Only one star?

Avoid! Avoid! Avoid!

Five stars?

“If others love it, I’ll love it too.”

We’ve all seen it…

We’ve all rated a product or service this way…

And we should apply it to our marketing efforts as well…

Because it’s a powerful response booster…

I recognized this a decade ago when I started experimenting with 5-star systems in marketing and saw an increase in response for clients.

I noticed that it didn’t matter if it was on a landing page, videos, email, or direct mail piece – whatever marketing we’re doing – the stars draw attention and give credibility.

So, as we pioneered using 5-star ratings in our marketing and advertising, we decided to make it a rule: when appropriate and possible, we put a 5-star rating system in the marketing material itself.

And it really makes sense if you want to increase your response rate.

In fact, a prospect’s willingness to do business with you would drop by as much as 50% if it only had two stars rather than three! We know! We’ve tested it and have the results to prove it.

Before I share a couple of our most successful tests of the 5-star system, here are a few interesting tidbits for you…

The birth of 5 stars …

Repeated symbols used for ranking date back to 1820… when Mariana Starke chose exclamation points to indicate art of special value.

In 1844, Murray’s Handbooks for Travelers borrowed the system but used stars instead.

And in 1936, the current format for the Michelin 3-star ranking was rolled out. Three-star restaurants are considered exceptional… worth a special journey… and chefs worldwide strive tirelessly to earn and maintain their Michelin stars.

Today, we’re all conditioned to glance at the number of stars highlighted on the product/service page. If the number is three or higher, and the number of ratings given is significant enough—more than 5, say—then our decision to buy is made that much easier.

The 5-star rating system should be used for direct-to-business as well as direct-to-consumer marketing… and we have done so successfully for many of our clients.

Here are just three examples…

Our client, Wine of the Month Club: People who like wine only want the best… and wish to be members of the best club. The 5-star rating showed them how good the Wine of the Month Club is.

Investors who work with another client, Lear, are adamantly concerned about safety and reliability. And trust is a major issue. The 5-star rating system demonstrated that Lear excels at all three.

For Health Alert, we used the 5-star rating system in various ways. Because people are very concerned about their health, they want assurance that the health device they get is the best.

So, go ahead and use star ratings in your ads to show prospects that your product or service has been proven credible, useful, and satisfactory.

But don’t always use 5 stars… if you do, your rating will lose credibility.

Let us help you maximize the power of the 5-star rating system to boost your response rates in future marketing campaigns. Give us a call at 615-933-4647 or email Michael at [email protected].