Persuasion is an art, and like any other art form, it requires tools to be fully expressed. It plays a vital part in the world of marketing, and testimonials, one of the most powerful tools in this area, shatter any doubt a potential client may have about your product or service.
It’s safe to say we’ve all encountered them in today’s time and it’s clear they’ve been one of the vital factors which swayed our decisions.
Why testimonials work
“If the rest of the world jumped off a cliff, would you?”
Common amongst parents, this phrase is a great example of social proof: a vital factor in marketing of any kind. There are many different types of social proof, but its core is the belief that a choice is accurate simply because the majority is choosing it.
Social proof is a part of the human psyche, and although it doesn’t necessarily mean blindly following others, it is an effective way of decision making. Time is precious, and reading reviews on a product provides you with a second hand experience. This power of social proof is what makes testimonials a crucial factor in your marketing strategy.
Social proof only affects people who identify with the person giving the testimonial.
An expert opinion will affect your choice if you hold that expert in high regard – if this expert influences you. Celebrities greatly influence audiences with brands and products they use. They are strong influencers, which is why most companies will gladly have them endorsing their products. It also explains the reason behind the unreasonable fact why a footballer earns more money than a soldier.
Friends are also very powerful influencers because we identify with them: one of the main reasons why social media plays a big part of the online marketing strategy.
The most difficult part about getting great testimonials is finding people who are willing to talk about their challenges before they used your solution.
Pamela Wilson from bigbrandsystem.com says It’s important to have this information because it allows you to show the full transformation people go through. It makes their results seem more believable.
Your marketing material is a magic mirror. When clients look into the mirror, they see themselves. If they like what they see, they want to jump into the mirror and become a part of that world – your world.
Empower your social proof: Add images, videos or even links to your customers’ websites. This will greatly increase the credibility of your testimonials.
Structure of an effective testimonial
Testimonials typically depend on the consumer, however, this doesn’t mean you can’t give the testimonial a structure and make it more appealing to the newcomer. The key information packed in a rich story is the main goal of any testimonial: be it in written form or a video testimonial, there are a few easy guidelines to follow.
A good testimonial contains three main ingredients.
Similarity immediately pulls the readers in by providing them with a situation they know. If a professional novelist is having a problem, it will be easily understood by other individuals of the same or similar profession. The problem itself provides another factor of relation and shows the viewer that there are others with this issue, which increases the odds of a solution for that issue. The solution lands the final blow by providing a clear path to resolving this issue.
Here’s what an exemplary testimonial should look like:
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If visitors don’t identify with the testimonial or the problem mentioned in it, the solution will be pointless: They simply won’t care. It is vital for the viewer to see themselves in your message, otherwise it’s a pointless effort.
As you see above, the path doesn’t have to be perfectly linear and pin-point the problem: it can be pointed out by describing a solution. In addition, even though it’s vital, the style and format of your testimonial is not as important as the content: this is one piece of information your visitors will genuinely want to see. Here’s a collection of awesome testimonial examples for you, and as you’ll notice, each with a unique style.
Avoid simplicity and anonymity
You don’t want either of the two in any of your testimonials.
An anonymous testimonial is a waste of space. In today’s time, we all (sadly) fall under one label or another, starting with a name. A testimonial without any relatable label immediately loses its effect: one of the most common mistakes.
Simplicity has no room in a testimonial. Such information holds very little meaning to the visitor. It is not relatable and it certainly doesn’t provide any useful information.
AVOID YES OR NO QUESTIONS!
If you take a look at the questions we mentioned, you’ll see they provide you with great information, but also information which a new customer would genuinely want to see. Simple praises might make you look better, but it will hardly motivate a new customer to do anything.
Getting testimonials: The direct approach
Influence the outcome by asking the right questions.
The questions in a good testimonial always follow a similar path, despite varying from business to business. Each testimonial wants to reach the same goal: get the client to tell their story.
The first of two types of testimonials we’ll discuss in the article advises you to expect your consumers to be lazy. To motivate them in providing you with quality feedback, you need to give them guidelines they can follow.
Construct specific questions which can be answered easily. Asking “What do you think of the product?” will rarely provide you with an answer you’re looking for. Specific questions target a specific piece of information:
- What problem did you hope this product would solve?
