How to get your customers selling for you

Posted July 26th, 2007 by Dr James Pratt

Previously I talked about a specific type of word-of-mouth advertising that I call "testimonial marketing" and I gave you specific examples how entrepreneurs use it effectively. Now I want to talk to you about application of this strategy.

In fact, there are two specific applications of this idea I'd suggest you think about:

  1. Geographic target market; and
  2. Customer category target marketing.

Let's use a print shop as an example of both types of testimonial marketing.

A print shop happens to have two architect firms as loyal regular, satisfied customers.

Here would be the astute extension marketing strategy; prepare a mailing to all the other architect firms in the area showing and telling that we have these architects as satisfied customers.

The mailing might include pictures of those architects, comments from them and a list of the types of work being done for them.

That would be target marketing by customer type. One architect leads to another.

Now let's say our print shop also has several loyal, regular, satisfied customers with stores and offices in the same complex. An astute marketing strategy would be to contact all the other tenants of the complex and show and tell about the satisfied customers that we have there.

Your prospective customers and clients can best judge you and can be motivated to judge you by the customers you already have.

Most businesses use this third party influence factor far less, and far less effectively, than they could and should. I urge you to constantly look for ways that you can utilise the influence of your present customers to attract additional customers.

An extension of this to personal selling, by the way, is that stories sell, facts only tell. If you're involved in person to person or group selling situations you'll improve your closing effectiveness by telling more third party stories.

Stories sell, facts tell. This is just one more argument, incidentally, in favor of valuing your customer and staying close to the customer. By knowing your customers you gain stories and testimonials that are useful in selling successfully to others.

Stimulating word-of-mouth advertising, stimulating referrals and using testimonials effectively are exciting and effective marketing strategies. In most cases you have opportunities to use these strategies with very small costs compared to most
other marketing methods.

I personally know of many businesses in many different fields that have affected dynamic, dramatic increases in sales using these strategies. One of the big dangers in attracting new business is spending so much in the pursuit that you win the game and still lose money.

What I call lazy passive advertising and marketing, like running billboards and running ads, is expensive. It's important to balance the necessary but expensive advertising you do with much lower cost, active marketing using these strategies.

There is even one more virtue to attracting new business from referrals and the use of testimonials. The referred customer is most likely to become a source of more referrals. She/He got there as a result of a referral so She/he's already been conditioned to refer.

The client who's motivated to do business with you as a result of others testimonials is most likely to give you a testimonial letter or comment you can use. The more you use these strategies the more profitable your business will be.

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