Turn Your Best Customers into Your Best Salespeople

Everyone thinks that being on page 1 of search engines like Google is the be-all, end-all of online marketing.  Far from it.  In fact, I have known a number of companies that were all over page one but were still failing to convert clicks into cash.  Like it or not, the biggest roadblock you have in finding the net profit on the Internet is not only related to generating a page 1 result.  The other and even more important factor is credibility.

 Face it, if someone clicks from a search engine to your website there is a 99% probability that they don’t know you.  Add to this the fact that there are more scammers and spammers online today than ever before and it is natural that most trust is at a premium online.  While things like Google reviews and rave reviews on sites like Angie’s list can go a long way toward building customer confidence, there is an even better way to seal the deal.  If you are looking for the ultimate Internet confidence booster, allow me to say two words: Video Testimonials.  Now I know what you're thinking, "I already have testimonials on my website.  Why do I need to create videos of them?"

If you want the short answer to the question, pick up the phone and call a friend and ask him or her when they look at a printed testimonials, who they assume wrote them.  Nine times out of ten the answer you will receive will be, "The website owner."

That's the problem with printed testimonials. They lack credibility.  Just like backlinks, it is all too easy to rig the game by planting bogus testimonials on a website. Video virtually eliminates the possibility of chicanery.  Since seeing is believing, by taking the time to shoot a 60-second testimonial, you automatically gain points on the old credibility meter.

The second roadblock stopping many businesses from taking advantage of video testimonials is the fear factor.  They are simply too afraid to ask a satisfied customer to stand in front of a camera.  One of our clients is a chiropractor.  When we suggested that he ask patients to drop by for an interview he was aghast.  “I can’t ask patients to tell you about their treatments.  Our relationship is too intimate.”

To make a long story short, I convinced him to humor me and ask a couple of patients whether they would be willing to be interviewed on video.  Not only did the first few patients jump at the chance, but after a year and a half more than forty of his patients and that of his partner across town have trouped by our studio to stand in front of the green screen in order to tell us what great chiropractors they are.

The bottom line is if you don’t ask you don’t get.  While credibility is a great reason to take the time and trouble to shoot video testimonials, it is not the only reason.  Another reason that I encourage all our clients to videotape their testimonials is due to the fact that satisfied customers are able to toot your horn the loudest.  Where you would draw incredulous stares by brazenly stating what a wonderful job you do, or how much your services help people solve their problems, a client can tell your audience exactly how they feel about your business.  They are not hemmed in by the constraints of humility in the same way that a business owner would be.  They can call it as they see it.

For a sample of a video testimonial, click on the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aHMTq0W3Hw

The best part is that it's not all that difficult to get a customer or two to agree to tell their story via video.  In fact, it's been my experience that most customers are thrilled to be invited to participate in a taping.  Some of them are real hams.  The important thing is to tell them that they don't have to rehearse what they are going to say.  All they have to do is answer a few simple questions in front of the camera.  That's all there is to it.  Then you or your videographer can cut and paste the best sound bites together and leave the rest on the cutting room floor.

Video testimonials do not have to be long or involved to create real impact.   You would be surprised how much a happy customer can impart to your audience in 60-90 seconds.  The objective is not to program a reality TV show, but to show prospects a few choice bits of information about your business designed to goose them into taking action.

Employed properly, a couple of carefully crafted video testimonials can be some of the best sales tools you will ever have.  Once you create them don’t forget to share the wealth.  Embed them on your site’s homepage as well as your blogs.  Push them out to all your social nets.  Create a QR code that can be printed onto brochures/  As I said, for a minimal amount of effort, these videos are worth their weight in gold. 

So turn your best customers into your best salespeople by letting them toot your horn for you.  The results will be music to your ears.

Carl Weiss is president of Working the Web to Win, a digital marketing agency based in Jacksonville, Florida.   You can listen to Carl live every Tuesday at 4pm Central on BlogTalkRadio.