The Power of Testimonials in Marketing

Author: Rachel Durkan Category: Branding, B2B, B2C, E-commerce & Retail, Marketing, Nonprofit Date: April 28, 2016

How do you build trust with your target market? How do you increase your credibility and expertise within the marketplace? One way to find a solution to both of these important questions is by using customer/client testimonials in your marketing materials.

Testimonials are an extremely powerful aspect of building your brand. Whether you are showcasing a testimonial via text, audio or video, testimonials help to transform a “sales pitch” into a credible and unbiased statement for your brand.

But why are testimonials so effective?

• Testimonials build trust.
• Testimonials aren’t salesy.
• Testimonials overcome skepticism.

What makes a good testimonial?

• A good testimonial is filled with benefits. For example, “This product is great!” or “This product made my headache disappear in minutes”
• A good testimonial is credible. Pair each testimonial with the first name, last name, and hometown of the individual have stated the testimonial.
• A good testimonial endorses the key benefits of your product. It established that your product does what you say it does. It illustrates the core benefits of your product or services.
• A good testimonial is comparative. Did your customers try the products/services of one of your competitors? This testimonial show how your products/services standout and beat the competition.

How to utilize testimonials wisely

Keep testimonials in areas of your marketing materials that stand out and draw your potential customers/clients attention. Use a testimonial in a slider that rotates on the homepage of your website. Do you plan on sending out a direct mail piece to promote a product or service? Put a past client’s/customer’s testimonial on the front of the mailpiece or right next to your contact information. Testimonials are very powerful tools to help increase your credibility and build trust among your clients/customers, so be sure to be loud and show off all of the great testimonials you receive from your happy customers/clients.