| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
The Testimonial Writing Machine
Almost every small business marketer knows that they should gather testimonials to use in their marketing materials. The problem though is that getting your clients, the ones who know your greatness, to sit down with a blank sheet of paper and crank out a glowing testimonial can be a bit of a chore. It isn't that they don't want to do it; it's just that there are other priorities calling to them as well. I accidentally stumbled on a way to get clients to systematically write testimonials. And, I found that this method actually produced far better, results oriented, copy than anything I had done on my own in the past. Here's the system. When you are presenting your wares to a prospect include a page that simply lists four or five references for contact instead of your traditional glowing testimonial page. Urge your prospect to contact each for more information on how you or your product performs. (I've even gone as far as writing a list of suggested questions they might ask the reference - it helps them focus on benefits) In some cases your prospect may request this anyway. What I have found is that when your current client is contacted for information (often by email these days) they will generally and immediately feel compelled to put in writing what amounts to a well-written testimonial. The key here is that, when approached by another business, they will write as they are speaking to a prospect. The copy will almost always be over the top selling you and in the perfect voice for you to re-use as a testimonial. (When a client writes a testimonial in the traditional way they often write is as though they are speaking to you. Many times this doesn't have the same marketing pop to it.) Now here is where the fun part comes in. What I have also found is that quite often your existing clients will copy you on the communication they sent to the prospect. Bingo, instant testimonial, written exactly as you need it for your marketing materials. Actually, using this strategy can be even stronger than just printing written testimonials as it involves your current clients in the active process of marketing and has the tendency to resell them on their decision to do business with you as well. The only caution is that you spread the love around to as many of your clients as you can so that no one group of clients becomes burdened in the process. This tip is taken from - Referral Flood - How to generate a flood of new business without spending one dime on advertising - by John Jantsch Copyright 2005 John Jantsch John Jantsch is a small business marketing coach and author of Referral Flood - How to generate a flood of new business without spending one dime on advertising. http://www.referralflood.com and Blog Lightning - How to create and promote your blog in a flash. http://www.bloglightning.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Marketing Lessons from Santa If a nonexistent man can change the world and millions of people with a message of joy then his marketing plan surely works. Right? Then what has Santa been doing right all these years that we can learn from? Santa's message is short--joy. Your Elevator Speech - Have You Updated Yours Recently? Do you have an elevator speech? Does it get people's attention? Do they ask you lots of questions when you tell them what you do?Every great elevator speech needs to answer these key questions:1. Who am I? (introduce yourself)2. Does Your Marketing Pass This 10-Point Test? Good marketing, whatever form it takes, always meets certain criteria. That's what makes it good. Five Deadly Small Business Marketing Mistakes Here are some marketing mistakes that take a heavy toll on small businesses. They have been very harmful to businesses at any stage, but especially harmful for new businesses. Time for Marketers to Clean Up Their Act! Some years ago, a prominent Australian hi-tech company launched a product called Maestro that bundles community-building features like chat rooms, file sharing and instant messaging into one application. The company envisaged smaller Internet service providers (ISP's) as their main target market for the software. You're In Charge. Now What? For years now, you have been waiting patiently for that first opportunity to be put in charge of a group and show what you can do. It has finally happened. Marketing Without Ego Our ego can get in the way of marketing our business. From our need to be right, to talking about ourselves incessantly; coming from an attitude of arrogance to getting attached to the outcomes of what we do, these are just some of the ways our ego can get in our way. The Right Logo The Logo: a little historyLogotype, commonly know as a logo, is a design, a graphic representation/image/trademark symbolizing one's organization. Designed for instant identification, a logo can appear on company letterhead, advertising material and signs as an emblem by way of which the organization can easily be recognized. Small Business Marketing Tip - Focus on a Niche or Target Market I think selling and marketing today often feels a bit like talking to a brick wall and that in interesting metaphor to help grasp the importance of niche marketing especially when it comes to small business marketing. Imagine for a moment that you are attacking that brick wall with a hammer, randomly hitting it everywhere. Who Is Your Market and Where Are They? An important part of planning your business is to know who will use your products/services.The vast majority of small businesses will rely on their communities for sales. Keeping your Business Card visible Famous quotes that keep you thinking.Have you ever listened to a speaker and they say something that you want to make note of and use later? More than likely, you will write it down and then file it away, never to be uttered again. The Secrets of? A lot of advertising and mailings promise to reveal the secrets of something. Most of this kind of mailings deal with search engine optimization. Massage Therapists Can Now Make More Money As a massage therapist, your income is usually limited by your stamina and the amount of hours there are in a day. Have you considered that there is a way to make extra income that is literally "no sweat off your back?" Adding retail products to your massage business could provide you with the additional income you would like, by doing something that you already do . Focus...a Marketing Strategy The secret to increasing sales doesn't lie in choosing just the right marketing tactic for each of your businesses. The real problem that's experienced by many entrepreneurs--a damaging lack of focus. Five Most Common Mistaken Beliefs About Joint Venture Marketing Apart from being the fastest, easiest, and most profitable strategy for attracting clients and boosting profits in any small business, there are so many other advantages of joint venture marketing for all parties involved. So, why aren't all small business owners implementing joint ventures?Here's a partial list of the most common mistaken beliefs about joint venture marketing. Alarming Marketing Trend One key discipline of successful direct marketing has been to test marketing communications tactics to continually improve results. There is now an alarming trend according to a recent survey that we conducted among business-to-business marketers who are readers of Sales Lead Report. Peek a Boo - We See You -- 7 Trade Show Tips for Marketing Managers Peek a Boo - We See YouDoes your company have a description for a full-time job that says "Stand in the booth and hand out brochures."?Doubt it. 15 Commandments Of Creating A Wealth Pulling Niche Niches are like bathrooms; you never notice them until you need one." - Primm (From NicheBrain. 7 Cheap & Easy Ways To Get Prospects Here are some quick techniques you can put into place on your web site or in your advertising to gather new prospects. There is practically no cost for most of these strategies yet they have proven to be extremely effective in any number of different venues. Market Your Identity One of the most critical but overlooked parts of business success is using your identity. If you want to build a successful business you have to strike the word image from your vocabulary right from the start.
|
| Article List | Index | Site Map |
|
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved. |
