Apr

Writing a Better B2B Customer Testimonial

By Sid

B2B Testimonials We all know the value of testimonials. They are proof positive that you can do what you say you can do.

If it’s true that we know we need testimonials, then why are so many testimonials poorly written? The answer to this is simply that your customers aren’t the best people to write their own testimonials. I’ve used a process for writing testimonials for my clients that works quite well, makes my client happy, and even helps their customer who supplies the testimonial breathe a sigh of relief.

The truth is that few people enjoy writing, and even fewer are adept at being specific when they provide positive feedback. When we take both of these factors into consideration, then it’s no wonder that getting testimonials from your clients is like trying to get a cat to sit on demand… and I know because I’ve tried both.

What can you do?

You can write the testimonial for your customer. “But,” you respond, “isn’t that unethical?”

No. It’s smart. Here’s how I create a testimonial for my copywriting clients:

1. Ask to speak with the end user/customer.

I check with my client to see if it’s OK to speak with the end user or customer. When I get in touch with the customer, I’ll introduce myself and explain why I’m calling. I might say:

“Hi, I’m Sid Smith, and I’m helping Company ABC with their marketing. When they told me that you were happy with their products/services, I thought it would be great to get a statement from you. Do you have a few minutes?”

What happens next isn’t surprising. They usually give me a hesitant “yes” or tell me outright that they don’t have time to write anything. Here’s what I do then:

2. Make it easy for the customer.

I take a few seconds to say, “You’ll be happy to know that I’m not going to ask you to write anything. I’ll just ask you a few simple questions. You answer to the best of your knowledge. Then, I’ll write the statement for you, send it to you for a quick review, and we’ll be done.”

Handling it this way puts the customer at ease because the last thing they want to do is write a testimonial. It also gives you the chance to craft a truly useful testimonial that better serves your marketing purposes.

3. Ask simple, but pointed questions.

This is like an archeological exploration, so there isn’t an exact science to the questions you’d ask. Your goal is to uncover the following:

The problem or issue they wanted to solve.
What they expected to achieve by buying your product or service.
What they actually achieved (hopefully better than their expectations).
What they liked most about working with you and/or your product or service.
Why they would use you, your product, or your service again. Ideally, they’ll make a personal statement here.
What they might tell your best friend about you, your product, or your service.

This entire conversation shouldn’t take more than 10-15 minutes. Your job, once you gather all the information, is to craft this into a useful testimonial.

4. Writing the testimonial.

The general format for a testimonial is this:

State the original problem or issue. Say what they were expecting to happen (best case). Say what actually happened (specific results and numbers), and if it fits add a positive statement from them about you (the more personal, the better).

Here’s an example of a decent testimonial from one of the web sites I’m reviewing:

“Time is of the essence, and no one understands this better than Action Employment Services. They are prompt, friendly, flexible and have an amazing ability to know what skills and personality are needed for the position we are hiring for. They work very slick behind the scenes and I know they aren’t going to waste my time!”

That’s not too bad, and it is typical of what you might see on most web sites. But it doesn’t tell us much that we can relate to as potential customers.

Let’s say I talk with the customer, and here’s what I discover:

Problem: They’re a small company without an HR department, so the managers have to do all the hiring. They simply don’t have time to sift through resumes, conduct interviews, and eventually find the right people. It was taking them almost two months to get the right people hired, and this was losing them about $5,000 a month in lost sales.

What they expected: They’d find “suitable” people who could do the job, and they’d get them hired within three weeks of beginning the search instead of six to eight weeks.

What happened: They’d place a call to Action Employment, who would give them three potential employees within three days. Within a week they had someone MORE qualified than they expected on their team. As a result, their sales increased 27% the first quarter after they started using Action Employment. Also, the people they hire are twice as likely to remain employees permanently.

What they liked most: That Action took the time to understand exactly what they needed so that they’d hire the best person available quickly. Translated, this means that they felt totally understood right from the start. They weren’t “just another client.”

That’s a mouthful to put into a testimonial, which explains why few testimonials are written as effective marketing pieces. So…. let me take a crack at this and see what I come up with on the fly….

“It was costing us up to $5k per month and taking precious hours from our managers’ busy schedules to hire people. We thought the best we could do with an employment agency was to speed the process by a few weeks. Instead, Judy at Action Employment listened carefully to what we needed, and within three days had three highly qualified people for us to interview. Her personal attention to our needs resulted in a 27% increase in our sales the first quarter… and new employee retention doubled.”

The two versions of this testimonial say essentially the same thing, but as you can see, the second testimonial will have a much stronger emotional impact on the reader. in this one short testimonial, I mention a common problem, speak to an objection (“the best we could do”), add a personal touch (“Judy”), and provide verifiable proof that the company can deliver results.

Try this on your own a few times to see what you can come up with. It’s not difficult.

Sid

P.S. That rewrite was done in one draft, and it took me all of a minute to write. It’s not hard once you get the basic format down.

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