- How has this product helped you in solving that problem?
- Which feature did you like the most?
- Would you recommend this product? If so, why?
- Was there anything you disliked?
- What has your experience with our customer service/products been like?
Ask your customers for their work history and background. Not only does it provide you with useful information, it also makes your customers comfortable. We all like talking about ourselves and that’s the bait at the start of the email which catches everyone’s attention.
Getting all information out can take a long time. Some people pre-write them to speed up the process. We asked Larry Levenson @sensiblemktg from sensible marketing how they get testimonials faster. His tip:
Sometimes, if we just want a quote (as opposed to enough information to write a mini case study), we write a sample testimonial for someone, and ask them to review and change it as they wish. This usually results in us getting exactly the quote we want, and the turn-around time is fast. [su_tweet url=”https://www.maerketing.com/saas-testimonials/” via=”till_carlos” tweet=”Pre-writing testimonial samples are the way to get them faster, according to @sensiblemktg”]Tweet this[/su_tweet]
Getting testimonials: The indirect approach
Your testimonials can be sent directly, providing your clients with a list of questions they should answer or even a single question. In the scenario we’ve seen so far, it’s clear what the intention of the email is, however, the client may feel uneasy in providing you with the information you want or your email might even go ignored.
Start with a conversation
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“…I’d love to know more about your experience with…” provides a more personal approach and doesn’t restrain your client. Meanwhile, if you send an official request for a testimonial, your clients may feel stressed to respond appropriately, which could even result in them giving up on the response. With a more personal approach, you’re essentially chatting with your client and gaining relevant data.
Communication is always beneficial and it makes your connection to the customer more complex.
It and encourages loyalty, provides information and simply strengthens your connection to your customers, even if it’s not for the purpose of a testimonial.
If you’re calling your clients for feedback, be sure to write down their comments for future reference. With emails you can always backtrack, but the point is, once you’ve gathered enough material to form a great testimonial, ask the client for permission to publish that information on your site. (For more detail, check out the SPURF system.)
End with a testimonial
This approach demands more dedication on your part to reach the final goal, however, the testimonial will definitely be rich in information in the end. The very word testimonial is only mentioned in the final follow-up to your client. At that point they feel more comfortable and will provide you with additional information, should you need it.
Lincoln Murphy wrote a phenomenal article about getting testimonials without even asking for them; definitely worth the read.
Where to put them?
Testimonials should be easily accessible to new visitors. Place them on the homepage: the sidebar or above the headline for instance. You can include excerpts and comments from the testimonials next to your products, all around the site.
Enhance your landing page: Testimonials are one of the vital components of a good landing page.
You can even set up a specific page on your site to showcase detailed testimonials, all in one spot. If you do create the page, you can still place an occasional comment on other pages to ensure your visitors will find positive feedback for your product or service.
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We found a great testimonials page on londonbusinesscoaching.com and decided to ask them for general guidelines. Here’s what Bryn Hopewell had to say:
- A company logo makes a testimonial look more legitimate
- As does a photograph (the larger and more professional looking the better)
- You might consider including a url to the company’s website
- Professionally shot video is always going to be believable (who’s realistically going to hire actors in order to fake a video testimonial?)
For more, check out 15 awesome examples of website testimonials.
In summation
- Your visitors can identify with a good testimonial.
- Avoid simple and anonymous testimonials: they are not credible.
- Avoid asking yes or no questions.
- Don’t use customer testimonials without their permission.
- Make your testimonials easily accessible on your website.
In addition, do not create fake testimonials. This is one of primary testimonial crimes you can commit! Whilst you may think this could benefit you, it has the risk of hurting your reputation, and it can also affect you personally. Testimonials are a mark of success, and you shouldn’t lie to reach that success.
Guiding testimonials in a certain direction is acceptable. You can form a testimonial and simply ask the client if they agree with it, as we discussed in the indirect method above. Although not as direct, this method is better than deliberate lying.
Out of curiosity, in the mentioned circumstance, did you too answer the first question in this article with a yes?
Images by Jurgen Appelo, d’s2nd
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