How To Get Powerful Testimonials From Students
Written by Hersh Sandhoo
Appeared in Webmation's MAinsider April 2003
Appeared in Martial Arts Professional
Expert Tips & Tactics - June 2003
View PDF Version 1.2 MB

Testimonials are the staple of any good marketing piece. They give you credibility, answer objections, show people that they are not alone in their concerns, and enhance the emotional appeal of your message. Testimonials can be used on virtually every marketing piece you send out - flyers, yellow page and newspaper ads, the Internet, infomercial and television commercials, even the back of business cards.

So how do you get testimonials that work?

1. Provide outstanding martial arts instruction and customer service.

Most people will complain about a problem in a heartbeat. They'll even go so far as to tell all their friends, neighbors, and acquaintances what a lousy experience they had or bad customer service they experienced. However, it takes more than just good service and instruction to inspire someone to do the same in a positive manner. A lot more! Go above the call of duty and make sure your students know you care about them.

2. Know whom to ask.

A common mistake is trying to get testimonials from children students. All testimonials should be from adult students or the child student's parents. After all who is going to be reading or listening to them? Who is going to be signing the check? All marketing messages should in fact be directed to the adults.

3. Know how to ask and make it easy for them to respond.

There will be many cases when parents and students will be happy to give you a testimonial. But what often happens is that the testimonial ends up being too general, too short or too long winded. You want each testimonial to address a specific point or objection and to easily fit on a brochure or other marketing piece.

An easy way to do this is to create a questionnaire form with a list of specific questions that are open ended (not a multiple choice or yes/no question). From their answers you can create a testimonial in their own words that meets your needs. Of course you need to ask permission to use their comments in your marketing, but that can be easily added onto the form.

For example if I wanted to get testimonials to overcome a price objection I'll approach a student's parent who was hesitant on signing up because of the cost but has seen a great improvement in their child's grades and behavior. The questions I would include are:

1. How big of a consideration was price for you when you first heard about our martial arts program?
   
   
2. What improvements have your son/daughter made since starting his/her training?
   
   
3. Do you feel that the tuition is worth the benefits your child will continue to receive from his/her martial arts training? Why?

Now with this one in particular you have to know whom to ask. Make sure they are ecstatic about you and the school or you might get burned. The final result:

"At first I was a bit hesitant on the price of classes. Johnny always gets excited about an activity then wants to quit after two months. However, I would never have thought he could change so much in such a short period of time. He has seen so many wonderful improvements since he joined your martial arts program. His motor skills have increased and his grades have skyrocketed. We even received a letter from his schoolteacher praising his better behavior. Best of all, he loves coming to classes each week. The tuition is well worth it. Thank you so much."

                    - Name, Mother of Child's Name (Age 10).

Other questions you might ask:

1. What is your occupation?
   
   
2. What school programs do you participate in? (This can be a checklist)
   
   
3. What are your overall feelings about the school?
   
   
4. Describe in detail a specific experience you had with us that you were happy with:
   
   
5. Describe one or two things that you or your family has received from your involvement with us that you value the most. Please be specific.
   
   
6. How long have you been at the school?
   
   
7. How have we helped you achieve your goals?
   

Always work the referral angle in every promotion you do:

Would you refer our programs to any of your child's friends? If yes, we will be happy to send them a free week of lessons on your behalf. Simply fill out the fields below.
(Child's Name, Parent's Name, Address, Phone Number).

4. Reward them for taking out the time to help you.

First make it clear that you are only looking for honest answers because it will help you make the school better. Then offer a small incentive for taking out the time to fill out the form. It's a small push for procrastinators and another way to make students feel good about the school. You can give a free school t-shirt, patch, $5 proshop certificate, or even a free week of lessons for the parents if they return the form by a set date.

You should also consider putting the form online to make it easier for students to fill out. This way you can even send an email reminder before the form's due date and the student or parent can take immediate action by clicking a link in the email to fill out the form.

Hersh Sandhoo is the President and CEO of Webmation, leaders in web development and online marketing for the martial arts industry. Mr. Sandhoo, a fourth degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and Hap Ki Do, has trained for over 13 years.

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