How to get transformational testimonials
Getting transformational testimonials for your hotel's marketing efforts is really, really important.
Now, I don't know if you've ever read the book Psycho-cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz?
He was a plastic surgeon who found that when he fixed people's appearance... when he fixed someone's broken nose, for example, he didn't just fix their nose, he helped them fix their self-esteem.
That helped them regain their confidence...
That allowed them to move up in their work... rejuvenate their love life... their social life… etc.
And, after witnessing that phenomenon, through the years, it became clear that people weren't coming to his office for 'plastic surgery', per say, they were looking for an internal transformation.
This is a key realization for any business that wants to connect with an audience and spur them into action.
[People buy things because of the emotional transformation they are expecting to experience.]
Let me give you a 21st century marketing example to show you how you might use this approach to build your business.
I'm sure know the story of Jared and Subway (before the scandal), right?
If not, a brief recap. Jared was overweight. He went to subway. He ate sandwiches every day and, after he lost a lot of weight, he started going around the country as an inspirational speaker.
By telling his story, everyone saw that Subway was a way to lose weight and regain your life.
This message gave people hope. And that's why they started flocking to Subway, en masse.
Subway's ingredients couldn't ever account for their sudden popularity. i.e. You can make a better sandwich at home. No, people were going there because they wanted what Jared had – and Subway was just the means to an end.
The results? Between 1998 to 2011 Subway attributed one third to one half of its growth in sales to Jared's story, tripling their revenues. And by 2013 Jared had a net worth of $15M.
That's the power of a transformational testimonial. And that's why you should look for these stories in your business, as well!
How to can you find these stories?
To pinpoint what kind of story you should be promoting, start by thinking about what kind of transformation people are looking for, and make a list of the desires your property can satisfy.
For example:
- When people are bored, they buy something because they want to be entertained
- When people are stressed out, they go on vacation because they want to be relaxed
- When people have had a fight, they might take their husband or wife on vacation because they want to rekindle the fire
Our job here is to realize that everyone is looking for a different transformation for their efforts… and that is much, much more important than the amenities and service your hotel has to offer.
So let's start gathering these testimonials for your marketing efforts.
Step:
- Go to Google Forms
- Look at the template gallery and select a 'customer feedback' version
- Use some introductory copy that explains how you'd like to share some of your guests' best memories to celebrate an important occasion
- Then create sections with simple headlines, along with some nice pictures, to provoke positive memories. "Was it the beach..? Was it spending time playing in the sand..? Was it watching the sunset with a glass of wine..?"
- Make sure to ask for permission to use these stories in your marketing efforts
- Then just copy the link to this form and send it out through your mail server
- Check back in a week and look for the stories that have the greatest 'transformational' quality
- Then get these stories out in front of your target audience!
By now I hope you see how powerful – and how simple – it is to add transformational testimonials to your marketing efforts… and you see the effect these testimonials can have on the market.
When you have these, after all, people will stop thinking of your hotel as 'just another place to sleep'… just like Subway wasn't 'just another place to get a sandwich' – and they'll start seeing the deeper benefits you offer… they'll start wanting that transformation for themselves.
And that gives you a decided advantage over your competitors.
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Make sure to let me know, ok?
P.S. Transformational testimonials are a big part of what I talked about with Brian Tracy in my recent interview for his TV show. Take a look at that clip – Here – and let's have a discussion about this in the comment section, below!
Jeremiah Magone
Consulting Copywriter
Hospitality Copywriting
