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How To Include Customers In Your Marketing Efforts

Forbes Communications Council
POST WRITTEN BY
Holly Chessman

I can say all I want about how wonderful my company’s solutions are. Yet there is no doubt that those reading my words will consider me more than slightly biased -- and rightly so.

When our customers say that our solutions are amazing, though, their words hold a great deal of weight. When they can provide actual hard data to emphasize their praise, their stories become game changers.

That's why we include customers in our marketing efforts. Here's how you can do the same:

Make the ask of your customers.

If you never ask your customers if they’d like to share their stories, they never will. Yet I am constantly amazed at the number of excuses people come up with for not asking customers if they’d be interested in participating in a reference program.

I know it can be scary to request a customer story, especially when you’re talking to a big business. Don’t let that stop you.

For example, we work closely with Intuit, a software company where outstanding customer experience is a top priority. We asked them if they’d be interested in sharing their story regarding how they use our visual engagement solutions to provide a spectacular customer experience. They were happy to have another opportunity to reiterate that fact to their users.

So, don’t be afraid to reach out. The worst your customers can do is say “no.”

Provide your customers with options.

There are so many ways your customers can partner with you. The key is finding out what they -- and their legal team -- feel most comfortable doing.

I’ve developed a reference document that we share with our customers. It gives them a list of ways they can share their story. They will, of course, still review and approve reference pieces before anything is made public. However, this list gives them a place to start and an idea of what I might ask of them.

The list we use includes options that could be used on our website and in other marketing materials, such as:

  • Customer logo
  • Featured quote from customer
  • Written case studies/press releases
  • Video testimonials
  • Media/analyst interviews
  • Speaking opportunities
  • One-to-one customer conversations (reference call)
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Use their time wisely.

Connecting with customers is precious. They are providing you with some of their valuable time. Use it wisely.

In the case of the example above, we created a customer video with Intuit. Two of their representatives came into our office. In addition to generously contributing a customer story, our guests provided us with the opportunity to introduce them to more of our employees. While some of our employees had previously visited their offices in person, there were plenty of us who hadn't had the opportunity to talk with customers. That was where the real learning took place.

We were able to ask our guests questions on topics like:

  • Their experience with our visual engagement solutions
  • How their contact center employees liked the solutions
  • How their own customers responded to browsing with an agent whose face they could see via live, one-way video

The feedback we received gave us insight into how people use our products on a day-to-day basis, what challenges they might encounter and how we could improve our offerings. At the same time, the folks from Intuit had their voices heard and knew that they had had a substantial impact on our offerings. It was a win-win all around.

Don’t hide their stories.

You made the ask. You got the story. You posted it on your website. Sweet! You’re done now, right?

Not quite.

Today’s internet is not an “if you build it, they will come” type of place. You have to drive traffic to your customer stories if you want to make them truly effective. The video that we created with Intuit was shown on national television. We also wrote a blog post about it, turned it into a written story and press release, shared it on social media and more.

People want to know what makes customers love a particular company. Viewing Intuit’s story gave them one answer. It piqued other businesses’ interest, prompting them to come to us ready to achieve similar results for themselves.

Sharing stories gives our users an opportunity to showcase the fact that customer experience is a top priority. It also gives us the chance to show how enterprises use our solutions and how prospects might apply that to their own businesses.

It’s a win for everyone. And that’s the best kind of marketing there is.