A good client of ours is a nominee for a Fredericton Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Award. Letters of recommendation are part of the nomination package and we were asked to write one for them.
As I was writing the letter, it made me think about the impact my words could have on their business. Obviously, I didn’t write anything negative. In marketing, you can say all the good things you want about your business, however some people won’t take notice until someone else says something good.
When you are going on a trip to a resort, you most likely visit Trip Advisor to research the resort? Why? Because you don’t want to see what the resort is saying about itself, you want to find out what other people are saying. Actually, Trip Advisor has the power to make or break a business.
Testimonials or third party validation are a powerful marketing tool. You can tell people how great your service is, and how effective your products are until you are blue in the face. A lot of potential customers will not believe you until they hear it from someone else. Make sure you include testimonials in your marketing material.