{!date dayname+0}, {!date long+0} Dear {!firstname_fix} So, we are one week into the school holidays and already the children are bored...! In reality, of course, they are not actually bored - they are just being children. One of the functions of developing as a child is to be interested in everything, finding out as much about the world around us as we can. It helps us discover and fit in. As a result, children have a "butterfly" approach to life, flitting from one thing to the next; it is an essential part of learning about the world around them. The problem now is that the internet is taking us back to our childhood and we are getting increasingly "bored" as adults. So amazing and interesting is everything online there is a tendency for us to flit, butterfly like, from one brilliant website to the next. We are doing what comes naturally to us - something we discovered as children - that you need to buzz around, doing all sorts of things, in order to find out more. But that can often mean we don't get things done efficiently or effectively. Perhaps we all need to take a summer holiday to remind us that focus, focus, focus is essential to adult success. And talking of which, this coming week I'm off on my hols too...no doubt I'll write about them next time...!
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED: Are online testimonials of any real value? If you want, you can go to my LinkedIn profile and read several recommendations from people saying I'm a wonderful chap. I'm sure I could visit your LinkedIn profile and read glowing reports of your work too. But we both know that unsaid secret - neither of us publish the bad recommendations. We simply don't want to publish the people who say our work was mediocre at best. Hence we all know that online recommendations are biased. The same is true for your website - those testimonials and case histories only say good things about you don't they? I bet you haven't put those letters of complaint or those angry emails on your testimonials page...! Just like LinkedIn, we know that the testimonials on any website are completely biased. And there's another problem; often they only say things like "John from Wokingham said...." or worse "Satisfied from London". We all know that such testimonials are not only biased, they are probably made up - after all, just how many Johns in Wokingham are there...? Yet, strangely, testimonials do have value. They are part of "social proof". Back when we were hunter-gatherers we looked for evidence that food was not poison; if other humans were eating something and did not die, it suggested their food was quite OK. It was proof, from a social point of view, that what they were eating was acceptable. Hence, deep within our psyche is the notion of social proof - if other people are doing it, then it must be OK. As a result testimonials do have some kind of impact. But because we know they are biased we need another signal to overcome that. One is that they are "real" (not from John in Wokingham - sorry John). A good way of doing that is to use video testimonials where we can witness people actually saying good things about you. Secondly, sheer volume helps - the more testimonials you have, the better (even if we know they are biased). The mere fact that you have a hundred (even biased) testimonials is evidence that plenty of people think you are great. But if your business only has one or two biased testimonials, then we doubt their value. Gosh...we think...have you only got two people you can convince to say nice things about you...? You can't be that good, then....? Another way of ensuring your testimonials are perceived as relevant and worthwhile is to use a third-party testimonial system, such as Authenticated Testimonials (see: http://www.authenticatedtestimonials.com). This costs $25 a year and then $13 per testimonial - but the system ensures that the testimonials on your site are validated as from real people, providing additional confidence for your website visitors that your testimonials are valuable and real. But there is also a free way of getting true testimonials which your potential customers will value - Twitter. Simply point your potential customers towards your Twitter account and then ask them to ask any of your followers what they think of you. They'll get honest answers - directly from the people who know you. Plus, it is perceived as more valuable because you are not acting as the go-between, determining what can and cannot be said about you.
WHAT I LEARNED THIS WEEK: Think local - not global Earlier this week I spoke at a breakfast meeting of a local business club. I had never heard of the club before but I was happy to go along and talk to them about website success. The club is based at a local business park, just three miles from my house. When you drive past you just see a few small units, so I wasn't expecting what happened...! When I drove in I realised the park went for quite a way beyond the trees and shrubs shrouding it from the road. There were not just a handful of units, but actually well over 200 businesses based there...! And some of them were substantial. Also, what was clear at the business club was how many of them all did business with each other. There we all are, busy using the internet in a desperate bid to attract business from across the globe, when there are probably hundreds of potential customers right on our doorstep.
THIS WEEK'S "MUST BUY": Recommended  Talking of testimonials earlier, here's one for Andy Lopata - Britain's foremost expert on referral business. I have known Andy for several years and there is no doubt he's forgotten more about business networking than I'll ever know...! He is a real expert on the subject. Which is why I was so pleased that he sent me a review copy of his latest book, Recommended. And I have nothing but praise for it. In fact it is highly recommended...ha, ha...! This book explains, in clear language, exactly how you can benefit from referral business. Andy takes you step by step through the best ways of ensuring you get more business through recommendations and referrals. It is one of those "essential" business books which really should be in your collection. To find out more please visit: http://uklik.me/andyrecommends
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Kind Regards
Graham Jones Web:
grahamjones.co.uk Tel: +44 118 336 9710 If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter than you can delete your name from the mailing list by clicking this link: {!remove_web} Affiliate Links: Some of the links in this newsletter are affiliate links providing me with a small commission when you purchase the item. However, I only use affiliate links for products which I personally value. |
