Customer testimonials are a powerful marketing tool that can be used to increase consumer confidence and conversion rates. In order to get the most impact from the testimonials you should follow some simple guidelines.
1) A Picture is worth a Thousand Words
Many websites have customer testimonials on the site. The vast majority just put a quote with the name of the person who made it. Though this is acceptable, it is not the way to get maximum impact.
One thing you can do that is easy and effective is to add a photo of the person who gave the testimonial. This personalizes it and has much greater impact on the person reading it. It also takes away some of the wonder as to whether or not the testimonial is genuine or made up.
You will need to request permission from the person to include his/her picture, however, if they had a good experience with your company they may be more than happy to do so.
2) A Video is worth a Million Words
Video testimonials are the most effective. A person speaking about your company or product is much more personal and has much more impact than a quote to read.
People will be more prone to watching short video clips than reading several quotes.
Make sure the video is not over-the-top and is an honest and sincere testimonial. Most people can read through staged or insincere testimonials. They will invariably do more harm than good.
If the person giving the testimonial mentions his/her name and company, it will have even greater impact than a video that does not contain this information.
The testimonials should be amateur quality, rather than professionally done. Professionally done testimonials may make people question their integrity.
3) What should be said in the Testimonial?
Do not write a testimonial for someone, let them write it directly. In fact, you should not even suggest to them what to include. It will be more natural and sincere if the testimonial is given in their words. You should ask them to speak about their experience with the company, your products and services. Tell them they are free to say anything they wish.
You want them to be honest. Their honesty will go a long way towards building consumer confidence.
The testimonials should not say anything negative about any specific competitors. If they wish to compare you to the competition they should not name the competitor(s) specifically. Bashing the competition always has a negative impact even if it is in a client testimonial.
4) How Many Should I Have?
If your testimonials are written, you can have one or two pages on your site dedicated to them. If you are able to get video testimonials, get as many as you can. The more thumbnails you can put of client testimonials the more impressed a potential client will be.
Consumer confidence will skyrocket in a company that has many video testimonials. Chances are your site visitors will only watch 2 or 3 of them, but the overall impact of seeing that there are many can be quite effective.
The key is you want people to know that your company has a solid reputation and consumers have had such a good experience that they have been willing to take the time and energy to give a testimonial.
Tags: customer testimonials