Testimonials = pure magic

[Real World Hypnotherapy]

I know I keep banging on about this but I can not stress how much testimonials really work. 98% of the people who visit www.mkprinting.co.uk view the testimonials page, apart from the index it is the highest view page by far.

I now have two pages of testimonials that have been gathered from customers and updated almost daily. Take a look at mine http://www.mkprinting.co.uk/testimonials.cfm/ Please feel free to use my layout or system.

Of course there are always people who do not want to have their customers feedback on their site. These people usually do not offer good customer service and their customers have few good things to say about them. I never buy anything from a site that does not have great customer feedback, take ebay for example would you buy from someone with zero feedback?

At MK Printing we have found that by giving excellent customer service our clients are usually very impressed and they are happy to refer us to others and most importantly they come back and make further orders.

Take care of your customers and your customers will take care of you. Next Year I will be giving even better customer service by arranging discounts for them with other companies and also running free competitions. If any companies here want to offer their services with a discount, then please e-mail me at info@mkprinting.co.uk with your offer. Your offer will be included in our regular news letter with a like to your site and/or number.

Have a good Holiday Season (politically correct!)

Matt Kendall
www.mkprinting.co.uk

[thekitchendesigner]

thats good reading matt - i am planning on putting some client testimonials on my revised '2006' site. it put a smile on my face to see the testimonials when they were sent to me!

good luck for next year!

[Coding Monkey]

Absolutely. I just read this and a client of mine phoned. They've just "sold" our company to another and that company is calling tomorrow. I didn't ask them to, but they actively went out to tell others.

I couldn't ask for anything more

[Real World Hypnotherapy]

I think the best one I ever got was when someone called me up to order some business cards, I asked how they had heard of me, they said "my boyfriend's sister's boyfriend's mate's dad had ordered some cards and said how good they were.

Matt

[Astaroth]

I have to say from a personal dont like testimonials on websites (though I do read them on sites). I dont generally "believe" the majority of testimonials and if I had to name the sorts of companies which use of them it would be the likes of pyramid schemes/ MLM saying how they have made thousands in the first month rather than successful "traditional" companies.

[MinuWeb]

Testomonials on sites can work well if they actually have a real persons name and company associated with them.

"Mr.A from East Anglia said...." doesn't really mean anything at all.

I don't know any company that puts up bad comments on their testomonial page though.....

[thekitchendesigner]

i think when used in the right context they are a good thing. cheesy ones on sites you find hard to believe arent worth it.

i also think if you can justify it with a name, then the potential client (trade or public) can always request to contact that person.

why shouldnt we be proud to show what people say about our businesses??

[DuaneJackson]

What if the stuff people are saying isn't really believeable? That's the problem I think I have with my testimonials. Do these sound too good to be true? http://www.kashflow.co.uk/testimonials.asp

I was thinking of removing the more 'gushy' ones.

[fastfences]

I didn't ask them to, but they actively went out to tell others.


Excellent. That is a true testimonial. Solicited testimonials are, in my view, discredible, as they have been requested. The referer is not doing it of their own voilition, they've been enticed!

Indeed, who would publish a 'bad' testimonial?

Cheers, Nigel

[Eagle]

I don't know any company that puts up bad comments on their testomonial page though.....
Never had any to put up on mine... ;)

[caroline]

Hi Matt
I'm starting up another business in the new year and will need business cards, flyers and maybe brochures. I will give you a shout when the time comes and maybe we can strike a deal. Hopefully it will be an ongoing thing. :)

[creative-keyrings]

Have a good Holiday Season (politically correct!)

I may start off something controversial here but im fed up of people having to feel like they have to be "politically correct". Over in england its christmas i have some friends who are of muslim culture and they still send me Christmas cards as they respect what we celebrate over here.

Also it is now racist to say christmas lights! You have to call them "winter lights", who is to say what we should call our own culture?

Anyone agree/disagree with me?

