The Trick To Testiomonials

In many ways, working in the B2B industrial space for the last few years has been a bit like working in a time capsule. While many of my marketing peers are talking about hashtags, the newest social media platform, and “Return on Relationships,” most of our clients are still talking about business in much the same way they always have. Building relationships often means that our clients know every key contact person at every key competitive company and many prospects. It means phonecalls, emails, and even in-person visits.

Regardless of the industry, one of the keys to building relationships the old-fashioned way is showing that you have successfully done the kind of work you are pitching. Testimonials are a great way to accomplish this, especially if you can get a testimonial from a name that is well-known and well-respected. Content Marketing evangelists are also all about the testimonial. It’s a great story, after all, and prevailing logic is that companies need to focus more on telling stories and less on actually selling.

Whether or not that last bit is really true, the fact is that even though most of the companies we work with completely understand the value of a testimonial (or a case study), they are almost always very difficult to put together. We’ve gotten all kinds of push-back over the years, ranging from “Nobody would think our products are that interesting” to “We don’t have time to work on this with you.” However, the most common response we get is, “We can’t let the competition know who our customers are.”

Have a little faith

This kind of philosophy makes sense, especially when the B2B industrial world revolves so much around proprietary processes and equipment. There is a new reality, however, which is that companies must face the fact that whether you like it or not, information cannot be controlled the way it used to be. Whether or not your company uses social media, if you do you may be giving away information about your customer without even meaning to. Your competitors may know what a trip to XYZ city means in your industry. Someone at a competitive company may see a picture on Instagram from someone at your company and recognize the location just from looking at it. You might get a LinkedIn endorsement that competitors can see.

The point is, if someone wants to find out who your customers are these days, they probably can do it in much easier ways than reading through your testimonials. Even more to the point, they probably already know that you’ve done work for the company from whom you’re getting a testimonial. Finally, of course, there’s the little tidbit of hope that a company willing to pen a testimonial in your favor may not stray at the first sign of another suitor.

You don’t have to give away the store

Finally, we want to point out that a testimonial does not have to be granular in the detail it offers. You don’t have to explain exactly how you met your objective. You don’t have to reveal exactly why you chose the methodologies you did. Indeed, you don’t even need to reveal the exact customer, although the more you can reveal about that the more credible the piece becomes. What people want to see is how you successfully fixed a problem that they might be experiencing now. Should they call you like that other company did? Why?

Testimonials can be tricky, but they are utterly necessary in the B2B industrial world. They are the foundation upon which many new relationships can be built, and they can solidify existing relationships with customers who are obviously happy with you. Don’t let fear paralyze you. Go out and grab those stories. Make hay while the sun shines!

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The Trick To Testiomonials