Benefit from proven centuries old advertising strategy that still works today!

These past weeks I have been talking about advertising as I found that many business owners, marketers, have found their advertising campaigns do not work and have blamed the media, channel or platform they used. In reality I think if your advertising is not working – you should look to yourself above all else,

To try and help, this week I am going to talk about a very basic, but more effective way of advertising, that has worked over the centuries – word of mouth promotion of a business.

Using today’s technology, from email marketing to ever-growing social media you can really leverage the use of ‘testimonials’ for just about any advertising purposes, either as the main message or in support of another offer.

A ‘testimonial’ is a comment/statement, not from a friend, but from an actual user of your product or service. How do you get a ‘testimonial’ - you have to ask. That seems to be part of the problem as many people find it embarrassing to ask.

The best time to ask for a ‘testimonial’ is at the time your customer has actually purchased something from you. If they are happy with their purchase and everything is working well, they will not mind.

Present them with a written form that they can fill in easily at the point of purchase or alternatively, to demonstrate your ‘after sales service’ and your good intentions. Wait two weeks and sent every customer who has purchased something from you two weeks prior – a short note stating that you hope they are happy and satisfied with their purchase and ask them to complete a pre-written testimonial form, sort of like a multiple choice questionnaire. Even better, offer a small gift, premium item or a discount off their next purchase from you.

What your customers say about you and your products will create instant credibility and trust much more than just an advertisement in your local newspaper. Don’t be afraid of using multiple ‘testimonials’ - and how you use them is limited only by your imagination, For example, one very clever way of using them is by recording them and then integrating them into your phone call holding system. So when people call you and are put on hold, they will hear your testimonials .. but make sure they are not too long and that you have a number of them – not do keep repeating same one all the time.

Consider creative ways to increase trust and make a better connection with your target audience. Build your testimonial pool and grow your business through word-of-mouth promotions that create instant credibility.

As always, I welcome your comments and am available for further discussion on making your business grow - http://www.asiamarketing.biz/

ferdi@asiamarketing.biz