Show Notes

No matter where your customers are in your sales funnel, you need reliable tactics to guide them along to the next step. While expertly designed landing pages, well-written blog posts, and engaging social strategy can all drive conversions, sometimes your customers would rather hear about the benefits of your products and services from someone other than you.

Social proof provides that to your audience. Let’s talk a few stats and then we’ll dive in!

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Hey there. Thanks for listening and welcome to the marketing matchmaker podcast. If you're looking to grow your business, increase your revenue and scale your impact all while staying true to who you are and the people you serve. This is the show for you. I'm Jennifer Tamborski, digital marketing strategists, fractional CMO, and founder of Virtual Marketing Experts. My team and I work with six and seven figure coaches, consultants, and online entrepreneurs who are tired of playing the guru game of one size fits all marketing. They're ready to create a business and marketing strategy that actually builds relationships with their ideal clients creates massive shifts in their business and rapidly increases their revenue. As your marketing matchmaker, I'm going to help you find the perfect marketing match for you. This show will teach you how to reach your ideal client, connect with your audience, build that perfect relationship, and generate more revenue. All through a process I like to call dating your ideal client. Now let's go have some fun!

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Welcome back to the Marketing Matchmaker. Do you know the most effective way to increase your sales? Seriously? This episode is going to highlight the not so secret weapon of having unlimited clients knocking on your door. No matter where your customers are in your funnel, you need reliable tactics to guide them along the way to that next step.

While expertly designed landing pages, well-written content, and engaging social media strategies can drive conversions, sometimes your customers would rather hear about the benefits of your product and service from someone other than you. Social proof provides exactly that to your audience.

So, you know, I'm a big numbers fan, so let's talk a few stats and then we'll dive into what social proof is and how to use it. So did you know:

that 92% of customers read online reviews before buying,

and 72% of customers say positive testimonials or reviews increase their trust in a business, at least according to big commerce,

and 88% trust online testimonials and reviews as much as recommendations from family and friends,

and according to Nielsen's research, 92% of people will trust a recommendation from a peer and 70% of people will trust a recommendation from someone they don't even know?

So what will all those numbers mean? It means that social proof can help to push that ideal prospect into a client. There are roughly three areas of a funnel top of the funnel, middle of the funnel, and bottom of funnel. And usually social proof and each of those steps, can really help to grow that connection with your ideal clients. So at the top of the funnel, this is really where people, well, they don't know who you are or what you do, or maybe that you can help them.

Testimonials here can give them a lot of information about what it is that you do and who you serve, and it can create brand and solution awareness, which then allows them to step into your funnel, right?

That whole trust starts to build at this point. Then you have the middle of the funnel. This is where people, well, they know who you are. They may have joined your email list, or they may be in your social media group or they may just be following on you on social media. So they know who you are and what you do and yet they haven't taken the step to buy from you. Social proof can help to build authority and trust in this section of your funnel. It really makes it easier for people to end up giving you money, just having those reliable sources that show that your product service or solution gives them the results they're looking for.

Then there's the bottom of the funnel. And this is really for those people that have been on your email list for, well, it doesn't even take a while. They're just on your email list and you're ready to sell to them. For those that already know you, they already liked you, and they mostly trust you, they just haven't bought yet, your social proof can push your prospect over the edge too, from, should I buy it too? Absolutely I should buy it. And I'm going to do it today. It converts them into your idea, your client.

So what is social proof? Social proof really illustrates how good your product service or solution is and what you can really do for your audience. Honestly, without it, you're kind of stuck explaining from your own perspective what you do and why it's beneficial. And there are only so many ways that you personally can describe yourself. And let's be real honest here. A lot of us aren't that great about boasting about how awesome we are. So social proof allows you to have someone else boast about how awesome you are or your product, service, or solution is. It really allows you to bring your services to life for your audience.

And they say a picture is worth a thousand words. So providing an illustration of what you do from the point of view of your ideal client. Well, it's more than just an explanation of what it is you do. It gives them a picture of how your service could be effective in their life.

My business focuses mainly on coaches, consultants, and online course creators. And I know that there are two basic types of social proof that we focus on with our clients. First is testimonials and then case studies. Testimonials are kind of like a rubber stamp of approval that customers often need to seal that deal.

You see in an online world, there's so much fakeness out there that it can garner mistrust. You know, you've seen it, those bro marketers that stand in front of a Lamborghini and explain how they made a million dollars in the last 24 hours... kind of feels a little salesy and a lot sleazy. So a testimonial really shows the authentic side of your business, and that you actually have built relationships, at least a good testimonial does.

So for those that aren't yet sold on the importance of a testimonial. Let me convince you with our top reason for making a testimonial, a major part of your marketing strategy. Testimonials convey enthusiasm for and trust in your product service or solution straight from your customer's mouth. Or keyboard.

Since they come from an unbiased third party testimonials work well to be kind of a less aggressive sales pitch. And yet they still drive home the key selling points of your program.

