Testimonials: Why Do We Need Them?
Why do I need a testimonial?
In this day and age, the internet is full of so many reviews for a variety of different products and services that it has almost become an expectation for consumers.
According to studies, positive reviews make a customer 91% more likely to use a business. Consequently, implementing testimonials to your site is a simplistic method of validation and adding that all important credibility to your website.
With more and more business likely to be done remotely with this being forced upon us by the global Coronavirus pandemic, having a web presence that adds trust and credibility to your brand has become even more important.
How many should I have?
The dreaded question many clients reluctantly ask at fear of the number being awfully high. Fear not, studies have suggested sometimes a mere 6 testimonials will be enough for many consumers. It really depends, however adding small snippets of testimonials over several locations on the site is something easily done and adds that extra bit of integrity to your business.
What should the testimonial say?
First and foremost, never fake it. All your testimonials should be genuine and displaying where they came from, this simply furthers underpins trust in your brand. Generally a testimonial should focus on the result you have hopefully achieved for your customer. Demonstrating results instils extra confidence in the website visitor.
It’s important to also remember that your testimonials don’t have to be wholly about the product or service you provide; they can incorporate information about your customer service and relationships you develop with your customers.
How do I get testimonials?
Sometimes requesting a testimonial may seem like an intimidating task, however asking a customer to provide a testimonial demonstrates that you value their opinion, helping to build a long-lasting relationship. If you then link back to their website it also offers some SEO value and is effectively free advertising so worth it for them too!
We highly recommend asking your clients to leave a review on Google My Business. This works in conjunction with SEO as when people search your business in the future, the reviews are displayed under your businesses listing and will be one of the first things someone sees.
Another method is through the use of social media; people love to post their opinions on social media and this ultimately provides a platform that enables you to easily access consumer reviews.
Finally you could use independent review software such as Trustpilot or Feefo which enable customers to leave reviews independently and you’re then able to place a widget on your website so these can be displayed. Trustpilot especially is well known, trusted and lots of good reviews will help the credibility of your brand.
Should I use video testimonials?
Yes! This is the short answer if you’re able to. Video testimonials will almost always enhance your conversion rate as it adds so much authenticity to a review. If one of your clients is willing to give up their time to talk about how great you are then you really must be great! Video content is also much more shareable than text so ideal if you’re looking for your audience to share your content on social media for example.
We have our own video testimonials on our website and also use them in a multitude of different places, including within our proposals. So if you can we would strongly recommend video testimonials to enhance your brand.
Where should I display them?
Arguably on a website, adding testimonials to the pages that drive your most important conversions is a good place to have them. This is particularly valuable as it’s at this point where your potential customers are making a decision. With this in mind, it’s worth taking some time to add specific testimonials that complement the conversion you’re trying to achieve on that page so if you’re driving traffic to a landing page through Google Ads for example then have a testimonial relevant to the product or service you’re promoting through that campaign and on that page.
At Studio44, our designers are able to easily implement testimonials almost anywhere on your site, making having them a simple but extremely beneficial task.
If you’re interested in furthering your credibility by adding a testimonial to your site, do not hesitate to contact us today!
