Nothing beats glowing words from happy customers. After all, what’s more persuasive to prospects: talking about how great your products or services are or having a customer sing your praises in his or her own words?
Definitely the latter. But the question is, are you leveraging these testimonials how you should?
You’d be surprised by the many ways you can use customer testimonials. Here are ten ideas:
1. Company website
This might seem like a no-brainer, but we’re always surprised how many small business owners forget to add testimonials to their websites. And we’re not talking simply one web page of happy customer comments, although having a repository for all of them is a good idea.
We recommend sprinkling testimonials throughout the site. Match them to specific products or services. For example, if you’re a limo company and one of the services you offer is wedding limos, make sure you post a glowing review from a bride on that page. Another fun idea is having scrolling testimonials on the home page.
2. Email newsletters (and print newsletters, too!)
Testimonials make a great filler in the sidebar areas for electronic and print newsletters.
3. Invoices
Invoices are things that customers pay attention to – consider adding a testimonial somewhere on the bottom (it can be a great reminder about other products and services you offer).
4. Promotional products
You often have lots of real estate on certain promotional products, such as custom T-shirts, personalised ceramic mugs (like the ones pictured to the right), and custom bags and totes.
Add a powerful line that shouldn’t be long, adding an extra promotional punch.
5. Email signatures
Again, a robust line reinforces your brand; your email signature is a perfect place to do this. Best of all, you can change it whenever you like—we recommend “freshening” the testimonial every month or so. Make sure all of your employees do the same thing with their signatures.
6. Marketing collateral
Testimonials are perfect for brochures, direct mailers, company backgrounders, and data sheets – you get the idea.
7. Business cards
The back of your business card has primo real estate as well — often real estate that goes unused. It’s a great place to add a strong line from a customer.
Focus on standout lines that exemplify your unique selling proposition (USP).
8. Social media
You need to be careful how often you do this, but when you get a particularly glowing testimonial or review, share it with your Facebook followers or tweet about it. Make sure you sound grateful, not boastful!
For example, on Facebook, preface the testimonial with something like this: “Wow! We love it when we make clients happy, and we love it even more when they tell us. We just received this awesome testimonial from Mary Smith. She said…”
But don’t stop there! Turn your text testimonial into a visual to share on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. There are quite a few tools to create social-media-friendly visuals, and those images will generate much more visibility because social media algorithms love native visual content,
9. Press materials/speaker materials
If you’re a business owner who likes to “get out there” and speak at conferences, it’s always a good idea to include a sheet with testimonials about you as a speaker and businessman.
10. Auto-responders
Whether you use an email marketing platform that sends out an automatic “welcome” email after someone signs up for your company newsletter or you’re using some sort of lead nurturing software, adding a testimonial to the bottom of these messages is another way to get a big bang for your testimonial buck.
Customer testimonials are incredibly powerful tools for establishing trust and encouraging prospects to take action.
These genuine endorsements showcase the value you offer and build your reputation in a way that no advertisement ever could.
You create a web of social proof that supports your claims by strategically sprinkling them throughout your website, marketing materials, and even everyday communications like email signatures.
Finally, a few tips on how to achieve even better results from your social proof:
- Choose testimonials that emphasise the tangible results, not just vague compliments. If you are an Amazon, a great place to find social proof to promote is the Seller Central of Amazon. Those reviews are usually very factual and on-point.
- Use visuals: Incorporate a headshot or a short video testimonial alongside the written text. This increases authenticity and makes the testimonial more relatable.
- Ask for permission: Ensure your customers know their testimonials will be publicised!
Key Takeaways
- Customer testimonials are social proof in action. Happy customers are your most convincing advocates.
- Be creative with placement. Testimonials aren’t just for your website testimonial page – look for innovative opportunities to feature them.
- Match testimonials to context—target testimonials to specific pages or products for maximum relevance.
- A little goes a long way. Even a short, impactful testimonial can enhance your credibility.
Customer testimonials are invaluable assets for businesses, serving as authentic endorsements of products or services from real individuals who have experienced them firsthand. These testimonials provide social proof, reassuring potential customers about the quality and reliability of a business’s offerings.
They offer insights into the benefits and outcomes that others have achieved, helping to build trust and credibility. Additionally, customer testimonials can address specific pain points or objections that prospects may have, demonstrating how the business effectively addresses customer needs.
By showcasing positive experiences and outcomes, customer testimonials play a crucial role in influencing purchasing decisions and fostering long-term customer relationships.
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