Quickly boost your website’s conversion and build your website’s trust rating by introducing customer testimonials. Here are some great tips to do just that.
This is part 4 of a 6-part series on increasing sales through improving the customer experience with your website.
This Simple Technique Can Multiply Your Websites Trust Signals
I hope you’re well. We’ve been covering some pretty big concepts recently and I hope you’ve been keeping up!
What Are Your Prospects Thinking When They’re On Your Website?
They’re thinking, I don’t really know these guys but ‘What do people who’ve actually purchased and used your product/service think about it?’
That’s what they want to know.
Answering this question is one of the most fundamental tasks your website needs to accomplish and it’s as simple to do as it is important!
By using customer testimonials (reviews and comments from your satisfied customers) in text, audio or video format on your website, you not only answer the question for prospective buyers, you also transform your sales pitch into a credible, unbiased recommendation for your product.
Adding customer testimonials is probably one of the easiest ways to improve your website.
And a good customer testimonial can generate more selling power than some of the best website text out there.
Why Are Customer Testimonials So Effective?
- They build trust. Whether your customers are raving about what your product has done for them or about the great service you gave, they’re telling your visitors first and foremost that they had a positive experience with your products and company.
- They aren’t ‘salesy.’ Because customer testimonials aren’t written in your ‘voice’, they stand out as candid and unbiased accounts of how well your product/service works.
- They overcome skepticism. a good customer testimonial has the power to convince even your “tough sell” visitors that your product/service really made a difference.
The key is to make sure that your testimonials are credible. They need to be believable and real, otherwise, they will have the opposite effect.
What You Need To Do To Get Customer Testimonials
You must have some happy customers who you can ask to give you a testimonial!
I suggest you start collecting a few of these now.
Next, I’ll talk about WHAT makes a GREAT customer testimonial.
78% Of People Trust Online Reviews. Do YOU Use Them Wisely?
I want to focus on what makes a good customer testimonial. Don’t you just love that picture above? It just captures so much emotion.
Makes me wonder what he’s got to say!
Let’s break down the elements of an effective customer testimonial in more detail:
- It’ filled with benefits. “This product is great!” is nice, but it doesn’t tell visitors what your product can actually do for them.
- The benefits are front and center. “This product doubled our profits in a month!” or “This product made the pain in my back disappear completely–and did it fast!” or “We’ve never seen any product that could get the rust off our car without damaging the paint,until now.” The benefits are clear.
- It substantiates your claims. Your testimonials should back up your promises, complete with actual facts and figures.
- It’s from someone your visitor can relate to. Make sure your testimonials come from someone with whom your target market can identify. If you sell primarily to seniors, for example, include their age along with the testimonial. Or if selling to moms with children, include a photo of their family. Make it relate!
- A good testimonial is credible. Show the first name, last name & city to show that your endorsements come from real people. Always try to include a photo as well.
- Video & audio testimonials have the maximum effect. Do anything you can to help your visitors connect with your testimonial-givers on a personal level.
- It endorses the key benefits. Great to hear that your staff is friendly but does your product do what it said it would do?
- It’s comparative. Choose testimonials that set your product apart from your competition. I.e. I’ve tried these other products/services, but THIS product/service wins hands down.
So when you do a big drive to get testimonials from your customers, there are the key features you’re looking for!
Let’s Briefly Look At a Stat About Customer Testimonials
The web has made it easier for consumers to get recommendations not only from friends, but to see secure, verified reviews from people all over the world.
That’s right. 78% of people trust online reviews as much as recommendations from friends.
What’s important is that you include both positive and negative reviews. The stats indicate that
Have You Used The Power Of This Yet?
If you’re not using testimonials on your website, you’re missing out on one of the most powerful, easy-to-use, and cheap marketing tools available to you.
Go on. Ask your customers for their testimonials.
How To Drive People Down The Conversion Funnel
We’ve been looking at the power of testimonials to build trust on your website and improve your conversion rate.
Did You Know?
Most of us would rather act on a referral from a friend than make a purchase based on a sales pitch alone.
We want to know that the product/service actually works before we take the leap.
Using fact-filled testimonials on your website will let your visitors know that you’re worthy of their trust.
This will have a MASSIVE impact on your conversions.
How To Ask For a Good Testimonial
These questions, will help you to get closer to the results you’d like:
- How did you hear about us?
- Give a “before” description of where you were before our product/service.
