What better way to prove you deliver on your promises?
Customer testimonials – quotes from your customers about the services and products you provide – are a great way to hit home your business’ unique selling proposition(s).
I’m working on a new marketing campaign for a commercial envelope printing business in Wisconsin, Express Envelopes Unlimited. Most of its client-base are commercial printers and mailhouses who need thousands or millions of envelopes printed quickly, with high quality standards and at a fair price.
Express Envelopes Unlimited’s value proposition is:
In an effort to add new printer customers to Express Envelopes Unlimited’s client roster, the foundation for the new campaign will be real testimonial quotes from actual customers.
We went to Express Envelope Unlimited’s top tier of clients for the initial round of testimonials. Within three days, all customer contacts had responded enthusiastically to our request for “a quote about the benefits of doing business with Express Envelope Unlimited.” Here are just some of the quotes I pulled from these responses:
“They print ALL of our envelopes – more than 4 million in ’09.”
“More than pleased with EEU’s exceptional quality and service.”
“Unsurpassed quality, service and price.”
“EEU puts us in good standing with our clients.”
“Every order is printed correctly, delivered on time and at the price quoted.”
“EEU is our preferred envelope vendor … great customer service and they deliver on time.”
“Consistently makes our deadlines and delivers quality work.”
“EEU is a terrific vendor … a rarity these days!”
“Fantastic customer service.”
“EEU helps us to stay competitive in this tough economy.”
“They commit to our deadlines so our customers will not be let down.”
“We love EEU’s fast turnaround for quotes.”
“Our orders are always delivered on time, within budget, and exactly the
quality we need.”
“EEU is very competitive on price.”
“They produce our envelopes faster than any other printer – by far.”
As you can see, the key points Express Envelopes Unlimited makes in its value proposition — which is consistently conveyed across all marketing efforts from its brochures to its website — are expressed by these customers in their own words.
There are so many ways to collect and use testimonials effectively in your marketing efforts including ads, direct mail, collateral, email marketing, websites, and public relations, to name a few. If you need help soliciting or applying testimonials to your marketing initiatives, please contact me.
Denise B. Hearden
But before you distribute, please objectively edit your news release to ensure it meets at least the basic criteria for a well-written, timely and newsworthy story. Stay tuned for next week’s post where you’ll find the press release basics most often overlooked!
