Steve Mayhew, President of Momentum Advertising & Design, has been asked by the Steve Mayhew Poughkeepsie Journal to join their “Ask the Experts” panel as a column writer on marketing and advertising topics. Question: Are testimonials from customers an effective way of telling potential customers about my services?
Answer: Consumers have grown tired of listening to organizations thump their own chest proclaiming to have the best product or service in the market. Words like “quality” and “service” are tossed about so frivolously that they’ve lost their meaning.
Using customer testimonials can be a great way to attract new customers because the boasting is being done for you, instead of by you. Consider for a moment how much more powerful it is to read a positive news editorial about a company than to simply see an ad for the company in the newspaper. The editorial appears objective and credible because it was written by a third party with nothing to gain from the comments. An advertisement, on the other hand, is less credible because it is written by the company, for the company, and is self-serving. Testimonials help to bridge the credibility gap.
One of the keys to using testimonials effectively is to provide as much detail as you can. The more specific the testimonial, the more credible it is. A testimonial signed by Jim C. is not nearly as powerful as a testimonial that is signed by Jim Chase, Managing Director – Mega Corporation. Most consumers are skeptics and being specific gives them less to question.
A mistake that many organizations make is to adjust the testimonials to help them sound more polished. Unless the context of the message is such that it would hurt the credibility of the testimonial, it’s best to leave it in the vernacular in which it was written. Testimonials are usually written in a conversational form, similar to the way we speak. When testimonials are altered, they can become too slick sounding or appear contrived. One word of caution however, if the testimonial isn’t utterly convincing, don’t use it. A generic or uninspired testimonial will have little, or a negative, influence on potential customers.
No place is the use of testimonials more prevalent than in the world of online shopping. Large online retailers such as Amazon and E-bay provide you with an opportunity to review objective customer testimonials/feedback about online stores before making a purchasing decision. Those vendors that have a significant number of positive testimonials/reviews are likely to get your business. That same philosophy applies to testimonials in the real world as well.
At my own company, Momentum Advertising & Design, we feel so strongly about the power of testimonials, that we updated our website to include a rotating billboard of testimonials on our home page. Each is specific, untouched and includes the name, title and organization of each testimonial.
Question: What do the terms “reach” and “frequency” mean in evaluating a media buy? And, why are they important?
Answer: Purchasing media effectively is predicated on understanding a number of concepts, two of which are reach and frequency… leaving regular footprints in people’s minds about your product or service. Although there are many factors to consider when purchasing media, this will help simplify the meaning of these specific terms.
"Reach", simply stated, refers to the estimated number of individuals (in your target market) that you will reach with your message. If for example, you own a small exercise club and your target market is women between the ages of 25 and 40, you would want to evaluate each type of media based on its ability to reach that audience.
If after reviewing various mediums, you decided that radio was your best choice, you would then need to evaluate the “reach” of each station in the market. Although one station may be the market leader (reach the most people in your target market), their rates may not cost-justify the additional reach they have over their competition. Selecting the second- or third-rated station may still give you plenty of reach but do so more cost effectively. Another consideration is proximity. If a typical fitness member is only willing to drive 5 miles to a facility, selecting a radio station with greater signal strength (and reach) means you’ll be advertising to people who can’t use your service. These same principles apply to other forms of media.
Frequency, on the other hand, refers to the average number of times a person will hear your advertising message within a given time period. The rule of thumb is that a person needs to be exposed to your message a minimum of three times (over a designated period of time) in order for it to register in their subconscious. The more times they hear your message, the more familiar they become with your brand and the more comfortable they are selecting you versus your competition.
Although media buying is a complicated process with many additional factors to consider, most media planners believe that the combination of reach and frequency plays a huge role in the effectiveness of a media buy. Understanding these two critical terms will help you to make sound media buying decisions.
Question: Is a direct mail campaign a good way for me to promote my small store or would I be better off spending my limited budget buying ads?
Answer: Print advertising and direct mail can both be effective means for promoting your small store with each having its own merits.
The benefit of newsprint is news. Ads that are newsworthy will get attention because news is what is on the readers’ minds. If you’re promoting a special price, unique product or a store-wide sale, print ads are great for drawing attention to your store. However, one of the critical keys to success in print advertising is the quality of the advertisement itself. Your message to the consumer must clearly answer the question “what’s in it for us?” Whenever possible your ad should also have a strong call to action, such as “One Day Only” or “Only 10 Available.” There are specific print publications that focus on coupon- oriented offers which may be another alternative to consider. If the goal is to simply create awareness of your store, print advertising can do that, but it will take much longer to produce results and may not be ideal with a limited budget.
Direct mail is another terrific way to promote your business. One of greatest attributes of direct mail is that it gets you into the home of a potential customer with an opportunity to tell them a story about your products or services. Unlike a print advertisement which provides limited selling space, direct mail allows you to promote yourself in much greater detail. It is also possible to target consumers in close geographic proximity to your store. But like a print ad, the message and design of the piece is critical to its success. Direct mail can require a lot of coordination including design, printing, postage and mailing. That’s why, for many, marriage mail makes a lot of sense. Marriage mail handles the details and combines coupons from many different advertisers, allowing you to share the mailing costs with other small businesses. Consumers who regularly open these packages have a high tendency to use the coupons.
Another alternative is to insert your mail piece in the newspaper and take advantage of both direct mail and the news-reading public.
Testimonials are great way to talk up firm
Testimonials are great way to talk up firm
Question: Are testimonials from customers an effective way of telling potential customers about my services?
Answer: Consumers have grown tired of listening to organizations thump their own chest proclaiming to have the best product or service in the market. Using customer testimonials can be a great way to attract new customers because the boasting is being done for you, instead of by you.
Consider for a moment how much more powerful it is to read a positive news story about a company than to simply see an ad for the company in the newspaper. The story appears objective and credible because it was written by a third party with nothing to gain from the comments.
An advertisement, on the other hand, is less credible because it is written by the company, for the company and is self-serving. Testimonials help to bridge the credibility gap.
One of the keys to using testimonials effectively is to provide as much detail as you can. The more specific the testimonial, the more credible it is. A testimonial signed by Jim C. is not nearly as powerful as a testimonial that is signed by Jim Chance, Managing Director of the Mega Corp.
Keep original style
A mistake that many organizations make is to adjust the testimonials to help them sound more polished. Unless the context of the message is such that it would hurt the credibility of the testimonial, it's best to leave it in the vernacular in which it was written.
Testimonials are usually written in a conversational form, similar to the way we speak. If the testimonial isn't utterly convincing, don't use it.
No place is the use of testimonials more prevalent than in the world of online shopping. Large online retailers such as Amazon and e-Bay provide you with an opportunity to review objective customer testimonials and feedback about online stores before making a purchasing decision.
Those vendors that have a significant number of positive testimonials or reviews are likely to get your business. That same philosophy applies to testimonials in the real world as well.
Our company, for example, feels so strongly about the power of testimonials, that we updated our Web site to include a rotating billboard of testimonials on our home page.
Steve Mayhew is president and founder of Momentum Advertising & Design, a full-serviceadvertising agency based in Hopewell Junction specializing in marketing, creative design and media planning.
