How to Make the Most of Customer Testimonials

Displaying customer testimonials on your website orto include the individuals name and some demographic
in your print collateral can be a great tool for buildinginformation. This adds to the legitimacy of the
confidence among prospective buyers resulting in antestimonial and helps people resonate with their
increase in sales. Customer testimonials have beencomments.
used for hundreds of years and are still a primary3. Categorize your testimonials. Having a long list of
motivator for moving individuals further along thetestimonials that don't appear to have any particular
purchase decision process.order is difficult for browsers to navigate. When you
Although customer testimonials have remainedare providing your listing, regardless of the format
commonplace, their format and medium haveyou're using, make it easy for browsers to select the
changed. Today, with the advent of social networkstestimonial that would be most relevant to their
and emerging technologies, testimonials take theneeds.
form of blog entries, forum posts, quotes, audioSuccessful websites categorize their testimonials. For
testimonials, videos, and more.example, they can be categorized by type such as
When providing testimonials for your product or'customer service', 'price', or 'quality'. Other
service, there are a number of fundamental practicesclassification schemes may include user types such as
you should consider. Presenting your testimonials in'student', 'entry-level', or 'professional'. When
the correct manner can optimize your results. Followcategorizing your testimonials, consider how your
these helpful tips when applying testimonials on youraudience is segmented and choose a logical format.
website or in your communications.4. Vary your testimonial formats. Experiment with
1. The medium is the message. Depending on yourdifferent types of testimonial formats. In addition to
target audience, the medium you choose to displaybasic web posts, you should try adding audio or
your testimonials can make or break theirvideo and measure the views. By offering multiple
effectiveness. For example, if you're trying to reachformats you are appealing to different styles and
today's generation, video may be the most populartherefore maximizing exposure.
technique. With the advent of YouTube and sites5. Update your testimonials on a regular basis. Don't
that allow users to upload video, the medium haslet your testimonials get stale. Whether you provide
taken on a life of its own.a date that the testimonial was submitted, or not,
If you're promoting your products to teenagers oryou should strive to add testimonials on a regular
those in their early twenties, consider testimonialsbasis. Individuals who come back to your website or
from peers in video format. Hearing key messagesrevisit your promotional materials can benefit from
from someone in their own cohort using the correctfinding new content.
medium, is much more powerful than a genericTestimonials are a powerful tool for promoting your
message from a so called expert.products or services. When considering testimonials
2. Provide detailed information of the individual leavingfor your website or marketing materials, be sure to
the testimonial. Not only do individuals like to hearthink about your audience and provide a compelling
from others, but they want to know that thedisplay of customer feedback. Consumers want to
testimonial is from a real person who's just like them.hear from others like them. Learn to leverage
When posting or providing a testimonial, make suretestimonials and watch your sales start to climb.