Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Closing the Deal

Getting and using meaningful customer references

By Lisa Dennis, president, Knowledgence Associates

Everyone knows that getting a testimonial or a reference from a customer is an important marketing and sales asset. Yet, often there are disconnects that prevent companies from pursuing testimonials from every customer interaction. Why is that? The obvious answer is that every customer is not deliriously happy with you. Or you don’t really have a formal process in place to gather testimonials. Or the customer does not want their name used publicly. Or you simply didn’t take the time to ask and follow-through. And lastly, most of us aren’t really creative in the use of testimonials. There are many ways testimonials from your customers can help you shorten the sales cycle for future business. Every prospect wants to know if you’ve worked with anyone else like them, and what did they think? 

There is a school of thought that says testimonials are just “staged”. Of course, you’re going to publish only great comments. Maybe you even wrote your own testimonial, and the customer signed it. Does that devalue the power of it? It depends on how much substantive information the message delivers to readers. The more specific comments are about aspects of the relationship, the better. So figure out in advance what are the most important factors of engaging with your company prospects to know. Consider creating a testimonial template that asks the key questions:

•    What immediate or long-term benefit(s) did our engagement provide?
•    What aspects of the service experience were memorable and why?
•    What aspects exceeded your expectations?
•    What was the impact on revenue gains or cost reductions?
•    Describe your customer experience in 3 words or less.
•    What did you learn from our working together?
•    Would you work with us again and why?

The best way to ask for a reference is to set the expectation very early in the process. During the selling cycle, let them know that your intention is to ask for a testimonial at the end when the sale is complete and the product or service is in play. It underlines your commitment to delivery and service. Then when the time is right, step up and ask them. Use a targeted testimonial template to help them think about the specifics of their experience. This is a great test. If they hesitate or say no, it means you have a problem. This is a terrific opportunity to address it and potentially get a greater endorsement. Customers are more loyal when they’ve had an issue that got resolved to their satisfaction. So stay connected post sale and monitor the ongoing temperature of the relationship. 

Testimonials are important assets that can be used in a myriad of ways. Be creative with them and be sure to ask permission on types of use. Include on the testimonial form a list of the ways you might use the quote. And if they prefer you don’t use their name, still gather the information. Research has shown that the use of a ‘blind” testimonial is only 10 percent less valuable than a named customer. Here are some options for using them more creatively:

•    Get endorsements on your website through third-party review sites.
•    Post relevant quotes on different areas of your website (not just a “testimonial” page).
•    Use short customer quotes on your social media profile pages.
•    Add relevant testimonials as an appendix to proposals.
•    Arm sales people with testimonial letters that can be used on sales calls.
•    Add a customer quote to your telephone on-hold recording.
•    Add a customer quote to the back of all business cards.
•    Add to brochures, flyers, fact sheets and other marketing collateral.
•    Consider a sidebar on customer letterhead with 2 -3 short quotes.
•    Video the customer talking about their experience with you.
•    Interview customers for newsletters, blogs, webinars.

Finally, if the customer just asks you to write your own testimonial, should you? I’d suggest instead that you use your testimonial template and “interview” them over the phone or face-to-face and create it together. It’s their words that count, not the words you imagine or want them to say.