Despite you believing that the products or services you offer are the best available, you could still be met with scepticism from potential customers, who may have questions such as: ‘does this product/service really work?’; ‘which other businesses have used your product/service?’; or ‘is it worth the investment?’
It can be argued that customer testimonials can provide comments that could help you to establish credibility and provide an incentive for potential clients to invest their time or money in your company. However, testimonials are not always the best reflection of the service received; testimonials are a lot like selfies – flattering, filtered and only showing your best side.
Won’t companies only ever display positive testimonials? No company will ever put a negative or ‘one star’ review in pride of place; and often only customers who have had a positive experience will be contacted to get a testimonial, so you’ll never get the full picture.
Alongside this, many customers will disregard any overly positive testimonials as being influenced by the business and it will not affect their decision to invest their time or money in your company any more than if you’d not included the testimonial. This also applies to anonymous testimonials, which could’ve been made up by your marketing team as far as the customer is concerned.
At DCo we deliver a bespoke approach, which is difficult to express in a generic testimonial. Whereas some companies swear by their testimonials, one person’s ceiling is another person’s floor, and we find that it’s more effective to value and inform our practice from what our current clients tell us is good. We also know that the adage ‘good news travels’ is true and we are not alone in finding that unprompted referrals bring us new opportunities.
For that reason, we don’t publish testimonials even though they are good. Instead, we choose to share information that helps others understand our credibility and experience. How much value would you place in the following over a prepared testimonial?
- The opportunity to have a phone conversation with a current or past client to help you understand if their experience is a useful comparison for your needs.
- An understanding of work already undertaken with the sector or staff level that is relevant to you.
- Clarity about the company values and how these are demonstrated to clients and align with your own.
- Honesty about delivery style to understand if the approach is the right fit for your people.
These are the areas that we think can make you confident in your supplier choice. What do you do to build your brand loyalty?
