Better customer quotes

While customer testimonials are useful marketing tools, Lisa Lamotta of Forbes.com writes that a third-part case study is even better. The article says:

Rather than take the brief book-jacket approach to customer testimonials, try a full-blown case study, says Dianna Huff, principal of DH Communications, a Boston-based marketing consultancy and copywriting service. Huff says farming out this service can cost between $800 and $2,000 for a single study; done right, she insists, it's worth every penny.

"I generally recommend that a company hire [a third party] to do the case study, because it requires calling one of your clients and getting their version of the story," says Huff. "Sometimes those versions don't match up. It also gives the other party the ability to speak more freely than they would to someone at your company."