The Awesome Power of Testimonials (Part 1 of 2)

Today we start talking about a subject very close to my heart: testimonials.

Why do I like testimonials so much? Very simple: they allow me to sell my product, service, ideas faster and with less effort. This is enough to put testimonials squarely in the category of “good things in life”, together with slinky, Seinfeld DVDs and Tiramisu dessert.

As Dr. Cialdini explains in his book “Influence”, about 95% of people, in one aspect or another of their life, are imitators: only 5% are initiators. That does not mean that 95% of us are just amoebas going thru an insignificant life: it means that, if we talk about food, 95% of people would be OK with going to the same restaurant, 5% are those exploring new places. But talking about books for example, a different 95% are the followers, and still a 5% minority (albeit composed by different individuals) will be the pioneers.

Having established this interesting aspect of our societies, it becomes easier to explain why the astute marketer loves testimonials: anything that supports the impression that the rest of the population is already using that product, agreeing with the idea or using that product, will exert a magnetic pull on 95% of the population (imitators) to start doing the same.

For this reason it makes great business sense to take the time to diligently collect testimonials from your happy customers and start leveraging them as a low-cost, high impact weapon of influence.

The letters that a business receives from satisfied clients can then be put to work, like little indefatigable soldiers, attacking and demolishing the resistance barriers in the mind of the prospect (End of part I).

Mau in Taipei