The key to successful sales lies in the trust and confidence of your customers. They need to be assured that you will deliver exactly what they expect. This trust can be built by ensuring that every claim you make about your product or service is credible. Here are three strategies to enhance your credibility with potential customers and consequently, boost your sales. These strategies are applicable to any business and can be used with any marketing method, including online marketing.
Testimonials from satisfied customers are potent sales tools. They establish your credibility by demonstrating that you have delivered on your promises to other customers. The most effective testimonials detail a specific result that your customer achieved by using your product or service. For instance, "In just 2 weeks I lost 9 pounds, felt years younger and still enjoyed all my favorite foods".
Tip: Always seek permission to use your customers' names and addresses with their testimonials. Personal testimonials from real people are more credible than anonymous ones.
Another way to enhance your credibility is by converting general statements into specific descriptions. While "It's fast, easy and inexpensive" may accurately describe your product or service, a specific description of how fast, how easy and how inexpensive it is, is more credible.
Also, avoid using round numbers (10, 25, 40, etc.) in your claims. Instead, use specific odd numbers with fractions or decimals. For example, compare these two statements:
Most people find the second statement more authentic. Even though 30 percent may be the accurate number, 27.7 percent appears more believable.
Bonus: Specific descriptions also create impact and excitement, motivating more of your prospects to buy.
If the actual results you can produce for your customers or clients sound too good to be true, your prospective customers will likely assume it's not true. For instance, I once developed a direct mail postcard that generated over 20 percent replies when I sent it to names on a special mailing list. However, most businesses I approached with a lead service using this postcard didn't believe I could really get that high a response rate for them.
The service was difficult to sell unless I significantly understated the projected rate of response. I eventually discovered that projecting a 7 1/2 to 9 1/2 percent response rate resulted in the most sales. That rate was still a substantial increase for any company -- and it was more believable than the actual rate of more than 20 percent.
Special Advantage: Understating the results your customer can expect also enhances your credibility. Imagine your customer's reaction when your product or service produces substantially better results than you promised.
In conclusion, how credible are the claims and promises you make to prospective customers or clients? Do you use testimonials and provide specifics? Are there any claims you need to moderate because they sound too good to be true? Remember, prospective customers won't buy from you unless they fully believe every claim and promise you make.
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