I once heard somewhere that a satisfied customer will tell 3 people and a dissatisfied customer will tell 11! We’ll I don’t’ know if I agree with the numbers, yet the ratio seems about right. With the internet and social media, I bet those numbers are exponentially larger.

This has tremendous gravity when it comes to marketing for 2 reasons… First, because happy customers talk you up less, you must maximize your opportunity to get good usable testimonials for your print or electronic media. And secondly, because of the leverage aspect of social media you have less control. The 2 things business owners hate more than anything: less opportunity, and a lack of control! Yikes..

What is the point of testimonials anyway? Are they really important? Yes.

A testimonial is “social proof”. We humans as a species are programed to believe what we see (even thought the opposite is true). And, when we see that another human has gotten a result, there is a mechanism in our brain that allows us to believe we can get a similar result. And, if the social proof is given by someone we respect or admire, then we associate the result we can get with the status we can attain by using [insert your favorite product or service] promoted by [insert your favorite person here].

So if a human can associate getting what he wants and/or gaining status with your product or service… It becomes irresistible to other humans.

I am going to give you 2 ideas to help you get client testimonials that trigger new prospects to respond; but first lets talk about the structure of a good testimonial; Its a simple equation: Problem + Your Widget = Desired Result. Here are a few examples:

• “We had the toughest time selling our home until we used Ron Brown’s team. They sold it in 60 days!” – J.Q. Customer
• “I wanted to increase my web traffic and was lost… But, after talking to Jason and learning about SEO, I now have 250+ more visits to my site each month!” – J.Q. Customer
• “Sometimes in my business I need to turn a print project fast… And, because I have a good working relationship with inventiveWebs, they just do what I need on short notice. I can call them up and not worry about getting a lecture on scheduling, they just make it happen.” – J.Q. Customer

The first way is simply to use the formula to ask your client a very specific question like, ” J.Q., remember when we first teamed up on your issue of web traffic? I am building a sequence of testimonials for my business and I would like your help. Will you write a sentence or two that outlined your problem and then what the specific, measurable result was that we helped you achieve?”

This approach is very different from the usual testimonials provided in generic institutional marketing. You want to avoid generic at all costs. Testimonials like, “Ron is the best REALTOR we have ever used” or “Thanks for providing such a valuable service”. These are not offering social proof… These are offering a judgement. And, judgement is subjective. Avoid subjective imagery and connotation at all costs because you will have no control over how your fellow human interprets the judgement.

The second way is more complex… It is more like Jedi mind control and explaining how it works is a book in and of itself. Yet, conceptually it is constantly “telling” or “showing” your client what to think of you. Some big brands do this well. Coca Cola comes to mind. Coke is constantly associating their product with a happy human lifestyle. And, they have done such a good job that many consider the brand of Coke to be part of the fabric of their lives.

Years ago when Coke came up with New Coke… You may remember the response from the public and how quickly Coke got rid of New Coke. Now if Coke was just syrup and soda to the public, would they have reacted that way? Doubtful…

Coke accomplished this a myriad of ways. They constantly tell you “what to think of the brand” through commercials, print, song, and story. But, the point is to weave in what you want people to think into all your marketing. Constantly tell them… Eventually, whether they prefer Coke over Pepsi or your product over another becomes more than about them than you. This is because they make up a story about why your product is better. They lie to themselves and believe the lie.

Blind taste tests show that many Coke drinkers actually prefer the taste of Pepsi! But, if they know the packaging and are able to associate the packaging with the story they made up about themselves, they will choose Coke every time. They literally have no choice because the idea is now part of their chemical memory.

The same is true Republicans v. Democrats, Catholics v. Protestants, Apple v. Microsoft, and SEO v. PPC.

Now in truth… I could go on and on with how you can weave what you want your customers to say about you in this piece… But, it is easier to show you an example of how it works. Watch this video piece by Darren Brown for a very concise explanation of how and why this is effective.

And remember, your prospects will only respond to specific, measurable, external, tangible, results that they desire for themselves deemed attainable because someone else already did it!

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Building your website or your business or your information product is as easy and as inexpensive as its ever going to be. Why? Because markets grow and become more complex over time. Barriers to entry creep in. Expenses increase as competition grows. This is the nature of growing industries.

The web and Internet marketing is no different.

Whether you realize it or not, someone somewhere is registering a domain name right now and planning to build a website that could be in direct competition with yours! And why wouldn’t they?

Today you can register a domain name for 10 bucks a year, you can write ebooks, make blog posts, upload images, shoot video, and create complete sales and marketing funnels which use all these types of content with a $500 laptop computer from any coffee shop with WiFi in the world!

You have an opportunity here at the infancy of the web to create a brand or business or website that can last into perpetuity for just a few thousand bucks… Never before has this been possible for so little. And, as with all opportunities, the clock is ticking.

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Coming soon…

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When it comes to the web and internet marketing you will find a tremendous variety of sites, graphics, and purposes for having an online presence.

However, the purpose that is most appealing to me is a concept that I call “The Internet Land Rush”. Imagine if you will that you can travel back through time 100 years. How many industries were in their infancy then? How many of those industries grew to attract hundreds of thousands or even millions of customers? Finally, how much of your time or money would you invest to position yourself at the forefront of future growth for some of these industries?

