RISMEDIA, July 14, 2011—All too often we have a success and move quickly on to the next item on our agenda. It’s easy to forget these happy client comments, homes sold and other professional achievements, but they are some of the most important pieces to your brand puzzle you will ever have to market yourself.
While slick websites, brochures and the technology you use are important aspects to your business, developing credentials or “earning your chops” and marketing them is really the core of what matters in building your brand and selling it effectively.
Recognizing and taking note of these events is the first and most important step to utilizing them in a manner that will help you build your brand in a variety of ways. You’ve heard “content is king.” Well, it’s really true and it’s hard to consistently develop unique content for your own use. Asking happy clients, vendors and other business contacts for testimonials is an important step to developing great, original content for your website and other communications.
Facebook and other social media attract positive comments and you can use these too, but remember you must give them to get them. Don’t let these comments go to the bottom of the page and disappear; extract and use them in your communications and on your website. In other words, be your own brand fan.
As you start your collection of credentials, you will be able to respond quickly or answer a prospect immediately when they ask you about your experience and past clients. Use them in video, listing or other presentations and speaking engagements, too.
If gathering testimonials sounds like a difficult task, get started by keeping notes on what you want to ask for and who you want to ask. Then create a schedule and make these requests and updates on a regular basis. The point is to consistently showcase your testimonials, credentials and achievements to build confidence and trust in you, your brand and your capabilities.
Chris Kaucnik is chief marketing officer for Home Warranty of America. For more information, please visit www.hwahomewarranty.com.
