Skip Manipulating by Customer Service Report Card
By John Aberle | Internet Marketing , Sales and Marketing , Soft Sell , soft sell marketing
I Love Giving Testimonials for Outstanding Service
There’s a Right Way and a Wrong Way to Ask for a Testimonial
Charles H. Green got me thinking the other day about the right way and the wrong way to ask for testimonials. He was actually talking about how to do customer service surveys but his point applies to asking for testimonials as well. In Trust-Based Selling, Green wrote, “It’s manipulative to ask customers point blank if you have given them excellent service; it is embarrassing, self-serving, and highly self-oriented.” (p. 201) Having been on the receiving end of just such a manipulation seven years ago when I bought a new car, I agree completely with Green.
Bribes and Guilt Trips Can Backfire
The interesting thing is that the sales rep’s effort to control my survey backfired. I got quietly furious about their attempted bribe, Continue reading