Take the Words Right Out of Their Mouth

Sheri Jacobs, CAE

Visit Sheri's blog at www.avenuemgroup.com

 

A few years ago, I facilitated a marketing workshop in Wausau, WI. The workshop began at 9:00 AM. For most of the attendees, it was a three to four-hour drive from their homes. Some had stayed in the hotel the night before but many woke up early and drove to the conference the same day. 

When my session ended, a woman came up to me and said that the conference was worth getting up at 5:00 AM and driving halfway across the state to attend. 

Imagine if the conference sponsor incorporated this into their marketing message: We host educational programs that are worth getting up at 5:00 AM and driving halfway across the state to attend.

Testimonials have long been a part of many associations' membership recruitment efforts. They appear on brochures and websites and are sometimes included in direct mail or email campaigns. 

Unfortunately, they rarely feel authentic. And they often include very generic references rather than specific examples. 

If you want to prove to members and prospects that your organization can solve its problems, you need to obtain and share authentic testimonials. Your members should relate to the individuals and the words being shared in the story. 

Some common mistakes I've seen include:

• Lack of attribution to a real person. A testimonial from an unnamed source is rarely believable. Most people assume the quote was created by the organization and was never actually spoken by a member of the organization. Testimonials should not be anonymous, or they lack credibility.
• Too much copy. A testimonial that takes more than 15 seconds to read is simply too wordy.
• Using a quote that feels contrived. When an attendee came up to me after one of my workshops, she didn't say: "Thank you for providing professional development and cutting-edge information that will help me succeed back at the office."

If you want to collect and use testimonials, begin by listening to the conversations of your members when they are interacting with each other. Ask members to identify one or two ideas they learned and to share the results from implementing the ideas. 

Create a feedback loop. Don't just collect the information - use it. But make sure you ask for permission.

Excerpted from the new ASAE-Wiley Series book The Art of Membership: How to Attract, Retain, and Cement Member Loyalty, by Sheri Jacobs, CAE. Used with permission of Jossey-Bass Publishers, © 2014. (Available at ASAE Bookstore, Amazon and Barnes and Noble).

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