Some of the most effective marketing doesn’t come from you at all. It comes from your past clients.
ADR is a word-of-mouth business and one way you can boost your own efforts is to encourage satisfied clients to sing your praises to others. To get results, remember these two important factors:
1. You’ve got ask them for the favor. Don’t assume that satisfied clients will automatically mention you to others with similar needs.
2. And you need to make it easy for them to act on your request. If it’s a testimonial you seek, for instance, give them the questions you’d like them to address in their testimonial, give them a print or online form, and make it so concise an activity they can do it in 5 minutes or less.
Web Worker Daily has a short, excellent primer on the features of an effective testimonial, how to ask for them, and how to use them most effectively. Here’s a taste:
What makes a great testimonial? They give details, cut out the sugar and help answer prospects’ objections.
- Specific. Good testimonials don’t stop at “They did a great job” or “The product made a difference in my life.” They explain why the service did a good job or how the product made a difference.
- Believable. Sugary and fake-sounding testimonials tend to lead to mistrust. To make a testimonial sound as credible as possible, include details like full name, business name, web address of the business and a photo. Video testimonials add more credibility. After all, would you give a fake video testimonial?
- Answers common concerns. When prospects consider your product or service, what barriers stand in the way of their buying from you? Testimonial that erase potential objections are incredibly useful.
Read more good advice at How to Get Good Testimonials.
Earlybird discount for conflict resolution seminar
The earlybird discount for my November 5 conflict resolution seminar, Achieve Your Conflict Zen, ends on October 4. I have a few spaces left and always welcome mediators who want to learn more about keeping their own cool and balance in the face of client conflict or about helping their clients manage their emotions better. This fall’s seminar takes place in a lovely retreat setting at a private New Hampshire Inn, with our lakeside cottage meeting space overlooking Mount Monadnock.
Making Mediation Your Day Job by Tammy Lenski is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Based on a work at MakingMediationYourDayJob.Lenski.com.
