Today’s consumers are savvy—marketers need to earn their trust, not to mention capture their attention.  Customer testimonials are one venue for doing so.  Consumers often trust fellow consumers more than they do corporations and ad agencies.  As the book Word of Mouth Marketing opens, “Word of mouth is so effective because of the natural credibility that comes from real people with no profit or agenda tied to their recommendations.” Winners in certain fields are often chosen by customer testimonials.  Self-publishers, for instance, actively woo readers for customer reviews at Amazon.com, because they know that other readers are more likely to buy a book that has received positive ratings.  In a reversal on typical PR procedures, self-publishers may even quote these reader reviews when pitching story ideas to the media.

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