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Speed Dial: 60-Second Marketing Insight Newsletter
I couldn’t wait to get started. The first few chapters began pleasantly enough, but they weren’t particularly useful. Hmmmmm. I kept going. The middle didn’t exactly light my socks on fire either, but I pressed on, certain I’d discover some substance worthy of all those five-star ratings. Nope: total dud. Don’t you hate when that happens? But you know, it got me thinking:
What makes a review, recommendation, or endorsement especially effective… and how can you create one? - Want to cut through the hype & recognize a useful review? - Want to write more impactful recommendations for your friends & colleagues? - Want to leverage more compelling testimonials & endorsements with your consumers, clients, & customers?
You can- - and it’s surprisingly easy to do.
There are two basic elements that can make all the difference in persuading an audience. Before I share them, though, let’s take a quick moment to understand what’s happening when people use reviews, recommendations, endorsements, & other forms of ‘social proof.’
Each of these things are tools that help people reduce risk and justify their decision to purchase- - or reject- - a particular product, service, or idea. People realize that they’re being “sold”, and these tools allow them to step away from the seller by listening to the "objective" voices of other buyers. What they’re really trying to do is to decide whether or not they can replicate the experience other people have had.
Think about it. When you read a review, aren't you really trying to answer questions like these? - Is this person like me? - Did they have a problem like the one I have? - Do I believe this product/service/idea solved their issue? - Is this solution something I can apply to my situation as well?
Of course! And because that’s what people are thinking, an effective review, recommendation, or testimonial must do two things: 1) focus on a particular problem and 2) provide specific details.
A problem-centered perspective is the key to convincing a skeptical audience. Go to LinkedIn.com and take a look at the recommendations people have written for one another. You’ll soon see that all those well-meaning blurbs blend together pretty quickly: “Sandy is the brightest person I’ve ever worked with”; “Lynn is a real marketing whiz!”; “Bob is smart, nice, and loads of fun!”
It’s no different for products & services, either- - they're "all good", all the time.
The result? Even though reviews can be useful, we begin to discount them. We start to see all that fluff and puffery as mere hype and hyperbole.
You can change that. Small business expert Sean d’Souza recommends an extremely effective tool called the “Reverse Testimonial.” Reverse testimonials are especially persuasive because they begin with a nagging doubt/problem and then proceed to show how the person, product, or service overcame that initial objection.
Let's re-do our LinkedIn examples to see this technique in action: - “Too many PhDs are full of ‘head-knowledge’ and
can’t cross the bridge from theory-land into the real world. Sandy is different. Sandy takes all that
intellectual horsepower and channels it into practical solutions, like the time…” - “I thought all advertising execs were superficial, flashy people who just wanted to win awards for creating hip commercials until I met Lynn. What Lynn does is…”
- “When you first meet Bob, he looks like a scurvy pirate, but really, he’s smart, nice, and loads of fun!” (wink- - just a reminder to use this technique with discretion!).
Do you see what a difference this technique can make? And of course, it's not just for giving recommendations. The next time you ask for testimonials on your business, encourage your customers to talk about their initial concern(s) and what happened once they went forward with you.
Deliver more details to increase your impact. The most compelling reviews, recommendations, & endorsements provide specific details to help an audience internalize whether or not a solution will work for them.
This weekend, a coupon in the Sunday paper for a
dog-and-cat-hair product featured a sensational quote signed by “Pet Owner in New York City.” Pet Owner in New
York City?! Can we narrow that down just a bit, guys?! Wouldn’t you be more likely to trust a testimonial from
“Barbara in the Bronx”? Or better yet, “Barbara Jenkins, Bronx, NY (owner of Bailey, a 3-year old Boxer)”, with
a picture of both Barb and her ‘baby’, followed by a story about how hard it is to get Bailey’s brown
fur off her favorite living room chair and light-colored carpet before guests arrive? Can't you see
how those specific details might resonate with this company's target audience? Looking for specific details makes you a more savvy consumer, too. If I had taken a few extra moments to actually read some of the five-star reviews on amazon.com for that business book I just read, I may have discerned that they were full of puffery & lacking in specific insights. What a great reminder: any time a seller uses the ‘friends-and-family’ plan to get near-perfect reviews, it’s “buyer beware!”
So remember- - it’s all about solving the problem and adding believable details: To read, write, or leverage reviews to your advantage, first identify the real issue that needs to be solved and then add supporting details that make it more applicable to a specific situation.
The next time you give or get a recommendation, try these two simple steps... you & your audience will definitely appreciate the difference they can make!
- Marie
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