Clarity Strategic^TM

I LOVE my t-shirt! I've had it since April and have worn and washed it many times and it's still incredibly soft and has not faded at all.

This is what a happy customer wrote about a t-shirt she got from Partners on the Planet. Partners has as a goal not only to please its customers, but to protect endangered species of animals as well. So they sell t-shirts made largely of recycled materials (very SOFT t-shirts indeed), and they also have a line of grocery bags made from recycled materials. Another customer had this to say about the grocery bags:

I loved the bag because it holds more than most grocery bags, and the handle is long enough to carry over the shoulder!

But what I want to talk about here is the importance of gathering up these happy customers. I talk about it all the time, but when you are peddling goods online, the testimonials have special extra value:

• When they share their feelings with you, you can share them again and again, on whatever social networking platforms you favor. Partners favors Facebook and Twitter, for instance.
• Those who give the testimonial often like to see their names in print, and may repeat the favor later... or immediately.
• Those who "Like" the testimonial will pass it on, so it reaches an extended audience.
• Others, not otherwise paying attention, are seeing the name of a company that's making people happy, and they will file it in their memory, just in case they need it later.
  

This is how we go viral. Partners has a humble contingent of Friends and Followers right now, but when people talk, those numbers will grow, and we'll see them go viral. You just watch.