Fire up your word of mouth advertising

Do you always ask for testimonials after completing a job for a client? If not you should! There is some school of thought that says we shouldn't ask for them and that people don't always believe testimonials anyway. Anyone could write a testimonial couldn't they?  Well what if that testimonial was said in the middle of a room in front of 25 people-how powerful is that? Or if it was said into a video camera and came from the person who had the good experience? Yes this is much more powerful but even good written reviews can add power to your website or literature.

Think about how to obtain testimonials. This will vary according to the market sector you are in. Written testimonials can be given on LinkedIn. They can also be used from a letter or email and placed onto your website. Facebook pages are a great way for customers to congratulate a job well done. You can point your smart phone or video camera at a satisfied customer and ask them to tell the camera about their experience and what difference your business made to them. Then (with their permission of course) post on your website, social media channels and You Tube. Always post on your website first and then post out from that as your website is where you want the traffic to go. Networking events are a great place to receive testimonials, in this environment they are so very powerful and a great way for others to hear how good you are. So if you do some work for someone in your group or someone they have referred to you ask them to tell people about it.

When you are thinking about giving testimonials to your favorite suppliers always consider the difference they made and what makes them exceptional  How reliable are they, whats great about their quality of their work, how good is the follow up and the customer service. Most companies have one USP and that is the people who work in their business. The quality of the people and the work they do is what keeps customers coming back and referring them to others.

In Britain we don't shout loud enough about how good we are. There are so many sites and TV shows highlighting the bad, so sing out loud about what is great about the people you do business with.

Always remember that when using social media if you give bad service or workmanship you might get negative feedback and the cant be removed easily, so if a customer complains always try and rectify things as soon as possible. Dont let it get to the stage where they are tweeting about you! Act fast, mistakes happen but you can quickly turn a negetive into a postive by being reactive and proactive.