How To Use Testimonials » Atlanta Web Design
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Marketing Monday # 21 – How To Use Testimonials To Sell Your Business

Testimonials are the single biggest selling point for your small business.  Do your customers tell you how great your product or service is?  Do they tell you they don’t know what they did before they began using your product or service? These are your testimonials!  If you are not using them, you are missing out on a big marketing advantage.

Testimonials allow people to see that “real people” gained a benefit from your business.  Seeing words from someone else about your product or service sends a bigger message than any of your marketing efforts.  The reason is simple; it’s someone other than you, presumably, with no bias or selling point.  These people just want to let you know the (great) affect your business had on them.

Good and Bad Testimonials

There is such a thing as good and bad testimonials.  Bad testimonials are generic and, many times, simply portray a feeling and/or thought.  Let’s look at a “bad” example.

BAD: “I love your service! It’s great.  Thanks so much for all of your help.”

A good testimonial provides information about how your product or service benefited the person.  It states how your method made them feel or how it helped them.  Another key ingredient is if the person is open to referring your business.  If your testimonials do not include this information you may not want to use them.

Let’s look at “good” example:

GOOD: “Your product is so amazing.  After using it for two weeks, I am able to see the changes in my life.  I utilize my time productively and get more things done in a day than I have ever been able.  I would estimate that my productivity has increased by 50%.  Your customer service is more than helpful and eagerly answered every question I had.  What a great experience.  I have already told my friends that they must buy your product!”

One way of ensuring that you receive a good testimonial is to leave your customer with a card or send a follow up email with specific questions that lead to what you’re looking for.  These would be questions such as:

  • How did this product improve your life?
  • Would you recommend us to people in your circle?

There are also some other guidelines to think about when deciding to use a testimonial.  These guidelines keep you within the law and avoid fabrication

  • Ensure your testimonials are truthful.  Do not alter or add to the testimonial in any way.
  • If a customer experienced unusual results the law requires that you post a statement indicating what the typical results are.
  • If you solicited a testimonial in exchange for providing a free a sample of your product or service you must disclose this on the site.  Either the person writing the testimonial can include it in the body of the testimonial or you must add a disclaimer outlining the exchange.
  • Lastly, obtain permission to use the testimonial on your website, even if it is posted on a review site such as Google reviews or Yelp.

There are a number of ways to incorporate testimonials on your site; however, we are just listing a few options.  You can do any one or combination of the following.  Let’s look at a few of them.

  • Include them on every page, preferably in direct eye line of a “call to action” or a prominent location on the page.
  • Create a testimonials page to highlight all of your testimonials.
  • Create video or audio of your testimonials to post on your site

Using testimonials is an effective way to sell your business and your website is the perfect and appropriate venue to highlight them.  This week, why don’t you take some time to review your use of testimonials to ensure that you are effectively utilizing them?  We are also available to help you maximize them on your site so contact us today.