WEBNERD » Testimonials — WEBNERD

Three dumb mistakes from which to learn

James Quinn-Hawtin — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 05:45:51 +0000

Last night, after a long but exhilarating day, I was sitting in a wonderful steak restaurant in Newtown, Sydney.

I caught the manager’s eye as I took a seat at a table next to an open window that let in a refreshing breeze.

The manager waited on me at once. I could see in his face the love for his job as he expertly made me feel at home.

My medium-rare ribeye came out soon after my perfectly suited Shiraz Cabernet and I devoured my meal. Every once in a while the manager or another staff member would check in to see if I was happy with everything. I was.

My table was cleared as soon as I’d finished my meal and the bill was delivered to my table upon my request. The price was by no means outrageous and I was happy to even leave a tip.

So what did they do wrong?

I would understand, at this point, if you were wondering exactly what gripe I could possibly have with this restaurant. Was this not, afterall, the perfect dining experience?

It was.

And then… they let me walk out the door without:

asking me for a testimonial to put on their website;
giving me a business card or flyer (including their website address, of course, so that I could tell YOU what it was); or
providing any incentive whatsoever to hand over my email address so that they could keep in contact me with promotions (as a very happy customer I would be more than happy for them to do this!)

Would doing the above significantly impact the business in a positive way?

Definitely!

Is this easy to implement?

Absolutely.

What’s one way that you can think of to elicit a testimonial from a happy customer?

Ask! In this case they could have provided a DL-sized feedback form with the bill. I would have filled it out.

Could they have included their business card or a flyer in the bill folder?

Absotively! Had they, I would now remember the name of the restaurant and their website address and I might be able to give them some good promotion right here and now.

Ah, and here’s the tricky one. How could they have prompted me to hand over my email address? Well, if it was requested on the feedback form I might have writen it down.

Better yet, they could have provided some tangible incentive. A complimentary after-dinner mint would have been enough bribe to get me to write down my email address.

Also, had I’d been there with one or more friends I might have really appreciated a complimentary digital photo (emailed to me!) to remember the event. (oooo, ahhh!)

Are you and I missing similar opportunities?

Probably I gradually and continually uncover my own business dumbness – and you might be able to relate to that at some level. Take a moment to think about what ONLINE BUSINESS opportunities you’re overlooking right now.

Bovine Mentality

James Quinn-Hawtin — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:43:26 +0000

As humans we naturally conform to group norms. We see it in teenaged social sub-cultures, in financial market movements and in consumerism. The Emo, the Mum & Dad Stock Trader and the Fashion Victim all follow their herds. For example: When you decided on your Internet Service Provider did you base it solely on Bigpond’s homage to the dumb Aussie Dad; on Optus’ footage of African wildlife; or, on Dodo’s tight t-shirt wearing blonde models? Chances are you asked a friend, “Who do you use?” (and, if you’re male, chose Dodo anyway…) Group Mentality (or, as I prefer, Bovine Mentality) is a part of human psychology that makes us feel more secure in making decisions when we know that someone else has made the same decision. What if you could use group mentality to your advantage in your business? What if you had your own herd? The reality is that if you’ve had one happy customer you already have a herd. It’s now up to you to show this to your prospects. Group mentality will naturally kick in if you can show your prospects how you’ve helped other people. The easiest way, of course, is to collect testimonials and ensure that your prospects see them. The best testimonials identify the problem that the customer faced and then explains how you solved that problem for them. Here’s an example:

“WEBNERD, run by James Quinn-Hawtin, has provided a website and corporate identity solution that is second to none. Before finding WEBNERD the task of conveying the feeling of Smooth Latin Groove on a website seemed an impossible one. But with meticulous planning, analysis and a genuine interest in our business WEBNERD exceeded my expectations. I am so happy with the service provided by WEBNERD that I consider James my right hand man.” Ian Corbett Director Smooth Latin Groove

Action Item: Collect at least five testimonials and publish them to your website by this time next week!

Four effective marketing strategies that don’t cost a cent

James Quinn-Hawtin — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 04:33:12 +0000

Ever noticed that the most effective marketing methods are also the cheapest?

Every time I’ve spent money on advertising I’ve either only broken even or never seen it again. Lesson learned! Here are four marketing ideas that have worked for me and/or others I know:

Word of Mouth (WoM) WoM has to be the most effective marketing method. Nothing is more powerful than an enthusiastic referral. Action: Make sure your customer service is up to scratch, follow up for feedback (good and bad), and make sure you have a website to which your happy customers can refer their friends/colleagues when you come up in conversation. You can also join a referral-based networking group like BNI (let me know if you’d like to visit my BNI chapter one Tuesday morning).
Testimonials Related to WoM, testimonials are incredibly important in demonstrating your trustworthiness. Action: Make sure you collect testimonials and put them on your website and other promotional materials. Video testimonials are more compelling than written ones.
Viral Marketing Ever received a particularly useful or funny bit of email from a friend or colleague? Maybe a link to a funny commercial ad that’s been uploaded to YouTube? Viral Marketing involves creating something that is so useful or funny that people pass it on and on and on (usually by email, online forums, or other community websites like Facebook). Action: Brainstorm ideas for an ebook that would be so useful that people interested in your topic would pass it onto their friends. Brainstorm ideas for a funny video that you could post on YouTube and email it to your existing list of friends, family and customers.
Write Articles There are literally thousands of commercial blogs (i.e. blogs that make full-time income from advertising and/or memberships) and print-based magazines that are hungry for content. Action: Write an interesting article on a topic related to your business. It should not be a flat-out plug for your business – it should be interesting and useful. At the bottom of the article you need to include a footer that says who you are, what your business is, and a link to your website. You can also send articles out to your mailing list of existing and prospective customers or publish it on your company blog.

Next week: Learning lessons from Thai business people