Customer testimonials help to convert visitors to customers

Online consumers are becoming increasingly savvy and when visitors land on an unknown website, it can be a challenge to persuade them to open their wallets for the first time or call an unknown tradesperson.

How can a business counter shoppers’ growing hesitancy to trusting the new online companies they come across?

They key is to build credibility and that starts with customer testimonials, an essential part of building up your on-line business.

Testimonials makes good business sense

Testimonials are one of the most effective types of content you can put on your website. Whether you retweet them from a satisfied customer, solicit them for posting on your blog or offer a review of a company you use and get a review in return, customer testimonials can prove extremely persuasive.

No one likes to be the first in line when it comes to buying a completely new or unfamiliar product. Testimonials and recommendations from previous customers help encourage people to buy your product or invest in your service. They can see that other people have purchased and that they’re raving about it, so it becomes a less risky purchase.

A testimonial reassures them that your product or service is tested, works and, therefore, is safe to buy. They also communicate how many customers you have. You clearly won’t get a referral from everyone who buys from you, but the assumption is that a business with more testimonials has more customers. By adding legitimacy, testimonials help with your conversion rate. They provide that one final push.

What is a quality testimonial?

Testimonials come in an array of sizes, and formats. They can be shorter than a paragraph or a case study and in-depth analysis of a customer’s experience with your business and as long as a full blog post. They can be social media posts or audio or video testimonials.

Testimonials have to be convincing. A testimonial that says, “Great service, great price!” isn’t very specific or convincing. Whereas “Every time I had a question, Geek Free responded immediately, making my marketing efforts so much easier” is much more specific and more likely to persuade.

Many testimonials you come across sound just too good to be true. There’s nothing in them but praise, praise, and a couple more raves on top of that. People will instantly deem them dodgy, so don’t ever be tempted to fake them.

Where do you put testimonials?

  • Testimonials page
    A testimonial page can be one of the greatest assets to your sales and marketing efforts. It serves as a platform to show off how others have benefited from your product or service and is yet another indexed page on your website. Google loves content and because the page will contain product features, pain points, and keywords you’re trying to rank for, it helps your SEO efforts.
    You can name it something like ‘What They’re Saying’ and include an interesting introduction with a targeted keyword followed by a number of quotes from customers, photos, or client logos. The best strategy is to use the most impactful quotes first.
  • Home page content
    Many businesses include testimonials on their homepages, either in text blocks or on sliders. Since many people find businesses through Google searches and land on homepages, this strategy can work well. Other places to include customer testimonials can be on sales and contact pages.

How many testimonials to include on your website?

There’s no magic number here. You might have a single testimonial that comes from a recognised expert, or dozens of testimonials. You could add three quote testimonials, a longform testimonial or a video testimonial.

Different types of testimonials

Quotes

Quote testimonials from a delighted customer are usually accompanied by an image of the person being quoted, the name of the company they work for, a company logo, the date or, if you have permission, an email address.

Case studies

A complete customer story, a case study, is an in-depth analysis of an individual customer’s experience with your business and facts and observations to demonstrate how your products or services benefited them. You can write the customer’s story on their behalf, or they can supply it and it can be shared as a blog post.

Social testimonials

A social testimonial is written by a customer and posted to their social media: a quick tweet, a post on Facebook, or a photo of your product along with a quick compliment on Instagram. A happy customer can simply take out their phone, write an emotional review, and post it for the world to see. Sometimes, you don’t even have to ask them to do so. When you do see customers promoting you, make sure to engage with them. Like their post and share it.

Customer interviews

One of the simplest ways to obtain customer feedback is to ask willing customers to provide it in an interview. Ask for a five-minute interview which you could record. Ask clients to explain their ‘pain point’ and how your product or product solved a problem for them, specifying a benefit they most liked about your product or service. Ask them to highlight an obstacle that could have prevented them from purchasing and why they’d recommend your business. Try using https://otter.ai/ to transcribe the interview and posted it on a landing page or blog. You can add the original audio clip file as well.

Video testimonial

Through video testimonials you can convince prospective customers that your products or service are worth buying. Your audience can see your product or service in action, learn how other people are successfully using it, and get helpful product information.

Testimonials are one of the most important pieces of copy you can put on your website. Are you ready to get your website firing on all cylinders?

Talk to our Geek Free team about making sure your website showcases your business the way it should. Call 0800 686 237.

Free of geek speak

At Geek Free, we pride ourselves on using simple, easy to understand language, hence the name of our company. We won’t bamboozle you with technical jargon to try to confuse you. We’re a team of professional, experienced Auckland web developers, copy writers, and internet marketers who help business owners, like you, achieve big results on the web in an affordable, effective way.