- Give an “after” description of how things look now after using our product/service.
- Describe how our product/service has helped you achieve your goals.
- Would you recommend us to your colleagues/friends/boss? Please tell us why.
If you just ask people for a testimonial, mostly you’ll get some generic “I liked your product/service.” which don’t really add any value. You HAVE TO get them to give you some specifics.
Where Should You Display Testimonials?
They’re particularly valuable on website pages that drive important conversions, where your potential customers are making decisions. This is important to note.
We are always trying to build trust and the presence of a testimonial at a key point can go a long way to overcoming a prospects unspoken objections.
I’d like you to think of testimonials as the oil that you can rub on the friction points on your website. You really want people to flow smoothly down the funnel without any friction at all.
Are You Making It Easy For Prospects To Convert?
We’ve been looking at how you can help your website conversion through the use of testimonials.
Testimonials Are Online Reputation Builders
When a prospect is on your site for the first time, it’s what we call a cold introduction. You don’t know them, they don’t know you.
The jury is out if this is going to work.
Right now, your prospect is deciding if they can trust you. It’s all fine while they browsing and not doing anything, but at some point you want them to take an action.
Sign up here, fill in this form, enquire about a service, buy a product, or view another article.
You want them to do SOMETHING.
At this point, there’s a bit of friction.
That friction is a trust issue. Can you be trusted?
What Do You Need To Do At This Point?
You need to convince them that you can be trusted. This is called a friction point and we need to reduce the friction. There’s nothing quite as effective as an authentic testimonial carefully inserted at this point.
Are You Making It Easy For Prospects?
On your current website are you making it easy for people to trust you? Or are you just expecting them to interact and trust you on a first visit?
I hope that you’re starting to realise the power of testimonials and why they are so important in any online marketing campaign.
Your Next Step
I want you to think about if you have any customer testimonials that can be used on your website to improve conversion.
If you don’t, is it because nobody is happy with you or because you’ve never asked them for a testimonial?
If you’re thinking that this doesn’t apply to your business I’d be very interested to hear why. I’ve yet to find a business where they don’t apply.
Use a Reputation Builder To EXPLODE Your Conversions
So far, we’ve been looking at how we can improve your website conversions drastically.
Basically, it all comes down to trust.
A website visitor is a cold lead. They’ve never heard of you and are skeptics. Rightly so.
It’s up to you to get them to trust you and you NEED TO DO IT FAST!
One of the best ways to identify the friction points (the moments when you’re asking a visitor to perform an action), is to address your visitor’s concerns and address these concerns with testimonials.
We then looked at why they are so effective.
- They build trust.
- They aren’t salesy.
- They overcome skepticism.
We then looked at what makes an effective testimonial.
8 Tips For Effective Testimonials
- It’s filled with benefits.
- The benefits are front and center.
- It substantiates your claims.
- It’s from someone your visitor can relate to.
- It’s credible.
- Use video & audio for the maximum effect.
- It endorses the key benefits.
- It’s comparative.
Finally, we looked at how to ask at HOW to ask for a good testimonial.
We like to view testimonials as reputation builders because that’s exactly what they do. They build your reputation and are fantastic at increasing conversions.
I’ve also mentioned that VIDEO TESTIMONIALS ARE BEST, but they’re tricky to get, so let’s first get you started with some text ones.
A while ago I introduced you to an app called ‘Customer Feedback’. If you’re using this app it makes getting testimonials really easy.
All you need to do is filter the feedback into those customers that like what you offer and left you some positive feedback.
They’re happy with you and have taken the time to give you positive feedback. These are the perfect people to ask for a testimonial!
As you can see there’s quite a bit of psychology involved and it’s not always the easiest to manage.
What we’ve done is build a ‘Reputation Builder’ app and what this does is exactly what we’ve been talking about.
It’s extremely customizable and will work for any industry.
It even helps you ask for the right type of testimonials by prompting your customers to give you certain information.
Your Next Step
If you’d like a website trust boost, then go on, and view the
Customer Testimonials System App
All the best and let’s get you some reputation built,
This Tool Will QUICKLY Build Your Websites Trust
What this app does is allow you to strategically build your online reputation by asking clients for testimonials that add value.
- Improved conversions – by increasing trust at friction points, conversions are improved.
- Improved customer engagement – customers who are asked for testimonials feel special and more supportive and engaged.
What’s Next?
Read our next article in the customer experience management series:
