Getting The Right Testimonial For Your Website
 by: Mark Gerrard


Testimonials are credibility qualifiers. They provide the much needed ‘believe’ factor. However, when you visit many websites you read testimonials and you don’t believe a word they are saying. Why?

Sincerity and honesty play a major factor. When you read many testimonials they tend to just say, “Oh yeah, the product is great. I’ll buy from them again!” This type of testimonial is actually a waste if your time and your customer’s time. This type of testimonial fails to address a reason, any reason as to why the product or service helped the individual who is giving the testimonial.

A much better testimonial would be:

“I tried this product and that service and I was never comfortable giving them my money. When I found YOUR company, I found that you had a real telephone number, a real address and real people answering the phone. I really didn’t need to be ’sold’ on the product. I wanted to know if YOUR product could help me. What I found was very helpful sales staff that faxed and emailed answers to my many questions promptly. I asked about technical support and I was able to speak with the director of operations. You don’t get that anywhere. As a result, I purchased 3 Enterprise Level Site Licences and I am very pleased.”

John Doe, President
Megacorp
The Universe

A caution about testimonials and repeat after me:

ALL THE TESTIMONIALS I WILL USE WILL BE FROM A REAL PERSON OR COMPANY.

Nothing will greatly devalue your product or service like fake or ‘artistically created’ testimonials. Nothing smacks of disservice and will give the naysayers of Internet business and marketing more ammunition to preach about the perils and dangers of doing business on the Internet.

So, how do you get a qualified testimonial? Simple. Ask your customer. You can do this in a few ways. You can send them an email asking if their permission (yes, you need their permission) and what type of positive experience they had with you product or service. This is crucial. You don’t ask if they liked your product/service. You don’t ask if they could help you improve your product/service. You ask them, “Please tell us your positive experience with our ____________ product or service.” At the bottom of the form/email, you ask them for their permission or you can tell them that by replying to your email they are giving you permission to use their testimonial. Always be clear and specific when making this request. Most customers are more than willing to give you a positive response especially if you helped them solve their problems.

Testimonials can make or break your business. By using real, verifiable testimonials you have just increased your on-line business success.


About The Author
Mark Gerrard is the Development Manager of the Freestart Website Builder Platform. See our website builder in action at http://www.freestart.com