The industrial revolution, which began in northern Europe about 200 years ago, brought us industries that we now take for granted: iron making, machine manufacturing, textiles, the internal combustion engine, autos, radio, television, aviation, and computing. Even the name brand alone of some of the early iconic companies is worth millions. Names like GE, Ford, Bell, and IBM all come to mind and all have default “mental jewelry” associated with them.

When you think “Ford”, what image do you see in your mind? Now, imagine how many people see the same thing you do when they here mention of the name “Ford”. Ford’s first 2 companies failed, but when he left to start the third company, which was called The Ford Motor Company; he took $900.00 and the rights to his name!

Why would Ford want rights to his name? It was simple really… First off, it was his name and secondly he knew that his name at this point already had been associated with the idea of manufacturing vehicles in the minds of investors and potential consumers.

This was important… There was great competition in the late 1800′s to build a marketable gas powered vehicle. And, Ford was not the first. But, he may have been the most persistent. By keeping his name as a viable marketing option, he automatically brought all the marketing or branding he did in the past to any company he started in the future related to auto manufacture. The goodwill of his name followed him at no cost.

The idea of associating “name” with “idea” helped build a shield around the young company and what it was about. It aided Ford as competition burst onto the scene. The newcomers had to now compete for the mind share that Ford already had! It was literally Ford’s industry to lose.

The same thing is now happening today… And, those who understand what a website is and how it can be associated with an idea stand to do quite well as they build it out. Even now in the youthful internet industry, iconic names are being associated with iconic ideas. What do you think of when you hear “Google”, “Facebook”, or “WordPress”? Chances are you think the same thing millions or billions of others do!

Welcome to The Internet Land Rush! The companies listed above have protected their names and the ideas with which they are associated. Hell, “Google” is now a verb in the English language!

The same can be true for your name, domain name, and idea. The internet is still young enough for you to make a splash. And, it doesn’t have to be a big splash… Pick your niche and go for it! If you are a REALTOR serving Red Mountain community, then you had best register “redmountain.com”. If that is taken you had better offer to buy it from the owner or you should look into getting “redmountainhomes.com”. If that is taken keep looking for a suitable domain.

Note: There is a reason that I want “red mountain” in the domain name if I know that people are using that term to search for what it is I am offering or associating myself with. This is why all websites begin with first choosing your niche and then choosing a domain name that has your search or niche terms in it!

Lets say you can register “redmountainhomes.com” and you build a site on that domain that offers tremendous value to your prospect. I mean you really give them every thing you have on the topic and make it difficult for anyone looking to compete with you to take their mind share… After all, if you are giving them everything they need why would they look elsewhere? They won’t. And, an interesting thing occurs… because you are the one providing so much value to them, they see you as an authority and are drawn to you. This is the best case of positioning you can be in because now you will be sought out by your prospects! Imagine that… they will want to reach out to you!

Now, notice that in my above example I talked at length about providing value or giving… And, I will elaborate on this idea in future posts, but for now we must focus on the core idea of “Why The Web Will Pay Huge Dividends”

Once your site is this point where its getting traffic and people are visiting to consume your content and information and interesting thing happens… You get more leads. You make more sales. Your position in the market is that of an authority. Your intent is focused. You can now build your business around the core idea of your site: “redmountainhomes.com = The best online resource for community and market information on Red Mountain homes”.

The number one objection at this point is always, “I don’t want to limit myself to just Red Mountain”… You think that because your purpose is focused on one area that your income won’t be there. That you will lose out on other business, but that is simply not true. My mentors first teach this in marketing: “Marketing to everyone is marketing to no one.” Generic, emotionless, and trite marketing copy will not sell anyone anything. A targeted market who wants what you have is predisposed to buying from you before you ever even meet them. If you only market to people who want a Red Mountain home, and you sell Red Mountain homes… wouldn’t it stand to reason that they might want your help? Its when you try to be all things to all people that you become nothing to everyone. Know your purpose focus on it, then expand if necessary.

You now have a quality site, your getting good traffic, you are learning to convert that traffic and your business grows. Now wouldn’t that be a valuable asset as it continues to grow? Wouldn’t others have trouble competing in that market because you have the mind share and are providing value? The market is now yours to lose. Just like Ford’s was.

Even cooler is that you can monetize your site in multiple ways. Re-read that sentence for understanding. You can now sell advertising on your site to businesses who want to be in front of your demographic! But think of this: 20 years from now when the web is more mature and all the best domain names are gone and you want to retire from real estate; you can sell or lease your site to someone else who wants to work that niche! For example: Lets say you build a 100k/year business in Red Mountain homes based on you web generated leads. And you can now prove your traffic and conversion rates to a potential buyer. Because businesses are bought and sold on a multiple of revenue, you could ask whatever the going rate is for real estate businesses. If its 5 times revenue, then you could sell out for a half million! Not a bad retirement booster…

The point is all this is possible and happening now all around you. “Web properties” are bought and sold everyday on a multiple of revenues and those with the foresight clean up, those who don’t get cleaned out. If you build a quality site, and invest in it over time it is possible for you to get paid many times over. And that, my friend, is my wish for you and “Why The Web Will Pay Huge Dividends!” for those who capitalize on The Internet Land Rush.

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