A “Raving Fan letter” is when someone is willing to write about the great experience they had with your company.

A raving fan is a strong advocate for your company and their written words usually go a long way to impress a new customer or prospect.

The easiest time to get a customer to write a raving fan letter or a testimonial is when they have just had a great experience with your company. Occasionally a client will write one without being asked because they were so impressed with something we did for them. However, most of the time we receive them because we ask for them. The best time to ask for one is when you get great feedback on a satisfaction call. After the client lets me know just how happy they were with a specific staff member or the turnaround etc, I respond by saying something like this:

“I really appreciate the feedback you have just given me and would appreciate it if you can take a moment and respond to our survey. I share these with our staff and it is very motivational for them to know how you felt instead of me telling them you were very satisfied with the job we just did.”

I encourage them to mention payday advance employees by name (this is a chance to give credit to the graphic designer, pressman, bindery worker or driver). Because we already have many employees touching the customer (customer service, design, driver) our customers learn many names. As soon as the conversation is over, I email the form and thank them for agreeing to do it.

It does not matter how you do this but you need to make this easy to execute and easy for the customer to respond. We have created a template form that they can easily fill out but it does require them to tell us what made the experience memorable. By the way, if we did not do something that was memorable to them, we have not created a “raving fan” and the testimonial will have no impact. Since I share these with my employees as well as customers and new prospects, they need to be very powerful and not canned yes and no answers.

Tips for Getting Testimonials
Ask for testimonials-Make it simple for them to reply using a fax or email form. Testimonials lend credibility- it looks better to show a testimonial from a director of development at a leading school than to say I print for many schools. I let my customers know that we share these comments with the staff at monthly staff meetings and their written comments are invaluable.

Never Stop Asking for Testimonials- Even if a customer wrote one last month, last year or any other time, it is OK to ask again if the situation lends itself to get another one. I also try to get testimonials that talk about different staff members, different services we offer or from a specific industry or client.

Say Thank you for the Testimonial- As soon as I get the reply back, I always thank the customer. I also let them know we will share their comments at our next staff meeting and also with others we are trying to get as customers. Customers need to know you appreciate the time it took to put their feelings in writing. We purchase assorted $5 gift cards from Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts etc and send them a handwritten note card with the gift card after they complete a testimonial. This encourages repeat behavior and additional testimonials as well as referrals.

Share the Testimonials when appropriate- Anytime an employee is mentioned by name, we make a big fuss and read it aloud to the entire staff. We also reward the employee with a $5 gift card as well to encourage the continued behavior that caused the memorable experience in the first place.

We also include appropriate testimonials in our marketing efforts. In our “About our company” information on our website and company literature, we list various comments taken from testimonials received. We include testimonials along with a quote or letter/package to a prospect/new customer. Of course, we try to match the testimonial to the need. For example, if a client is considering using us for design project we include testimonials that mention our designers. On the other hand, if we are quoting a mailing project we include testimonials that talk about the benefits of using us for mailing.

Don’t Push for a Testimonial- Not everyone will write one and put their name in print even when they gave you verbal positive feedback. Sometimes they are just too busy to do it or really do not want you to share their name, company information etc. Just respect this and move on and thank them for their kind words.

Do you have a program in place to help you get “raving fan letters” from your clients?

Do you recognize the power of a “raving fan letter”?

Contact me at sherri@onesourcenj.com if you would like to know more about how we do this.