Regards,

Callum

[caroline]

I agree Callum, I think its getting way out of hand now. These decisions are mostly made by these "loony" councellors and all they do is incite (sp?) racial hatred. Christmas will always be Christmas to me.

[Real World Hypnotherapy]

Easy now Callum.

Caroline, give me a call in the New Year.

Matt, MK Printing

[Eagle]

Also it is now racist to say christmas lights! You have to call them "winter lights"...
I don't quite think it's gone that far yet... :)

[clairemackaness]

Back to testimonials, I love them, but only put the ones on my site that I can back up with a name and web address.

[fastfences]

Also it is now racist to say christmas lights! You have to call them "winter lights"...
I don't quite think it's gone that far yet... :)

This should be in Time Out 'cause it's another one that may get heated.

But Mark, it HAS gone that far. Did you see an editorial recently about the name of a Pantomime haveing to be changed? I think it was Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs. The 'dwarfs' weren't allowed to be dwarfs; they had to be 'little people.' Even that was probably a concession from the preferred: Snow White and the 7 Vertically Challenged Funsters :wink: .

Where does this stop though? My daughters school, some years ago, replaced Gingerbread 'Man' and the school menu with Gingerbread 'Person.' Bloody ridiculous!! :twisted:

And now, today, we have Sir Elton John getting into some soft furnishings. What's correct and what's not? I would rather be Freecybermags bleedin' Worm and not have to put up with all this.
Cheers, Nigel

[Coding Monkey]

I think it's best to ask clients for feedback rather than a testimony and have questions to rate out of 10. If someone is spending thousands they're more likely to be very honest about it at the end. I assure you, they certainly tell me if they want anything changed and I ask them to.

[fastfences]

yeah Mac, that's right on the money.

In fact, that is how businesses with the ISO 9000 etc Quality assurance are assessed for their customer service. The audit process requires at least 5 'unsolicited' feedbacks from random clients.

Cheers, Nigel

[Coding Monkey]

It certainly makes sense to me. I ensure it's 10/10 on everything at the end, as I want pure quality for every customer. I really couldn't run a company where I didn't work toward that ethos and therefore I actually want customers to complain.

You can't improve if you're not aware of doing anything wrong. I've received a lot of feedback from it, with the most important being how I'm too technical about to people. My website, project proposals and method of communication has changed as a result.

[ink4-u]

well i think its great and will be adding a page to all my sites. its easy enough to do so i might as well. and as for politically correct it is way out of hand, i live in the cheshire area but on the border between staffordshire and lancashire if you still follow me after that LOL a local church in staffordshire had to STOP! they were playing Robbie Williams Angels during the church service, you know at the start when people are coming in, this Muslim family kicked up a big puss and said something along the lines on that song is wrong it is singing about Angles and Robbie isn't a good man. All i could say was OMG what ever next. I go to church myself and i even heard the minister say that this multi racial situation is getting out of hand. And something needs to be done now. The only thing i dont like is the respect, for example if we went to live in Pakistan and tried to live a british life, the same way we do here, build a church and so on we would be sent to jail or shot. But some people from other countries come to the UK and live the culture they used to live, surely they should live and like our culture and speak our language. Surely that should be a legal requirement of our country! Sorry if any one thinks i over stepped the mark.

[Rob]

I am a great believer in testimonials as you will see from my home page. Concerning the issue of beliveability I will only post a testimonial if the person has agreed for me to quote their name and web address if they have one - this is where the power lies.

I get my testimonials in 2 ways

1) If someone says something positive in an e-mail I get I 'll ask permission to use their quote

2) About 6 weeks after sign up to my newsletter the person gets an e-mail asking for specific feedback - good or bad - on what they have gained from my weekly newsletter. I'm upfront in my note and state that I may use their comment as a testimonial and most people are fine with this.

I see no problem with soliciting testimonials - it's a legitimate marketing tool which can have a major impact on a person's decision to do business with you for the first time.