Blog Post | Oct 03, 2023
The Benefits of a Testimonials Page (and How to Build a Good One)
A testimonials page can be hugely influential in a customer's decision to purchase— and it can also bring more customers to your website. These are the basics of building a compelling and credible page.
In an increasingly online world, a testimonials page is the equivalent of a glowing review from a neighbor in a town square. Whether your business is strictly bricks-and-mortar or 100% online, the right testimonials can build trust. Not to mention online testimonials can even increase your search engine optimization (SEO) and drive more people to your page.
The gold standard for testimonials is the unsolicited letter from a consumer singing your company's praises, but those are increasingly rare. Instead, you may need to solicit positive reviews yourself. There's definitely a strategy involved. Here's how to find the most compelling customer testimonials and feature them on your web page.
Make Your Testimonials ‘Skimmable'
As the owner or employee of a business, you’ll read every word of glowing praise, of course. Your audience, on the other hand, won't want to wade through dense copy. When creating your page, it's OK to use both sound bite-style blurbs and longer text. If you use quotes longer than a couple of sentences, bold the essential words or phrases and use pull quotes to help readers skim the page while getting the gist.
The Specific is Terrific
For maximum credibility, your testimonials should be highly specific: about not only your company, offering or product, but who it's coming from. If you take the route of soliciting reviews (more on that below), you can help guide the conversation so the content is useful and believable.
More Than Words
Posts that include photos, video and other graphic elements are 650 times more engaging than just words, so don’t skimp on the visuals!
How to Get Testimonials
More than half (68%) of consumer respondents will leave a review for a business when asked, but not all reviews are equal. Turn to your best customers first. Look at overall spending with you and how long they've purchased from or worked with your company.
You can create a mini-campaign directing customers to a survey—even if the survey is online, you can send a postcard with the URL, as well as an email. The survey should also make clear that you're looking for content for a testimonial, so it may help if you provide examples of what you're looking for.
Use multiple-choice and open-ended questions so the survey isn’t too difficult or time-consuming. The multiple-choice questions can give you valuable quantitative feedback, but it's the open-ended questions that will provide you with content for your testimonials. Again, the specific is terrific, so your questions should help shape the conversation like these examples do:
Freshen Up Your Print Collateral
Once you've compiled all the reviews and testimonials, you have a new resource for making your other marketing materials more effective. Testimonials can be edited and curated to add impact to print pieces like brochures and sales sheets. We would love to help! Whether you have existing materials you want to freshen up or you want to design something new, we can help you create attractive, cost-effective printed pieces that feature your reviews. Contact us to learn more.
The gold standard for testimonials is the unsolicited letter from a consumer singing your company's praises, but those are increasingly rare. Instead, you may need to solicit positive reviews yourself. There's definitely a strategy involved. Here's how to find the most compelling customer testimonials and feature them on your web page.
Make Your Testimonials ‘Skimmable'
As the owner or employee of a business, you’ll read every word of glowing praise, of course. Your audience, on the other hand, won't want to wade through dense copy. When creating your page, it's OK to use both sound bite-style blurbs and longer text. If you use quotes longer than a couple of sentences, bold the essential words or phrases and use pull quotes to help readers skim the page while getting the gist.
The Specific is Terrific
For maximum credibility, your testimonials should be highly specific: about not only your company, offering or product, but who it's coming from. If you take the route of soliciting reviews (more on that below), you can help guide the conversation so the content is useful and believable.
More Than Words
Posts that include photos, video and other graphic elements are 650 times more engaging than just words, so don’t skimp on the visuals!
- Video: Short snippets of your products being used by real people or longer (but well-edited) video testimonials will keep readers on your page and convey authenticity.
- Images: Your social media feeds are a great place to source pictures of your product being used “in the wild,” and you can organize them in attractive image galleries.
- Logos: Testimonials can be especially powerful for B2B marketers, and displaying the logos of satisfied companies is a quick, shorthand way of conveying social proof.
How to Get Testimonials
More than half (68%) of consumer respondents will leave a review for a business when asked, but not all reviews are equal. Turn to your best customers first. Look at overall spending with you and how long they've purchased from or worked with your company.
You can create a mini-campaign directing customers to a survey—even if the survey is online, you can send a postcard with the URL, as well as an email. The survey should also make clear that you're looking for content for a testimonial, so it may help if you provide examples of what you're looking for.
Use multiple-choice and open-ended questions so the survey isn’t too difficult or time-consuming. The multiple-choice questions can give you valuable quantitative feedback, but it's the open-ended questions that will provide you with content for your testimonials. Again, the specific is terrific, so your questions should help shape the conversation like these examples do:
- "Why did you purchase product XYZ instead of a competing product?"
- "What is Product XYZ's most useful feature, and why?"
- "What did you want to achieve with Product XYZ?"
- "How is Product XYZ meeting your expectations?"
- "Would you recommend Product XYZ to a friend? What would you tell them?"
Freshen Up Your Print Collateral
Once you've compiled all the reviews and testimonials, you have a new resource for making your other marketing materials more effective. Testimonials can be edited and curated to add impact to print pieces like brochures and sales sheets. We would love to help! Whether you have existing materials you want to freshen up or you want to design something new, we can help you create attractive, cost-effective printed pieces that feature your reviews. Contact us to learn more.