In a world where there are ads everywhere you look, and claims to do this and that, how can you trust the product or service you want to purchase? Showing strong testimonials is a great way to back up what you say and help convert possible buyers into a sale. It builds trust with your buyers and acts as a form of social proof, letting your customers do the work for you. Satisfied, genuine testimonials are as good as gold and all businesses should work on collecting this valuable information.

Couldn’t Have Said it Better Myself

The use of testimonials is the skill of harnessing positive customer experiences to promote a brand, product, or service. A testimonial will often hold greater value than anything you could say about your brand yourself. According to Big Commerce, “92% of customers read online reviews before buying”. How does your business stack up to the competition? These reviews will often be compared to the competition directly to evaluate their options and ultimately make a decision.

Testimonials build credibility and trust among your customers in the middle of the sales funnel. Our research shows that “72% of consumers will take action only after reading a positive review ”. Testimonials also increase web traffic by 45% compared to those without testimonials. These positive increases happen when you strategically place them in the right way according to the sales funnel to make the most of this valuable asset.

How Testimonials Affect Purchase Decisions

After you have collected as many high-quality testimonials as you can, it is important to have a plan for them and strategically use them by following the sales funnel. Understanding where and how potential customers behave depending on where they are within their purchase journey is critical. As a reminder, the sales funnel below shows the awareness, consideration, conversion and repeat stages. While sales funnels have some variation by industry, the general guidelines still hold true.

Testimonials can live in a variety of places such as landing pages, product pages, ads, email campaigns etc. The goal is to further support the benefits and value proposition that your service or product offers. In order to have a fully functional funnel, you will need to evaluate the timing in the purchase journey, the type of content you will be sharing and where. Sharing the wrong information too late or too early will lessen the impact of strategy and results.

For example, let's say a customer is at the top of the funnel and in the very beginning stages. This person most likely has little to no understanding of your business and what it offers. They will need to at least gain some awareness of the brand and the business itself. At this initial stage, a testimonial will hold little value and will not provide very much support to a prospect.

When looking to target potential customers in the middle of the funnel (the consideration and conversion stages) there will already be some familiarity with your business or product offerings. This is when it’s a great opportunity to integrate testimonials into your ad and content strategy. It is at this point that a lead takes more interest in what the business has to offer. You will want to start thinking about what information is needed to get in front of the lead in order to move them toward wanting the product or service and ultimately actioning what they want and making a purchase.

Types of Testimonials

Testimonials can come in many forms and it’s better to have some variety. Interestingly, according to Forbes, “70% of marketers say video converts better than any other medium”. However, different types of testimonials can be used on landing pages, in email campaigns, on product pages etc. You may have seen them before in the form of UGC, videos on an ad or testimonial page, podcast, Google review, in a grid on a testimonial page, paid ads and more. Google reviews are often seen as more credible than other testimonial types such as a website testimonial page. This is due to the fact they are on a trusted third-party platform and therefore seen as less biased and more trustworthy. In this way, testimonial marketing lets you scale the power of word of mouth across your marketing.

How To Collect Testimonials

According to Big Commerce, “88% of consumers trust online testimonials and reviews as much as recommendations from friends or family”. So how do you ask for them? There are several things to consider and avenues to take in order to collect quality testimonials.

1.Timing

Think about where your customer would be in the purchase journey and determine when it would be an appropriate time to reach out. Ideally, it would be when a customer is satisfied and has experienced success with your product or service. Determine what success would look like with your product or service and when that would be. Right after purchase? 30 days? 60 days? Another opportunity would be at the end of a quarter or year.

2. Automation or manually sending

Deciding whether to automate or manually send your requests depends on your level of connection and interaction with the customer or client. Automation may be a better route if you sell something online with limited interaction. If you sold a service and worked closely with the customer, consider manually sending the request. Additionally, depending on your answer to the timing question above, it may be easier to keep track of automated sends.

3. Should I provide an incentive?

Sometimes it helps to incentivize customers to submit a testimonial. This can be through discount codes for future products, monetary offers like a gift card, company products or swag. Keep in mind that genuine testimonials from satisfied customers are always the best.

4. Make it easy - provide options!

Always give options for customers to provide a testimonial. Whether it's a short video, a small paragraph, a video interview, a social takeover or UGC, enable them to give you a review despite the format.

