.png){kind=icon}
Potential customers can be skeptical or even hesitant to trust your brand from the offset. Most go online and research your brand in order to get to know you, and they do that by way of the content you offer. To prove the value of what you have to offer, you should let your happy customers do the talking.
Having a testimonial page serves as a platform to showcase how others have benefited from the products or services your offer, which makes it a powerful tool for establishing trust and encouraging potential buyers to take action. It can also serves as yet another indexed page on your website containing content covering product features, pain points, and keywords you're trying to rank for in #searchengines, making #testimonials an extremely important part of the success of your business.
For all businesses (large and small), the success of the brand depends heavily on word of mouth. Testimonials strengthen your reputation by expressing the trust that other people have in you and your brands offerings. In today’s market your brand is no longer what you say it is, rather what your customers say it is — which is why testimonials are extremely powerful tools when it comes to strengthening your #branding. See our previous blog post on Word-Of-Mouth-Marketing.
In the past, businesses controlled the buying cycle by deciding what consumers would see, when they would see it, and where but now consumers have become more empowered. Nowadays, consumers might already be half way through the buying cycle before they even reach out to a company so whilst companies continue to invest time and money into their social channels, consumers are conducting Google searches or coming directly to your site via word of mouth — more than your various social channels.
So how do ensure that you are investing your time and money in the right places, when you have no idea where a majority of your consumers are at any given time? Here are some Pretty Vicious tips.
CATER TO YOUR CUSTOMERS
The key is to cater to the consumer cycle. Remember, they’re the ones in control — not you or your brand. Learn more about lifecycles.
KNOW HOW TO USE YOuR TESTIMONIALS
Talk to your customers about participating in case studies. Case studies show your consumers exactly how others are using your product or service to their benefit, and since they’re conducted with client approval, they carry much more weight than the generic marketing collateral.
SHOWCASE POSITIVE CUSTOMER FEEDBACK FROM SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUR WEBSITE
While it would appear that social media doesn’t drive the amount of traffic to websites as previously thought, social is still an incredible platform for collecting client feedback. It’s instant! So if someone praises your brand, don’t let be missed. Embed it on your site for others to see, or if you have enough testimonials create an entire page devoted to client feedback collected via your social sites.
CREATE CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL VIDEOS
Approach a few of your customers to ask if they’d like to participate in a #videotestimonial. Whist videos take more time to make; they are one of the most credible forms of customer endorsement because the words are literally coming straight from the customer’s mouth. Not only that, but videos require very little time to watch, as opposed to written testimonials which involve a greater time to read.
ENCOURAGE AND INCENTIVISE YOUR CUSTOMERS TO WRITE REVIEWS
If you’re confident in your product or service, your customers should be too. Encourage them to write reviews about their experiences with your product and support team. Many of them would probably write these reviews unprompted, but they often need a little push toward the appropriate outlets and you incentivise them by offering a discount code, free eBook or free gift e.t.c.
VERIFY YOUR TESTIMONIALS ARE GENUINE
If possible, try to verify that the testimonials you have are actually written by your customers. Never fabricate customer feedback; it’s not a good look! It doesn’t need to come from a customer of yours necessarily. Testimonials can come from several different people.
DECIDE WHERE TO PLACE YOUR TESTIMONIALS
There are many opportune places where you can put testimonials for example your #blog, #website, brochures, sales pages, #pressreleases, #directmail letters and of course #socialmedia. Most importantly as soon as you receive a new testimonial, make sure you share it with as many people as possible in as many places as possible. Strategic and intelligent use of testimonials can go a long way in promoting your business. The more online visibility and stronger reputation you have and continue to maintain, the stronger your business will become. Effective testimonials do more than proclaim your greatness, they resonate with your target audience, and the people who could also potentially benefit from the products and services you offer in the future.
That's why great testimonials also tell a story — one that inspires and motivates the people reading it, get in touch with a Pretty Vicious expert to discuss your testimonial strategy.
For more on inbound marketing insights, sign up to our newsletter to get cost-effective marketing ideas and stay on top of industry trends affecting your brand.
Until next time...
