLASH intro on your site).
q Trade web site links with the customer. It’s a win-win for both companies because link popularity (links to your site that appear on others’ sites) is one of the top two or three most important criteria for virtually all search engines--and in particular Google. A hint also here: ask them to use a link that uses one of your best “key words” vs. your company name, e.g. for me, it might be web site content and search engine optimization by NoSpin Marketing.
q Add (and delete as necessary) testimonials on an ongoing basis. It’s a lot easier to get one or two periodically than several at a point when you must have them. It gives you a tangible opportunity to check in with your customers and get valuable feedback, as well.
q Turn some testimonials into more meaty customer success stories of a few paragraphs to even better illustrate your approach, how you worked with the customer, and the various benefits. These stories are much more valuable and believable than most fluffy press releases.
q Don’t be afraid of publishing your customer list. OK, you don’t have to publish every customer (and some, like Coca-Cola and other biggies) may forbid you to do so. I’ve debated this with my customers many times, and in virtually every circumstance, they finally realize there are ten times the benefits of publishing your complete (or substantial) list vs. not publishing it. I’ve heard all of the rationales against publishing customer lists, and they are all bunk. The only good rational against publishing a list is that a company is truly afraid that competitors will take its customers (because of some gross deficiencies). Then, of course, the company has much bigger problems…
q Make your testimonials, success stories, and customer lists a major section of your web site.
For a couple good examples of web site testimonials and success stories go to INTEGRA Software Solutions and InfoAdvantage.
Remember: State your claim and then prove it with your customers. Let them help you paint a picture of why a prospect needs to choose your products or services. Prospects are a lot more inclined to believe your customers, initially, than they believe you.
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Tom Ranseen NoSpin Marketing 615.383.7157