5. Thought starters

Oftentimes people would give you a review but don’t know what to say or how to articulate their thoughts. Thought starters are a great way to help your customers write some really good content. The goal is to keep it genuine so it is relatable for other customers. Open-ended questions are better than closed so you can avoid one-word answers and allow them to dive deeper. For example, what features did you enjoy most about our product?

6. Create a testimonial page on your website

As you are collecting more and more testimonials, you should consider starting your testimonial page for your website. Here you can provide a variety of testimonials including videos and videos dedicated to your glowing reviews. Providing a variety of testimonials that highlight the different values of your product is recommended. You want to hit an area that all different customers can relate to or find value in.

7. Right back at ya! - Link backing

Another great option rather than providing incentives is offering a link back to their website or socials. Your SEO customers will love to hear this or those who aren’t will just appreciate the increased traffic to their pages. This may also incentivize other customers to leave you a review.

8. Teamwork makes the dream work

Consider co-writing a testimonial for those with limited time. This helps to control what is being highlighted and makes sure your core values are getting across; however, keep it as authentic to the customers as possible.

9. Short and sweet

Lastly, make sure to inform your potential testimonial writers that it doesn’t need to be a huge time commitment. Often, the time it takes to write one can deter people from doing it. Let them know a few sentences are great or that it will only take 5 minutes. The more genuine and appreciative you are, the more likely someone will take time out of their day to write one for you.

Should I Incentivize All My Testimonials?

As mentioned above, sometimes incentivizing a testimonial can help bring more in. There are a few cautions to consider when doing this. There are pros and cons to rewarding customers for testimonials. According to Opt-In Monster, “40 or more reviews are needed before consumers will consider a star rating accurate ” however other research shows that “73% of consumers read six or fewer reviews before making a decision”. This tells us the importance and quality of each testimonial is very important. Each one should be strong and provide detail. This is why the risk of incentivizing could leave customers reviewing quickly for the reward and not taking the time to provide a helpful testimonial. Each testimonial should be strong and provide details. Evaluate your need to incentivize based on quality and volume. When requesting a testimonial, be specific about the kind of feedback you’re looking for and ask for permission to use the testimonial in your marketing materials.

What Does a Good Testimonial Look Like

We have talked a lot about collecting quality testimonials, but what do those look like? The basic components of what makes up a good testimonial include:

1.Speaking to specific features and benefits

You want to make sure the product value comes through by highlighting specific benefits or features. This helps to provide more information and stand out from the competition.

2. Quality over quantity

Shortness and quality are more important than something longer just for length. It is easier and faster to read for those going through reviews.

3. Humanize the testimonial

Use name and face if possible to humanize it and make it more believable. This could be putting the name, business and photo icon of the testimonial provider.

4. Feel relatable and authentic.

The best testimonials are relatable. Being relatable is the most beneficial to help people connect and move them further down the purchase funnel. Being authentic and descriptive in the testimonial helps the reader relate to the review the most.

Amplifying the Impact of Word of Mouth

Testimonials are a powerful tool that can come in many formats. Trust your product or service and predict the customer's success after purchase. Make sure to evaluate your lead timing in the purchase funnel and strategically place it for your potential customers to see. Kindly asking, emailing or messaging a request for a testimonial that shares your genuine appreciation, is the best way to start collecting reviews. Make it easy and emphasize the small amount of time it takes to write it, but also highlight how much it means to the business. If you would like to learn more about writing a testimonial request or how to get them in front of the right people at the right time, reach out to us!

Sources:

https://boast.io/20-statistics-about-using-testimonials-in-marketing/

https://vocalvideo.com/resources/testimonial-marketing/

https://adchief.io/social-media-advertising-tips/2018/06/use-customer-testimonials-sales-funnel/

https://blog.hubspot.com/service/testimonial-request-template

https://www.powerreviews.com/reviews-influence-purchase-behavior-funnel/

https://www.searchenginewatch.com/2016/09/06/how-a-customer-reviews-strategy-can-impact-seo/

https://www.yotpo.com/blog/reviews-seo/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2015/09/10/using-video-in-marketing-why-wouldnt-you/

https://optinmonster.com/social-proof-statistics/

https://www.vendasta.com/blog/50-stats-you-need-to-know-about-online-reviews