Any online marketer understands the value of customer or vendor testimonials. They are powerful tools that can build trust or destroy reputations, and the best ones are those that haven’t been fabricated. There’s a lot that goes into making a testimonial seem authentic, but the best way to succeed has always been to merely exaggerate the benefits rather than just make something up. So here are some tips on how you can really use testimonials to your advantage.
Make it Relatable
The golden rule of any successful promotion is the ability to relate with your potential customer. The people reading the testimonial should be able to see something that could help them in their daily lives. The review should seem like it came from somebody in the audience. Not only will this inspire visitors to become customers, but for young businessmen, it will also instil confidence in their brand.
The best way to do this is to strike a verbal endorsement deal with one of your reviewers and take their message and create a testimonial that touches the core of your readers’ wants or needs. You could even try adding an image or a short video in order to create a concrete connection with your audience.
Contrary to popular belief, there’s quite the difference between feedback and testimonials. Feedback is usually prompted from a customer, whereas a testimonial is usually a mark of appreciation. So when you receive a genuinely positive review of your business, make sure you ask the reviewer to provide an elaborate (or perhaps just a simple one – anything is better than nothing) explanation of what they liked in particular. Also, being too direct can more than often seem like an advertisement or marketing gimmick.
Be Specific
Readers want to know what they’re getting themselves into when dealing with your business, and generic reviews like “Outstanding service” or “good job” are typically ignored altogether. As young entrepreneur, make sure your testimonial includes as condensed and brief information. Even if your testimonial is for a range of products, it helps if there are details regarding each individual item, as well as the overall experience.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you could even put the benefits against a competitor product. Being specific in your testimonials also allows you to get feedback from your customers regarding the quality of your product or service. So when you’re asking a customer for a testimonial, make sure they know what particular feature or set of features that they’re reviewing.
Don’t Make Things Up
You might have drafted a testimonial that was overly appreciative of the product or services rendered, which to some visitors, would seem like a dead giveaway. So never fabricate or significantly modify a genuine customer’s testimonial to the point where it seems like just plain advertising. In fact, try minimizing the editing of anyone’s review, keeping it to nothing more than proofreading and grammar checks. It doesn’t really matter if the other guy posts fake testimonials, quality shows, and if your business is really worth it, your genuine customers will do your marketing for you!
If you have to edit someone’s testimonial too much you should ask yourself should I really be using this testimonial?
At the end of the day you should take advantage of the best reviews that your business has ever received and make it work for you. There’s nothing better than being authentic because an honest review phrased in the right manner will help you create a rock solid reputation for your business.