Successful lead generation is comprised of many interconnected tactics, all working together to build interest in your brand. Testimonials can perform many functions as part of a robust lead generation campaign. Here are just a few of the ways testimonials can take your lead generation to the next level, as well as some tactics for implementing testimonials successfully in your next campaign.
Build Trust
Trust is the biggest deciding factor when it comes to whether or not someone will purchase from your business. Having believable testimonials in place helps to reassure potential customers that they are making a good choice.
How to implement: Use testimonials on pages that discuss results, outcomes, or key benefits.
Illustrate Value
Testimonials are an excellent way to demonstrate the value of your product or service in a context that drives home the experience for potential buyers. When customers talk about how your product or service helped them in a particular scenario, people in similar situations will feel confident that you can help them as well.
How to implement: Use testimonials on pages that provide statistics or case studies.
Personalize Your Brand
Hearing from real people makes your company more approachable. Testimonials coupled with employee or management profiles can make potential customers feel like they know you, and your brand, on a deeper level. This makes it easier to build trust and close the sale.
How to implement: Use testimonials in the form of a story in your email newsletters and sales pages.
Set Expectations
A well-written testimonial acts as a demonstration of how your product or service works. In so doing, testimonials create expectations of similar experiences for those who purchase. Because of this, it’s important to choose testimonials that reflect realistic outcomes rather than stellar edge cases. This also helps build trust as you are promising things you truly can deliver instead of pie-in-the-sky best case results.
How to implement: Use relevant testimonials on pages with product demos.
Getting Good Testimonials from Customers
The key to making testimonials work for your business is to ensure that the testimonials on your site are believable, relevant, and engaging. While this can be challenging, there are some techniques you can use to improve your chances of getting a great testimonial from your current customers:
ASK SHORTLY AFTER A “WINNING MOMENT”
If you provide a service, this will likely be right after the initial service is completed, when customers are most likely to be happy/excited by the results. Give your customers the option to provide a review in that moment, while the experience is fresh on their minds.
ASK FOR EXPLANATIONS IN SURVEYS AND PRODUCT REVIEWS
If you are taking surveys to measure customer satisfaction, include a section for customer comments and thoughts. People who are already engaged enough to fill out a survey are more likely to give you detailed information.
On your product review pages, having a section for customer comments can lead to impressive testimonials as well.
SET UP A TIMED EMAIL AFTER A PRODUCT HAS BEEN DELIVERED
Whether or not you have a product review page, it’s a good idea to reach out to customers after their order has been delivered to be sure they are satisfied with the purchase. Set up an automated email to reach out to those customers and get their feedback.
SCHEDULE FOLLOW-UP REVIEWS TO ENSURE CUSTOMERS REMAIN PLEASED
If your product or service requires an ongoing subscription, consider asking your most loyal customers to provide a testimonial that includes why they’ve stuck with you for so long. By keeping your customer base happy, you make your company more attractive to clients looking for a long-term solution.
Places to Use Testimonials on Your Website
Getting great testimonials is only the first step. Once you’ve gotten feedback from your customers, it’s important to place these testimonials in places where they will have the most impact. Here are just a few examples of ways to use testimonials on specific webpages:
- Checkout pages: testimonials can provide reassurance during the checkout process, for people who are on the fence about going through with a purchase.
- Comparison pages: any page that compares your product or service to the competition can be strengthened by using testimonials from people who chose your brand specifically.
- Landing pages: having testimonials on pages used for ad campaigns is another way to use social proof to increase conversions, as they build trust in website visitors that are new to your site.
Need help implementing testimonials on your site?
Getting high quality testimonials takes dedication to an ongoing process that nurtures feedback from customers. Contact us and we’ll help you put together a campaign to boost engagement and increase the number of testimonials you receive for your product or service.
