Testimonials and Your Business

Kristine Jacobson

Testimonials are the most important tool in your arsenal to market your business.

Testimonials add validity to your business - and to your products or services - by speaking to your audience in an unbiased, empathetic way. If you’ve never considered using them, it’s time to recognize their powerful potential.

Why Do Testimonials Work?

It's unfortunate, but we live in an era of sophisticated scam artists. In the good old days, a professional website could convince clients that you were a legitimate business. Now, scammers go to great lengths to fool people.
Because of all the deception out there, customers are leery of taking your words at face value. They will research your business through your website, social channels, and word-of-mouth in an attempt to substantiate your claims. Testimonials help to shorten that examination period by serving as impartial referrals. Potential customers will read them and – if they’re good – feel as if your business is being recommended to them by a friend.

What Can Testimonials Do for Your Business?

Let’s say that you are in the market for a new vacuum cleaner, so you visit Amazon to see what they have. Do you read the reviews? There’s a good chance that you do – and they impact your buying decision.
Reviews and testimonials are similar creatures. Even though reviews may be more objective, testimonials can still give your audience honest feedback about your business.

Testimonials can:

Make your business sound genuine. If a third party points out that you are who you say you are – and do what you claim you do – then it immediately makes your business seem more trustworthy.
Inform potential customers of your expertise, skill, or quality. It’s hard to toot your own horn without sounding obnoxious or too salesy. If someone toots it for you, though, it sounds impressive.
Serve as another way to engage your current loyal customers. Engagement is key to keeping customers around. If you ask for testimonials in a way that causes your customers to feel appreciated, they will feel like they are valued – and partners in your success.

What Do You Want in Your Testimonials?

The best testimonials share what your current customers think of your products or services in a way that:

Details the advantages of using your product or service in an inspiring way
Corroborates what you say your business does or can do
Speaks to your audience in a relatable voice
Positively compares you to competitors

How Do You Make Your Testimonials Work for You?

Once you’ve collected some testimonials, you need to come up with a strategy for using them. Testimonials are typically written, but videos are becoming increasingly popular and can be extremely influential if done well. Regardless of the format, you need to make them a significant part of your digital and physical presence.

Testimonials should go on:

Your website – Whether they have their own full page or are on a sidebar on every page, make sure customers can see them wherever they look. Case studies are another great way to feature testimonials because they can go into detail about how your products or services helped a particular client.
Social media – Facebook and LinkedIn are excellent spots for testimonials.
Print materials – Even if you are planning to do a mailing of flyers or postcards, you should include a couple of testimonials on those pieces as well.
Review sites – If your business is listed on a site like Angie’s List or Yelp, invite your customers to review you there, too.