Real Testimonials - Not Blind Faith
Do people believe that the testimonials on your website are real? We often hear people express the view that testimonials on websites are contrived or made up. Sometimes with good reason.
Let me make one thing clear: Made up testimonials do not belong in professional web marketing.
In this “Web 2.0″ world of fast customer feedback, fictitious testimonials will come back to bite you. So, how can you prove that your testimonials are real, spontaneous expressions of gratitude from your customers?
Firstly, the best testimonials are the unsolicited ones, so do a good job, and you’ll get testimonials. Do an exceptional job an you’ll get even more.
Here are a couple of ideas on how to keep the testimonials flowing:
- Do an exceptional job
- Respond well to complaints
- Measure and improve your customer service
- Let customers know that testimonials help your business, and you need their help.
Make it as easy as possible for people to send their feedback, but never apply pressure. If good feedback doesn’t come freely and naturally, then it is contrived.
There are some simple ways that you can improve the acceptance of the testimonials on your website:
- Include scans of real handwritten thank you letters, or email print outs - don’t know why but it just seems more real if its printed
- Include pictures of your clients - using your product if applicable (with their permission of course)
- Include negative comments - demonstrate how you resolved issues and turned a situation around
- Video testimonials - Can be hard to arrange, try the simple things first.
For an eCommerce website you might consider using a product rating and feedback system. However, the implementation of a system like that is not right for every eCommerce website. It’s also a big project that needs to be carefully planned.
Taking small steps to prove that your testimonials are genuine will have a greater effect than having hundreds of testimonials on your website.
Take a look at the testimonials page we were able to create for Block Out Blinds using their customers real feedback here.
From the author: If you regularly advertise for leads in the Yellow Pages®, in the newspaper or on the radio, then there’s a good chance that your website could be generating more leads for you than it is. The key is in your website’s conversion rates.
Yellow Pages® is an Australian registered trade mark of Telstra Corporation Ltd. This company has requested and has been granted permission from Telstra Corporation Ltd to use the Yellow Pages® trade mark. This company is not otherwise associated with Telstra Corporation or any of it’s subsidiaries.