Now let's look at case studies. So a case study kind of takes a testimonial and bumps it up a notch. It helps your audience use specific cases and demonstrating the effectiveness of your product or program. They require a little more finesse and resources than a review or a testimonial does, but case studies can pay off in a big way.

A case study focuses on the customer experience from the client's perspective, instead of talking about you and your products and features, it's more focused on the transformation your product, services, or solution has given to your customer.

And let's be honest, transformation is what people buy. They don't really buy the widget. They don't buy the features of their program. They buy the transformation that your program has provided. You get the opportunity to describe the process. And more importantly, the results of implementing your program from your client's perspective. A lot of businesses make the mistake of talking about the features of their program or the features of their service, especially on their website. A case study is a really great way to take the attention away from you and focus it on the experience of your customer, because let's be honest, the truth is nobody cares about you.

They buy what it can do for them.

So a case study allows you to show your ideal prospect, what can happen if they buy your product or service or solution.

In a way case studies really demonstrate the success of your program. They prove that you're able to accomplish what you say you can do based on real results and real stories. Case studies give your business more credibility. And they show that people are using your product, service, or solution. And most importantly, that they're having success doing so.

So while customer testimonials can help you grow your business online and really expand your reach, case studies can move your clients or ideal prospects from cold, to warm, a client. Now let's dive into how do we get those amazing case studies and testimonials.

Reality is for the best results. We want to have a few things. First. We want to make sure that your testimonial or your case study highlights your ideal customer. The reason for this is really that it makes your audience easier to connect with when they are able to connect with someone that they see themselves as.

So if your product or service's aimed at, let's say women entrepreneurs who are 30 to 60, you're going to want to make sure that your testimonials and your case studies highlight those type of people. You see, when people are able to identify with the people in your case studies and your testimonials, it's going to make it easier for them to see themselves using your product service or solution. So they're able to see how it may be able to affect their lives in the same way, which gives you the ability to sell easier.

And as an added bonus, it really allows you to subtly tell your audience that you really understand them and that your program meets their needs.

The second thing we want these testimonials and case studies to be amazing. Here's the reality testimonials like "it was a great product", or "I loved working with so-and-so", is not going to cut it anymore. Instead, make sure your testimonials describe exactly what it is that's so great about your program, and more importantly, how it benefited your client.

So once you've identified who those ideal clients are in your business that you want to get testimonials and case studies for creating a system that allows you to ask them very specific questions, so that you can get the information that's not just complimentary, but also informative and inspirational as well.

How to get testimonials, is simply by asking, and asking those questions that matter. So for instance, if you're focusing on getting a case study, asking things about their background and their backstory allows you to craft a message and a story that people can connect with:

What problem were they trying to solve?

How was the problem affecting their life?

What other solutions did they consider?

Why did they buy your product, service, or solution? That's a really big one.

And what would have happened if they had not made the purchase?

Those are all things that can give you the ability to craft a story about your ideal client. And then asking them quite simply what results they got from your program, how much money did it save them, or how much time that it's saved them, or how much money did it make them? Those are the kinds of things that will help you to craft a message and a testimonial and a case study that will really connect and move your audience.

And let's not forget about social media. Here's the thing, I know you've seen those comments, from people that are talking about you and talking about how great it was to work with you, or maybe you have clients texting you, or maybe you have clients slacking you, or Voxering you that really tells you about the amazing thing that just happened because they were working with you.

Capturing those and sharing those really makes your testimonials authentic, which is the most important thing, when it comes to testimonials and case studies. It must be authentic to who you are and it must be accurate to what your ideal audience or ideal client has successfully done.

Where should you share them? Well, the honest answer is everywhere. You're going to want to share these testimonials on your social media and on your website and on webinars slides if you're giving presentations. And landing pages, and sales pages, and emails. Quite honestly, everywhere you are out there, you're going to want to share those testimonials. And you may be sharing different things in different places.

Social media is a great place to share those screenshots of texts or other social media posts of those kinds of testimonials. Your website is a great place to create and craft in house those case studies, so that people can go and read about how it is that your business has helped them grow.

These are all really fantastic locations and areas for you to craft and share your testimonials. And when done well, the honest to God, truth is a testimonial can move a prospect from, I think I maybe want to do it to, I definitely want to do it. Especially case studies. They're able to connect with someone that has the same problems as they did and they can see how they can get the same results.

So in email sequences, I will tell you, in my company, when we work with a client, the first thing we ask for is testimonials and case studies. Because I know if we're building out a sales funnel or an email sequence that follows or a nurture sequence or anything, those case studies can really help to push people forward to that next step.

So my homework for you is to create a process in which you can start gathering those case studies. Because that is the last step and having a successful testimonial and case study process, which will help you to generate more sales, to grow your business, increase your revenue, and scale your impact.

Thank You for listening to the Marketing Matchmaker podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, I would love to hear your feedback. Please head over to iTunes and leave a review so we can hear from you. And if you are a coach, consultant, or online course creator who are looking to grow your business, increase your income, and scale your impact connect with me at yourmarketingmatchmaker.com. I look forward to hearing from you.