Miles Ahead Marketing

If you’ve got quality customer testimonials in your arsenal, you’ve done most of the work already. However, knowing how to use these valuable items will ensure you’re maximizing the gain you’ll get in your response rates.

Place Quotes in a Johnson Box
For those who are unfamiliar, a Johnson Box is a simply a way of drawing the reader’s eye to a particular section of copy by drawing a box around it. Johnson Boxes are often placed at the top of a direct mail piece, above the salutation. They can be made from solid lines or asterisks, and may be filled with another background color. In e-mails, be sure the box is visible in the preview pane.

Use a Tip Box
Another great idea is to create a sidebar or “tip box,” where you provide the customer with a helpful, real-world scenario for using your product or service. Supplement this tip section with a quote from a real customer.

Choose Wisely
When choosing the parts of your testimonial to include in your marketing, be sure to use the most important – and most relevant – part of the quote. A testimonial is worthless if the potential customer does not identify with it or if it is in any way unclear.

Make Headlines
Once you’ve editing your testimonial down to a compact, powerful quote, take things a step further by isolating the best part of that quote and using it as a headline in your Johnson Box.

Order Pages
Experts say you should strategically place one or more of your best testimonials on your order pages to help potential customers get over any last-minute uncertainty.

Use Photos
People are far more likely to trust a testimonial when they can put a face with the words and the name. Use candid photos of your clients along with their quotes – match the demographic of the client with that of the target audience for greater impact.

Get Creative
To really wow them, use multimedia packages such as business-card sized CDs or thumb drives loaded with a presentation. Prospective clients will be able to see and hear your satisfied clients speak about the benefits of using your product or service.

In my next blog we’ll end our discussion with a comprehensive testimonial marketing checklist.

Imagine no longer wasting time and money on ineffective marketing, networking and cold calling! One of the big topics on every business owners mind is customer retention. Every business suffers from some level of customer attrition, but most also understand that simply keeping a customer is no way to maximize your profits. It is through an increased level of repeat and referral business that your profits will truly soar.

Aside from rising healthcare costs, I’d say that most business owner focus a great deal of time on how to become better marketers. The truth of the matter is that most advertising is boring and simply doesn’t work. So what is the answer – how do most companies build a more profitable business? The answer is a customer newsletter. A regular newsletter helps you stay top-of-mind with your current customers. Your newsletter also gives you a way to tell current customers about products and services you provide that they may not know about. And your newsletter gives your customers a way to refer you powerfully and almost effortlessly.

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