Everybody's talking about me!

Welcome back and thanks for dropping by for some more marketing intelligence, if that is not an oxymoron. I hope I am not going to let you down.

As you may know from my previous words, I now have businesses paying for my insight and wisdom, which is very scary for me as well as for them.

One of these businesses which has sought Cicero’s advice has limited money to invest in what you might call traditional marketing communication channels and so I am constantly looking for new and interesting ways to bring their proposition to as broad a range of audiences I can. And this week I am recommending a really powerful marketing technique and, just like me, it’s free.

I have previously spoken about the communications model and the need to take your customer on a journey through this model. Shame on you if you don’t remember but if you look to the right you can see that all my words and wisdom are being kept for future generations to learn from and you may wish to refresh your memory.

But back to my model…….

I am convinced that the age of monologue advertising is dead and we are seeing the start of dialogue advertising, aided and abetted by new online tools and technologies. Key to this is the growing power and use of references for any business.

No matter how powerful your communications might be; no matter how strong your marketing skills; no matter how much money you throw at getting your message out there, nothing communicates as strongly as the words of other people who have experienced doing business with you. It is called word of mouth marketing and this should be a key element in how you promote your business, how you build awareness and how you build relevance among your target audience.

This communications channel can take many forms but why not include what people are saying about you across all your marketing material? Cinemas and theatres have been using this approach for years to great effect, sometimes through careful editing of what the critics, as key opinion formers, might be saying.

But for any business the use of testimonials like these as well case studies of your customers using your product or service work best when you give a detailed and specific description of how the person has benefited from what you have to offer. ‘ They are nice people to do with’ is not as powerful as ‘ By using the full range of their products and services I not only got the job done quicker than I thought I would but I also saved myself over £5000. And they were always there when I needed them’.

Testimonials or case studies like this powerfully demonstrate the benefits of using your business by peers of the people you are trying to reach and will showcase the relevance of your business or brand to your target market in the words of the market. One of the biggest obstacles to growing your business is convincing people that you really can deliver on your promises. A testimonial does it for you. So when customers tell you they’re pleased with you, don’t be shy. Ask if they would be willing to share their experience with others. Most will actually jump at the chance to write you a testimonial. You know what it’s like to experience a great product or service. It’s so unusual you want to let others know about it.

I have read somewhere that great testimonials and case studies can increase conversion rates by 30%. I have no idea if this is true but what have you got to lose.

So get your advocates out there working for you now. Incorporate this approach into your marketing and communications strategy today. With immediate effect find ways to include the thoughts, views and expressions of your keenest customers onto your website, and it might even be possible to use video stream of these fans and devotees of your business to bring their words even more to life, include in brochures, incorporate into your advertising, let your sales people and other channels of distribution know. In other words get your customers shouting about you and your business from every rooftop.

But remember anonymous testimonials don’t work and are rarely believed.

Believe me, get this working right and as they say in movie pictures ‘you ain’t heard nothing yet’.

Is it me?

I had the misfortune earlier in week to phone a government department though the point I am going to make is not confined to those trying to do good for the citizenry of this fine country. No, this is a fault shared by so many so- called consumer focused organisations. Why is that before anyone will do anything when you phone these places you have to give them an account number, your NI number or any other sort of number? It is surely possible for them to ask for your name first and then ask politely for your number so that they can speak to the computer.

I am not in a re-make of ‘The Prisoner’. I am not a number but a person with a name. I am sure that the person I spoke to last week will not make that mistake again. Needless to say the conversation was unnecessarily prolonged as I refused to hand over my number until he asked for and used my name. As Ghandi said ‘we can become the change we want to see in the world’.

Have a great week.

Sit felix. Et sit fortunatus.