Client Testimonials Should Be Great, Not Good
As we've all seen on Web sites and in other marketing materials, many businesses use customer testimonials to tout their strengths. "Wow!" says a satisfied client, "You blew us away with your customer service!" "You guys are amazing!" says another, "I'm recommending you to all my friends."
The idea behind such tributes is credibility, of course. While the company itself might say anything in self-praise, real customers would speak up only if they truly meant it. Altogether, testimonials from actual customers lend authenticity to the iffy business of marketing.
But all testimonials are not created equal, and a few details make a big difference.
If you've looked into using client testimonials, you've probably seen a little advice on how to do it well. First, you ask happy customers to put their positive thoughts in writing. Second, you steer them toward making specific, rather than general, remarks. Third, you include their names, titles, and possibly cities whenever possible to make it clear that the statements are coming from real people. And always, you get your clients' permission before posting or printing their information.
But there's another interesting point to consider when you're using testimonials — a quirky paradox of marketing. While most advertising copy becomes less convincing the wilder and bolder its claims, customer testimonials call for enthusiastic, almost fanatical praise in order to be believable at all: "Your coffee kicks butt!" for example, or "You guys are absolutely brilliant!" Exclamation marks are optional, but effusive phrasing and exaggerated descriptors are entirely necessary, because anything else seems bland and weak.
It does seem strange that a written testimonial has to be superlative to carry any weight, but there are at least a couple of good reasons. For one thing, because they generally come from strangers, testimonials don't carry any assumed emotions. Sure, when your style-conscious sister says "nice atmosphere" you know she's drooling over the lush surroundings; but when the same words come from Jane Doe, you don't know if they mean "astonishingly beautiful" or "passably clean."
And for another, written words generally express less than spoken words, because there's no voice or emphasis behind them. While the right verbal stressing might make "good" sound fantastic, flat words on a page won't jump out unless they're "extraordinary" or at least "truly great."
Publishers have understood the power of enthusiasm for years. Look at the back of almost any book and you'll find the writing described as "provocative" and "controversial," the stories extolled as "rich, compassionate and compelling," and the authors described as "geniuses" who display "extraordinary insights," "relentless understanding," and "unsurpassed intellect."
If you want to use testimonials as part of your marketing efforts, do yourself a favor and follow the book-blurb model. Ask the clients who love you to put their serious enthusiasm into words, and if they don't send you something truly enthusiastic, resist the temptation to quote them.
Because when it comes to customer praise, "good" just isn't good enough.
This month's columnist is Margaret McDonald, president of McDonald Wordsmith Communications, an associate of Wise Women Communications, and author of the award-winning "Miss Communications" column. This piece first appeared in the Fort Collins Coloradoan. Call her at 970-229-WORD or .
