The Importance of Testimonials

Testimonials are important to driving a business to success. Testimonies are statements made by clients testifying to what and how your service has worked for them. Today we will discuss why testimonies are important and what to do with them once you have them.

So, why is it critical to get testimonials from satisfied customers? Because testimonies are powerful tools and they can even help if not be driving force behind closing a sale. By nature people love to hear stories and people love to hear recommendations from others that are like them and are looking for a solution to the same problem. So,when potential clients hear stories/recommendations from people just like them they can identify/connect and that will in turn help you serve more clients as well drive business. A testimony outlines a satisfied customers experience with your product and/or service and tells the potential client what they can expect from your products and/or services. Testimonies are also useful in building your business creditability and trust with others.

So, now that you know why you should use testimonies lets talk about how to get and use those testimonies.

The first step to getting a testimony is having satisfied customers. These satisfied customers will be your product and/or service advocate. Once you have customers that are willing to make a statement it’s now time to show the world. To get a client testimony you can either ask the client if they mind being interviewed and you ask them questions or you can have them write their own statement. Now that you have testimonials it’s time to broadcast how fabulous your services and/or products to the world and potential clients. To be effective you would want to use the testimonies on your website and some printed marketing materials.

On your website have a section dedicated to testimonies. On your testimonial page be sure to include the clients statement and picture if available. You can also include maybe one or two at the most testimonials on various pages throughout the website on the side or bottom of the page.

On the printed materials include your testimonials at the bottom of the publication. On printed materials you often have less room so you may or may not want or be able to include a picture with these testimonials. I would suggest on printed publications only using two to three testimonials at the most and honestly that’s all you’ll probably have room for. Another idea is if you have enough testimonies to do it you can use testimonies as your border on the printed marketing materials.

Use testimonies to your benefit. If you have existing satisfied customers don’t be afraid to ask them for a statement. Remember they are so satisfied with your products and/or services they would love to tell the world.