Employ the Praise
Many catalogers who use customer testimonials say this creative element boosts sales and adds a friendly touch to their brands. Below are some things to consider if you, too, want to utilize this creative element in your print catalogs.
Testimonials Work
Most catalogers report a general boost in product performance when they use testimonials, although many admit they don’t scientifically measure the impact.
“I used testimonials at Gardener’s Supply and think they can be really powerful catalog marketing tools,” says Susan Stone Russel, the former circulation manager at Gardener’s Supply catalog, and currently a manager at Intuit. “My main objective [in using them] was to establish product and/or company credibility, and to build customer confidence.”
Fred Neil, president of Prism Management in Florida, says that when he worked at Montgomery Ward, the use of consumer reviews created a lift in related products. “It drew attention to the items and humanized the shopping experience,” he says. Indeed, testimonials break down the wall of consumer paranoia, he continues. They enable consumers to read the opinions of their peers, in addition to those touted by the merchants.
Neil says he saw a strong response to testimonials among seniors, and he especially recommends using them with technical categories such as electronics and computers.
Here’s how testimonials can make the greatest impression on prospects and customers:
* Hearing about product performance or satisfaction can underscore quality.
* Communicating product or shopping ease can alleviate customers’ fears about buying technical merchandise.
* Words about your company’s great service may entice a prospect to try you.
* Hearing about another customer’s accomplishments or achievements using your products may encourage a similar sale.
* A great customer service story can humanize your company.
* A comparison between you and other companies may help if you’re in a particularly competitive environment.
* Professional testimonials (e.g. publication quotes) can create a high level of credibility.
How to Get Testimonials
Once you’ve determined you want to start using testimonials, your next challenge is gathering them.
Every cataloger gets positive letters from customers, which of course can be a wonderful source of quotes for your catalog. But for every write-in you get, there probably are hundreds of additional great experiences out there. The following steps can help your company attract those positive comments:
1. Train your contact center staffers to look for them. Your CSRs are the people in touch with your customers every day. They hear the complaints, but they also hear the praises. A good CSR can help identify consumers who may provide a testimonial. They also can help capture the information completely and accurately.
2. Use a response device. In your outgoing packages, put comment cards or survey forms that encourage buyers to share their thoughts. This is an easy way to get a thoughtful quote from someone who just had a great shopping experience with your company.
3. Set up customer panels. At Montgomery Ward, Neil used a product review panel that provided free samples to participants. “They were excited about getting quality products for free and about giving their opinions,” he recalls.
4. Ask for the testimonials. Russel, who also previously worked at Entrepreneur.com, recalls an e-mail from that company’s CEO asking customers to share their ex-periences about how the company helped their businesses. “We got hundreds of responses. We picked the good ones and asked customers for permission to use them, which we always got,” she says.
This confirms that most people will agree to let their quotes be used, and indeed are even flattered that you’ve asked. Consider giving these “spokespeople” free gifts or gift certificates for their help.
If the procedures outlined above generate positive statements, carefully edit the testimonials for easy readability and at-a-glance comprehension, without losing the writer’s original intent. Confirm final copy with the contributor before you publish it.
What to Include
Next, decide what information to include. “Names give credibility” says Becky Jewett, president of Norm Thompson catalogs, which use first name, last initial, city and state.
A few catalogers use photographs of customers with their testimonials. If you’ve got a great photo, using it can be the highest level of confirmation you can give your readers that a real person offered the kind words. (Caveat: The photography quality may not be up to your usual publication standards.)
You may discover a chance to take testimonials to another level. See page 39 for how the Frontgate catalog uses words and photos when featuring a customer’s house on the front cover and inside front cover.
Have a brainstorming session among appropriate staffers to determine how you could use customer testimonials.
How Often to Use Them
When Jewett was asked how often her company used testimonials, she said: “Not often enough.”
You have to feel comfortable with your own catalog composition. For a real commitment to testimonials, put one on every other spread. At a minimum, put eight to 12 in each catalog, so your customers get the message that superior service and/or product quality are regular offerings from your company.
You can repeat testimonials, just as you repeat product, copy and art from book to book. Testimonials are a selling tool. Besides, catalog customers know and accept that we repeat merchandise and information. In fact, they count on seeing favorites as much as on seeing new merchandise.
Creative Execution
Like editorial content, testimonials should look different from selling copy. They also should look like what they are — quotes. Quotation marks and italic type are the quickest ways to connote: “Someone else said this.” Putting a name and location (e.g., city, state, geographic region) on it further identifies a testimonial.
If it’s a significant quote, design it to stand out by giving it, say, a tinted background or putting a thin rule around it. But be careful with the space you’re allocating to it — you don’t want to downplay the testimonial by treating it too frivolously.
Final Tips
Evaluate space allocation. If you’re taking space away from other product sales, think twice. Using testimonials should make sense and integrally support the positioning of your catalog. Otherwise, there’s probably a way to do it in less space.
Don’t sell yourself on something you can’t execute. Collecting testimonials takes time and effort. Assign key staffers to collect, edit and track the testimonials.
Be sure it’s right for your catalog. Joan Burden Litle, creative merchandise consultant for The Catalog Connection, says more success can be achieved with catalogs that sell more practical and technical items such as computers and electronics.
Human nature is to be interested in other people’s experiences. In the right situation and if done well, testimonials can be great marketing tools.
Glenda Shasho Jones is a catalog consultant, specializing in branding and improving performance through creative and marketing applications. She is the author of the book “The Identity Trinity: Brand, Image and Positioning for Catalogs.” She can be reached by e-mail at glenda@sjdirect.com
