There was in interesting test conducted in 1935 (Serif) where groups of people were herded into a dark room to look at a pinpoint of light. They were all asked to determine whether or not the light was moving.

The test subjects did not know this, but there is an interesting phenomenon called the Autokinetic effect. That is where a solitary dot of light in a dark room appears to move even if stationary. This occurs when there is no frame of reference.

Subjects were asked to look at it by themselves and then together with a group. Each time they had to determine whether or not the light was moving.

The amazing discovery was that the judgment of any individual was dependent upon the judgment of the group. Interestingly, subjects would change their judgment to conform to the group's judgment when asked to look at it a second time.

After that portion of the experiment was over, the test subjects were asked to make a final judgment. Subjects almost exclusively retained the opinion of the group over their own!

This fact has powerful potential for marketing. Can you imagine a few ways to apply this to your campaigns?

Keeping in mind that people like to agree with other people, what can you do to your site to encourage people to think favorably about your products and services?  I have one word for you: T-e-s-t-i-m-o-n-i-a-l.

A testimonial is an extremely powerful tool and should never be overlooked.  If you don't have a few good testimonials about your product or service on your site right now, immediately take steps to do so.  This can have a dramatic effect on your visit to sale ratio.

Use the following guidelines and I promise you will have a winner every time:

1. Ensure the testimonial is believable.  If it sounds too far-fetched it will take away credibility rather than add it.
2. Include as much info about the person who said it as you can.   Don't just say "a satisfied customer said" or "J. Smith from Texas said".  No one will believe that.
3. Never make the testimonial up.  Not only is it illegal and just outright un-cool, I can assure you what you make up will not have a believable feel to it.  Unless you're just that good.

Please!  Do this now!  I know you're thinking to yourself "well, that's a spanking good idea!  I'll have to do that when I'm done balancing my books and preparing my taxes."  Odds are, if you don't do this right now, you probably won't at all.  So, take a few moments to find a few customers who are happy with what you've done for them and ask if you can quote them on your site.  Make sure they know that it equates to free exposure for them and you will almost always get a "yes".

Article by Mark Joyner, of 1001 Killer Internet Marketing Tactics. Mark is also the CEO of Aesop Marketing Corporation. 1001 KIMT is an absolute *must have* for anyone serious about Internet marketing. It will dramatically boost the results of any campaign in a very real and measurable way. They are offering a special right now where it comes with a bonus database of over 6,000 media contacts (including email and FAX numbers). This could genuinely be the most important URL you visit all year.