BLOG: Eye-Popping Tips

From Karen Saunders

Your Branding, Marketing & Self-Publishing Coach

Let Testimonials and Case Studies Do the Selling For You!

Testimonials, endorsements and case studies are such an important part of marketing yet most small business owners just don’t take full advantage of their power. We all know that referrals from others are our best prospects. Why is that? When a prospect hears good things about you from people they know and trust, they get a sense of confidence you can deliver. In that sense a referral is like an endorsement.

How to Get Endorsements

Endorsements and testimonials are the bedrock of any marketing program. As a business owner you should ask for endorsements and testimonials immediately after any job you complete for a new clients. Ask for it while the job is fresh in your customer’s minds.

If you’ve done a great job for your client, they would be happy to write something for you. Sometimes they may be at a loss of words on what to write. You can request they write about specific aspects of the job. This is a great opportunity for you to receive a written testimonial or endorsement that focuses on a particular process or service of your business.

Make the Most Out of Your Testimonials

You can use these testimonials and endorsements in many ways. They are like valuable jewels, so don’t hide them in a vault somewhere. Let them add the sparkle and shine to your marketing plan.

You can sprinkle them throughout your website, insert them on rotating banners on your home page, insert them into brochures, flyers, one sheets, postcards and even the back cover of your book or product package. They come in handy anytime you need to convince a prospect of your knowledge, expertise or superior customer satisfaction.

What Are Case Studies?

Case Studies are a collection of projects that you showcase for prospects to get a sense of the scope of the project, the results and the specialties or processes that were involved in completing the project. If the project were redesign, makeover or graphic in nature, you can include photos or graphic samples of  “Before” and “After.”

I recommend having a case studies page on your website. The information may be organized by: Client, Project, Challenge, Description, Solution, Result, Our Team’s Contribution. Case studies help explain your business process and showcase details in a way that is clear and understandable.

Be sure to ask your clients for testimonials and endorsements, then use them liberally in all your marketing materials and website. After you finish projects or jobs, write up case studies immediately and insert them into your website. Utilize these hard working tools to your advantage.