When I was at a party recently, during a conversation a friend said to me “I can scull a pint of beer in less than 4 seconds”
I was pretty sceptical because he didn’t really look the part, So I said to him, “I don’t believe it, prove it to me?”
I was disappointed when he said “Sorry, I’m driving home today”, I thought, all talk, no show.
Then one of my other friends chimed in and said “He can, I’ve seen it! It’s amazing.”
Now I was still a little sceptical, after all my friend could be exaggerating. Then my friend pulled out his phone and said here watch, the he pressed play and I watched a video of this guy with a pint, he tipped his head back and 1… 2… 3… 4.
Wow I was impressed. Now I believed him!
This story is very similar to your business and your marketing. Unfortunately when you talk yourself up and say “Great Range, best prices, friendly service” you will be questioned at best.
So, if we can’t ‘brag about our strengths’ how do we convey these benefits to our customers? – Proof.
There are 3 main ways you can convey proof:
Testimonials – much like my friend saying ‘He can, I’ve seen it”, you can use testimonials to showcase your strengths by having your happy clients convey their appreciation for the massive range, the excellent service etc. in their message. Testimonials can be written, video or audio. Accompany them with as much detail about the person giving the testimonial as you can, eg: name, suburb, business name, website etc. It helps with believability because just as I questioned my mates comment about seeing my other friend, your customers are going to question your testimonials too, but it is a better than blatant ‘bragging’.
Before & After – If you do interior design, show before and after shots of your work to prove that you can deliver. If you are a real estate agent, show them a bunch of sold signs with you next to your happy customers. If there is any way that you can prove through images the results you deliver then do it. Think of ProActive with their before and after pimple shots or the weight loss adverts. Social Proof works.
Demonstration – Even before and after photos can be questioned, customers might think that maybe it’s not really your work or it wasn’t your product that got those results… So the next step up is like the video I was shown of my mate sculling a pint, a demonstration. This can be in the form of a video, a public demonstration, a taste test, try before you buy etc. You need to demonstrate to your customer before they will believe you. Have you ever had the Kirby Vacuum guys ever do a demonstration? You want to buy after they prove to you without a doubt what their vacuum can do, in your living room, on your dirty carpet… It’s the ultimate proof.
If you are not using proof in your marketing then you are probably leaving a wad of cash on the table because people are sceptical about your ability to deliver. Show them that they are wrong and prove it to them!