Reputation Management – Tips for Using Testimonials
Your prospects want to know what other customers think of
their experience with you before buying, booking or signing up. And they’ll go
wherever they need to go to find out. Hence the growth of online review sites
like Yelp.com. If you sell in the B2B space, you may be faced with providing
references, another form of testimonial.
Making customer testimonials available on your own web properties is a great
way to keep shoppers and prospects engaged on your site while you provide credible
feedback from others.
We were recently asked by owners of a web site promoting cabin
rentals in Georgia how they could best integrate the testimonials they had
collected, either in their web site or blog. The tips we provided can apply
across a range of industries, so see the takeaway points of our discussion
below:
We just received a message from a couple who took advantage of nearly all the
Fighting Town Creek area has to offer, from golf to canoeing to delectable apple
pastries. Seems J.B. even found how cold the river is in December – the hard
way! See what this couple thought of their stay with us below…
“Just a note to share how enjoyable it was for us staying at River Lodge
(which is part of the Rainbow cabins). What a fantastic area to get close to
nature, God and all the wildlife there. This beautiful cabin in the woodsy
atmosphere on Fighting town creek was the perfect place to read, relax, or just
enjoy family and friends. We saw several deer, racoons and wanted to see a bear
but missed out. The hot tub was very relaxing and everybody must try it in
December when there is snow on the ground. Loved all the Video games and became
quite proficient at the golf game. Speaking of golf, Butternut Golf course in
Blairsville offers a challenge to those who love the game. For the more
adventuresome type, try canoeing down fighting town creek but I must warn you
that the water is very cold. I found out the hard way.
If you enjoy apples, fried apple pies and apple fritters like I do then you
must visit Mercier Apple house just down the road. Yummy. We are looking forward
to our next stay at the Riverlodge, maybe when the fall color is at its peak.”
Sincerely
J.B. Smith & Judy Smith
Stone Reuning is president and founder of SEO Advantage, Inc., an online marketing firm and website optimization company that helps businesses turn their websites into powerful lead and revenue generation tools.
Beginning with a focus on search engine optimization in 1999, SEO Advantage now brings a full multi-disciplinary approach to each client website. Clients enjoy dominance on Google, Yahoo and Bing through a suite of unique pay-for-performance search engine optimization and online marketing services. Experts in SEO, social media optimization, online reputation management, and website conversions work hand-in-hand with small business owners and client marketing departments providing complete copywriting and creative web design support.
You’ll find SEO Advantage referenced in books such as Writing Web-Based Advertising Copy to Get the Sale and the BusinessWeek bestseller The New Rules of Marketing & PR, as well as popular ebooks like The Small Business Blogging Blueprint.
Hi,
Thanks for the very well written and informative article.
What I would like to add is that testimonial works best when it given in the middle of the conversation and within the context of what is being explained.
For example, if in the sales page you are making a point about how the widget is going to save cost then immediately following it, there should be a testimonial where a customer is talking about how much money he saved using the widget. That makes more sense to the prospect and helps reinforce the idea that you are trying to communicate.
Mukul Gupta
I have seen many companies placing testimonials and too surprise basically in SEO industry, they are not much true ones and never seem like submitted by the clients.
Testimonials are great way to having build good reputation and can increase actual sale….
Nice write up. I like the idea of having users submit photos (especially of themselves, to add a personal touch) but that’s a level of involvement that most folks won’t go for.
I’m curious about your ideas of bolding text, and tweaking formatting. How much leeway do you take when editing or pruning the testimonials? I’m nervous about misrepresenting people, so I always present them “as-is.”
Mukul…..yes right they should not look like self manipulated
Sorry but I don’t think you go deep enough on this.
Persuasion Psychology tells us a lot about ways to use testimonials effectively be they authoritative or personal. Current best practices around the role of ratings and unedited “real time” testimonials indicate that when used properly, these are more compelling than the ones you describe.
In my experience testing involving direct user tests I find that testimonials are rarely considered unless there is an objective range of views expressed. There is universal skepticism around testimonials. We have even found “video testimonials” to get a mixed range of response. Even great testimonials aren’t worth much on a site with poor usability, incomplete content or unprofessional graphic presentation.
It also matters greatly who your target audience is. Certain personas (software developers for example) require a significantly different treatment then the general public.
It is very hard to write articles like these, (at least for me cause i write a column myself) but I do suggest that you not hesitate to go a little deeper.
I enjoy reading your column, hope you don’t mind.
Great comments. I respect your news letters and insight.
BUT… 🙂
The info you mention in this article is what we ALL wish we had. in a perfect world.
Of course we want REAL testimonials, right from the actual source, with no editing, and with all their real names and info. (can you say – Holy Grail – ! )
However, in the real world…. The only people who post feedback on open blogs are folks with negative feedback. and/or marketing their own agendas.
All Possitive comments/feedback I have gotten, has been verbal, (phone call) or in an email. I do not feel comfortable asking customer if I can use their quotes and personal info as advertising tools. It makes my business look desperate and I feel, it is a betrayal of trust. The last thing I want to do it alienate good, satisfied repeat happy customers..
SO… While What you suggest is great! I don’t see how to actually do it.
Please enlighten me if I am missing something.
Regards,
Amy
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