Grab the Most Valuable Commodity Your Business Needs Just by Asking for It!

I rented a car from Alamo Rent A Car on a recent trip to Colorado. I was very happy with the service Alamo provided. The 2015 Chevy Malibu they gave me was clean, comfortable, and reliable. My wife and I enjoyed our trip. We even drove that Chevy Malibu to the top of Pike’s Peak.

I have been a happy customer of Alamo Rent A Car for years, and this latest experience just reinforced my good opinion of the company. Most of us have experienced poor service from a rental car company – the hassles of botched reservations, mechanically unsound vehicles, or hidden fees – and we never have to be reminded to gripe about it. Such is human nature. I surely would have complained if Alamo had given me a "lemon," but since I was pleased with the car, I took it for granted. I returned the Malibu to them without comment.

It pays to be timely and courteous

Then three days later, Alamo sent me this simple request in an e-mail: Hello DAVID, We hope you enjoyed your recent rental car experience at Alamo Rent A Car Denver Intl Arpt. We strive to provide our customers with the best service in our industry, so your feedback is very important to us. We would greatly appreciate it if you would take a few minutes to share your experience on one of the review sites linked here. To write a review, click one of the links and you will be sent directly to the appropriate website for posting. Thank you again for choosing Alamo Rent A Car. We look forward to seeing you again soon. Sincerely, Your Friends at Alamo Rent A Car The furthest thing from my mind that morning was Alamo Rent A Car. My vacation was over. I was back at work in the real world.

A polite reminder works wonders

But that e-mail reminded me about the pleasant trip I had enjoyed. I thought about how much I liked doing business with Alamo, and how they have treated me so much better than their competitors. So I took a few minutes to write a favorable review. I gave Alamo a 5-star rating. I posted the review to Yelp and Google using the links that were conveniently provided in the e-mail. Alamo added some more juice to its online reputation with my favorable comments, all because the people in their marketing department took the time to ask ... and then made it easy for me to comply.

Testimonials are like treasure!

Referrals and testimonials are marketing gold for your copywriter. Nothing has more impact on a buyer’s decision than a glowing review from a satisfied customer. You can't buy that kind of marketing. But you CAN GET IT FOR FREE if you take the time to ask. When it comes time to present the "call to action" in your direct marketing copy, those real-life endorsements from happy customers will quite often tip the scales in your favor as the prospect weighs your offer. So if you want to turbo-charge your marketing with rave customer reviews:

• Give your customers great service.

• Ask politely for their feedback in a timely manner.

• Make it easy for them to respond.

Remember this lesson from the folks at Alamo, and DON’T FORGET TO ASK!