James Doan - Just Minding My Own Business

What’s the value of capturing excitement in customer testimonials? Often this is an ineffective exercise. The people interviewed rarely say why the event was remarkable, only that that’s how they felt. Many people hold a misconception about how emotion persuades. For the most part, it’s not contagious on its own. You can’t count on delight to spread from someone to others. Enthusiasm is not like a forest fire that jumps the gap from one dry treetop to another. To persuade, excitement has to be informative as well as emotional. Suppose I tell you in a voice overflowing with admiration that my favourite restaurant is fabulous. How can you know whether you’d love it too?

If you already have customer testimonials, with just a little time and effort you can turn them into in-depth case studies. Identify blurbs that represent a valued client type or that indicate a certain need was satisfied.  Ask those buyers:  1)What was the problem or goal that prompted you to buy from us? 2)How did buying from us satisfy that need or want? 3)Why were we better than other options you considered or tried before? 4)How are things easier or better for you now?