Testimonials and the Ethics Involved
Testimonials on your Web site and printed materials are great. No questions there. As a business owner, when you read what a client has written about your services you can be totally blown away and perhaps even blush. It VALIDATES you and what you hold near and dear. It tells you that you are doing a good job, are respected, and your extra value added services mean a great deal to your clients.
Go forward in time.
Someone who has given you a glowing testimonial is no longer a client. Let’s assume it is NOT because you fell asleep and let your service level lapse. Maybe, if you are in a Healing Arts profession - the client has moved. Or you are a Coach that specializes in working with Holistic Healers and they’ve gone on to a different career. Or you are a Virtual Assistant that does not offer Web Design and your client found someone who could offer that AND the administrative support.
Do you keep their testimonial on your site? What they said - when they said it - is very, very true. My first reaction from an ethical point of view would be - yes - you keep it on there. You are not deceiving anyone.
But, just this week, I encountered something that has me thinking a bit differently.
I’ve been researching a particular service for one of my clients. It’s Web-based and they have a ton of competition out there - but they are not one of the “tops” in their market.
I tried finding non-partial reviews - they were not included in any of them. Now, the fact that they are less costly and not in the “Top Ten” does not frighten me at all. There ARE some companies out there that aren’t striving to scrape every last dime they can out of their subscribers and who truly want to offer good service at an affordable price.
So - how do I determine (aside from getting the free trial and crawling around inside of it as best I can) - if they are a “good” deal?
I contact people who have left testimonials!!!
Yup, I sent emails, signed up for free stuff to see if they were still using the same shopping cart/auto repsonder service that I was researching.
Well . . .
Very mixed reviews. I could tell when my “free” stuff came in - they were not using this service.
I then contacted some by email to inquire, mentioning that I had read their rave review.
No response, no response, no reponse, and an honest “well, I tried it and checked it out and it seemed really good - AND the owners are really good friends of mine and I know they stand behind their product.”
OK - I’m not writing this company off. I need to get on the phone with them, ask some specific questions, and get some real-time users names and contact information and delve a bit further.
But - it did get me thinking. If I do this - don’t other people? What testimonials do you have on your Web site or marketing material?
Just a suggestion - take a look and maybe make sure your testimonials are up to date. For someone less open-minded than me and willing to give the benefit of the doubt - you could be losing potential business.
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