If you want to overcome your prospect's natural reticence
and dubiousness, there's nothing like a good dose of
testimonials to allay their fears. Comfort them with the
knowledge that someone else has bought your product and has
genuinely found if useful.
Mug shots. When you get testimonials coming in, or even if
you ask for them, remember to ask for a photo as well. It's
fairly easy these days for anyone to scan in a photo of
themselves and convert it to a JPEG. They can then email it
to you. If this is a problem for them ask them to mail one
in so you can scan it in yourself. Be sure to always post
it back to them with a nice note of thanks. Both your
website and your prospects willingness to buy will be
enhanced by this simple technique.
Add A Signature. I'm always disappointed when I get to the
end of a testimonial, only to find there is a simple text
signature. OK, I can understand that some people might be
reluctant to let their signature be openly seen in the
public domain, but it is well worth asking for a scanned
JPEG or an original by post, in the same way as for photos
(above). A signature adds to the feeling that here is a
real person who is serious about using the product and will
put your prospect more at ease.
Video Clips. Let's face it; video clips are THE thing on
the web these days. Everybody's doing it. If your
testimonial giver has a webcam ask them to do a brief video
of around 30 to 60 seconds and email it to you. To find out
more about putting video onto your site search for
something like 'real video' or 'website video'.
Audio Clips. If you can't run to video clips then try audio
clips. These are much easier to do and can be recorded over
the phone. Just use a mini tape recorder, but make sure
your subject knows you're doing it, and play the finished
result to them before going live.
Contact Link. As a 'thank you' to the person supplying the
testimonial, ask for some contact information so that your
potential buyers can contact them with questions or just to
visit their website. Put this under their photo or at the
end of the testimonial. This adds another layer of trust in
your prospects mind. All good for sales!
One last point: It's probably best if you can show a
mixture of these tactics on your site rather than using all
the same type. Some of your visitors won't want to listen
to lots of, say, audio spiel every time, and will be glad
just to read a testimonial or two instead.
----------------------------------------------------
Mervyn Love writes articles on various aspects of Internet
Marketing, and his website '
http://www.fortresspublishing.com - has a wealth of
resources and information on all aspects of starting and
running an online business. Join his newsletter here:
http://www.fortresspublishing.com/MPNsplash.html
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