Nothing can match glowing testimonials for potential positive impact.
As a customer, it’s one thing hearing about how amazing an experience can be, or how great an impact a solution can have, from the provider. Of course they’re going to say that.
Yet receiving that exact same message, this time from a happy client, takes the comments to a whole other level.
“92% of customers read online testimonials before buying.”
“72% of consumers say positive testimonials and reviews increase their trust in a business.”
Big Commerce
Testimonials are one of the most important things you can put on your website, landing page, sales emails or any other kind of communication.
They give your audience both confidence and peace of mind.
The vast majority want to read testimonials to confirm that people like them have been in the same position they find themselves in. Most importantly, they want to know how your organisation helped others achieve the outcome they desired.
“Customer testimonials have the highest effectiveness rating for content marketing at 89%.”
Social Fresh
Testimonials can so often provide the final push needed to convince prospects your product or service is the right one for them.
What Makes A Great Testimonial?
Whilst differing from reviews, which can occasionally be unpredictable despite your best efforts, testimonials allow you to cherry pick the best, most compelling, stories to share with your audience.
They are the social proof that what you claim to be able to do is accurate.
So how do you build a testimonial that will have your ideal customers chomping at the bit to have a slice of your offering?
According to Sean D’Souza’s extensive research on the psychology of testimonials, the winning formula contains three key ingredients. They are:
The Before (the client’s hesitation prior to the purchase).
The before stage shares the doubts, difficulties, and negative emotions the customer felt before they purchased your product or service.
The After (the client’s ‘discovery’ after the purchase).
The after stage shares the results they got after using your product. It covers how you helped your customer eliminate the negative situation they were going through.
The Experience (the emotional response).
The experience states how your customer felt after they achieved the result they got from using your product. Did they feel more confident, knowledgeable, or happier? Share these emotions here.
Following this structure enables you to create a compelling narrative in which your offering is the star of the show. It is everything you claim come to life in a real, tangible example.
Collecting Testimonials
The impact is proven and the structure provided, the last piece of the puzzle is to identify how and where to collect your stories of success.
First and foremost, you need to ensure the customer experience which you are providing is worth shouting about in the first place.
We’ve previously written extensively on how this can be improved and the importance of doing so. But the bottom line is without having an outstanding customer experience in place, your testimonials are going to struggle to “wow” your audience.
Once you’re providing a service so good customers are willing to confirm your claims, it’s time to start creating.
Testimonials can be made in a variety of formats, located on your own domains or sites like Capterra. Whether grounded in text, video, images or a combination of all three, make sure you put them in the public eye for all to see.
Research from Insivia identified that…
“90% of users say that seeing a video about a product is helpful for making decisions.”
Insivia
However, videos are often the most challenging medium to collect.
As an easy way of starting out, consider sending automated satisfaction surveys to customers a month after they’ve purchased. This will encourage them to share their opinions on their experience and provide you with a solid foundation to share the stories that show you in the best light.
Whichever way you choose to share your client success stories, the main gain is to start doing so in the first place.
Any company can write compelling marketing collateral. Only the best can rely on their own customers to do it for them.
Intrigued to learn more? Check out our Insights Hub to keep your business at the cutting edge.
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- June 10th, 2021