Testimonial gold-dust
Date: 05 February 2010
Authors: Joe Reevy
Issue: Vol 160, Issue 7403
Categories: Features, Marketing, Profession
I have lost track of the number of times I have heard marketers say that testimonials are gold-dust and indeed they are: some of them. But which ones?
Our research in the South East in 2003, revealed that real (behaviour-changing) client satisfaction is based mainly on how the client is treated rather than the technical quality of the work done. These results contain a clue as to why some testimonials are better than others.
Here’s an example of a testimonial on a law firm website: “During this time he has repeatedly demonstrated a high level of legal skill, accuracy and attentiveness. I particularly appreciate his eye for detail and ability to take complex legal issues and explain them in lay terms…is extremely personable and down-to-earth…”
Saying what you mean...
“During this time Joe has repeatedly demonstrated a high level of legal skill, accuracy and attentiveness. I particularly appreciate his eye for detail”
All this is saying is that Joe is a professional. It is of little benefit. The brass plaque beside your door means you are a professional (to the client) and being skilled, accurate and attentive (generally and to detail) are surely qualities only remarkable when they are absent—a bit like attentiveness to road conditions is expected of a bus driver. This is the very least a client would expect. Yet law firm websites and brochures are full of these sorts of testimonials. They are almost useless in showing a reader why you are better than the firm down the road, whose testimonials are probably nearly identical.
However, the “ability to take complex legal issues and explain them in lay terms” is more impressive. Lawyers are notorious for communicating in arcane language non-lawyers do not understand. This says “he can communicate like one of us” and that is an important plus. Being “extremely personable and down-to-earth” is a strong recommendation, because it says “he is someone like me”, and clients want to use professionals they see as being like them, but with the expert skill and knowledge they lack.
Highbrow or typical
So, this is a very strong testimonial—or is it? The only problem with it I see is that it is written in language rather more highbrow than is typical, so it might put some people off. For example, most people would use the word “friendly”, not “personable”. The first few lines betray that the writer prioritises detail and accuracy, which are “cold” rather than “warm” values.
How much better would this be if it put the human qualities first and the technical qualities later on and it was written in more commonplace language? For example: “Joe is very friendly and down to earth and explains the complexities of the law in terms anyone can understand. He is an attentive and talented lawyer with an eye for detail and a high level of legal skill.”
Wouldn’t you rather have this testimonial? I would, and I’d bet that the client who gave the testimonial would be more than happy with the re-phrasing.
Here’s another example which illustrates the point: received from Monica Myrie, marketing manager at Vanderpump and Sykes (the words in italics are what this means to a reader).
“W4B is a godsend for me. W4B’s material offers a professional solution to demonstrating our firm’s expertise without the pain of writing features from scratch.” (“We make her life easier and are good at the job”)
“W4B are simply good to work with. Not only is there an understanding of how we do business, there is a genuine sincerity to help. Respect and passion springs to mind.” (“We understand her issues and we are nice and enthusiastic people”)
“W4B offer the epitome of good client care. They are responsive and reliable. Simply put - I like they way they work”. (“We are fast and don’t let clients down. We are good to deal with.”)
Gold-dust, indeed
The moral of the story is that words matter! They have warmth or coldness, imply things about their users and tell subtle truths (or lies) about their utterers. If you are writing to make an impression (and you always are), know your audience and be careful to use the right language. You only get one chance to make a first impression, so when writing, your first question should be “what is the audience?” not “what is it about?”
Joe Reevy, MSc FCA is the managing director of Words4BusinessTM(www.words4business.com), suppliers of web content, RSS feeds, articles and newsletters for law firm marketing purposes.
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