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THE SOFTWARE MARKETER'S TOOLKIT
Volume I, Issue 2, May 2006
Dear Software Marketer,
This month I'd like to address an issue that's
been sort of bugging
me. You see, I had a client who said that
testimonials don't work
in Europe because no one believes them. When I
argued to the
contrary, he insisted that I like them "because
you're American."
This issue relates to next month's topic: "being
too American." You
see, it's thought by some that only Americans
are naïve enough to
believe testimonials.
I heartily disagree. As with most things, the
"devil is in the
details."
So, what constitutes a good testimonial that
could be effective in
a European context? Here are five simple rules
to follow:
1. Don't overdo it!
Avoid exaggerated claims (even if they're made
by someone else)
unless you can back them up with
facts/statistics and/or they are
from a very credible source. Again, if you're a
US company, this
will be seen as "being too American."
2. Less is more
"Sprinkle" don't "pour". I like to sprinkle a
few, high-quality
testimonials strategically throughout a site
rather have a "laundry
list" (lengthy list) of them.
3. Be specific
As Lenny Kravitz says in one of his songs: "my
momma says...it's good
to be factual." Testimonials are more useful
when they're specific.
There's a big difference between: "your product
is easy to use" and
"your product is so much easier to use than my
old system that it
saves me one hour a day."
4. Get it from a credible source
You should think of testimonials more as
endorsements than as
testimonials. Aim to get a testimonial from an
opinion leader or
the CEO or another executive of one of your
customers. Here's an
example of a hard-hitting testimonial from a
very credible source:
"It's so simple you can't do anything wrong.
Addictively easy to
use."
--- Robert D Hof, BusinessWeek Silicon Valley
Bureau Chief
A credible source obviously means someone who
carries weight with
your target audience. One such testimonial is
worth 100 from
"nobodies".
5. Use testimonials that directly support
your positioning
Everything on your site should support your
positioning, and
testimonials are no exception. Rather than
simply having a random
listing of testimonials, select testimonials (or
write them
yourself, but get your customers to sign off on
them) that
highlight the key benefits of your product and
your unique selling
proposition (USP). Here's a fantastic example
(wish I'd written
this one!):
"37signals' products are beautifully simple,
elegant and intuitive
tools that make an Outlook screen look like the
software equivalent
of a torture chamber."
--- Jeremy Wagstaff, The Wall Street Journal
This testimonial fits perfectly with the
positioning of the
company. It follows directly from their tagline:
"Join us and say
goodbye to bloated software."
A good source for such "testimonials" is product
reviews and PR.
In conclusion, testimonials do work in a
European context when they
are believable and specific. Moreover, when you
cleverly use them
to support your positioning they can become an
integral part of
your marketing promotions.
That's it for this issue of "The Software
Marketer's Cross-Cultural
Toolkit". If you have any questions, comments or
an issue that
you'd like to see covered, please send me an
email:
paul@paularinaga.com.
To your cross-cultural software success,
Paul Arinaga
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