BY JACK KWICIEN
I’m asking you to consider developing a proactive campaign to create client testimonials. Let’s look at how this strategy can be implemented.
Hopefully you are ahead of your annual sales and client retention goals. However, if you are like the majority, you may be struggling to attract new client relationships while retaining your existing client base. That’s why we want to talk about your marketing efforts and in particular the power of client testimonials.
I know, some of you are saying we already have a few one- or two-sentence quotes about how helpful our team has been. I’m talking about creating a small library of client testimonials that address specific capabilities, attributes, outcomes and results. I’m advocating that you proactively incorporate client testimonials in your marketing efforts.
Where should you start? Think about your best clients. That can mean the largest clients with local brand name recognition. Or that can mean your most loyal clients with the longest tenure with your firm. It could mean your fastest growing clients. Or it could mean the clients where your team performed at an extremely high level and created enormous value. Hopefully it’s all of these and those clients perceive you as their trusted adviser.
But let me make it clear. I am not talking about passively waiting for client testimonials that are written by an occasional client or two. I’m asking you to consider developing a proactive campaign to create client testimonials. Let’s look at how this strategy can be implemented.
Once you’ve identified who some of your best clients are as we just described, consider the story that can be briefly told about what you have done for them and their employees. Consider it as a mini-case study. And you know best what you did on the client’s behalf and what the results were. That’s why you or someone on your team needs to draft the testimonial.
What did I just say? You need to draft the testimonial since you know what you want to emphasize from a marketing perspective. After all, you are promoting your business. Plus you want to make it easy for your client to give you permission to use the testimonial and their brand name. So, do the work for them and develop the marketing message.
We’re helping a few firms with their client testimonials right now.
Here’s our approach: Draft one or two paragraphs about what you did for the client and the end results. Once you’ve polished your draft, discuss it with your client and secure their approval to use it in your marketing outreach activities. In a short period of time, you will have a small library of testimonials that will promote your team’s strengths from a number of different perspectives, one or more of which will likely resonate with current and prospective clients. The testimonials can be used on your web site, corporate LinkedIn account, in PPT presentations, e-brochures, etc.
The best part of this approach is that your clients will be “bragging” for you with real case study examples. Being endorsed as a subject matter expert and trusted adviser is very compelling. Now that’s a winning marketing strategy.
Here’s our approach: Draft one or two paragraphs about what you did for the client and the end results. Once you’ve polished your draft, discuss it with your client and secure their approval to use it in your marketing outreach activities. In a short period of time, you will have a small library of testimonials that will promote your team’s strengths from a number of different perspectives, one or more of which will likely resonate with current and prospective clients. The testimonials can be used on your web site, corporate LinkedIn account, in PPT presentations, e-brochures, etc.
JACK KWICIEN, CLU, ChFC, registered investment advisor, is managing partner of Daymark Advisors, LLC (www.daymarkadvisors.com), a position he has held since co-founding the firm in 2001. He has more than 40 years of executive management and entrepreneurial experience with specialization in business development, negotiating strategic alliances, financing transactions and mergers and acquisitions.
Kwicien has significant experience in insurance, benefits and voluntary benefits. He is also the co-developer of the SMART Benefits Strategic Planning program (www. smartadvisors.biz).