There are lots of marketing strategies available that promise to deliver your customers to you. However, the most effective strategies are those that include the customer’s voice. e.g. testimonial advertising.
This is because the majority of your consumer’s buying decisions are influenced by testimonials from other consumers who have purchased your product/service.
Seeing how your product benefits other businesses like theirs will most likely influence them to make a purchase.
More so, there’s a psychological phenomenon known as social proof. And it’s a great way to build brand equity.
So, if you want to incorporate testimonial advertising into your marketing strategy, then this article is for you.
As you’ll get to know all about testimonial advertising and how it can help your business.
Let’s get started with the basics, “What is Testimonial Advertising?”
What is Testimonial Advertising?
Testimonial advertising involves using the recommendation from consumers to advertise a particular product or service.
In Marketing, it is used to describe an advertising method in which a person offers positive comments about a product or brand. In some cases, it could be reviewed from celebrities and the elite.
Testimonial advertising is one of the several methods of content marketing and should be adopted by all brands.
This is because, the decision-making of consumers is now influenced by their consumer teammates, even when they are off of the field.
About 90% of consumers trust peer recommendations and the remaining number trusts advertising.
Which makes it very crucial that brands change their marketing strategy to directly target their consumers. And this means implementing testimonial marketing strategies to keep their customers engaged, happy, and interested for more.
How does Testimonial Advertising work?
Marketing is all about convincing a potential buyer to make a purchase in favor of a particular brand or product.
Long before the internet and online advertising came, references and word-of-mouth recommendation has a positive effect on brand credibility and the entire business’s success.
This is what testimonial advertising is all about, getting consumers to talk about a particular product or brand.
More so, testimonials do not necessarily have to be the “testimony” of celebrities. It could be selected customer voices or fictional characters. The general aim is to boost credibility and brand awareness.
On the flip side, testimonials especially from celebrities are more likely to be used in B2C marketing. This is because domestic consumers often make their purchasing decisions based on emotions.
In general, testimonial advertising works by using customer voices and opinions to present the company and its products in a positive light.
Let’s look at the different types of testimonials.
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Types of Testimonials
If you want to employ testimonial advertising for your business, it is important to know that there are different types of testimonials.
Having this knowledge will enable you to consider which formats work alongside your other marketing efforts.
Below are the different formats of customer testimonials.
#1. Consumer ratings
Consumer ratings are small but mighty forms of testimonial advertising. This is because 9 out of 10 consumers don’t make consumer decisions until they have seen other consumer reviews and ratings.
Customer ratings include a 5-star rating, accompanied by a short written testimonial that talks about their experience with the brand. In some cases, it may include additional details about their own background.
Here’s an example from Amazon for the Nivea Creme product.
These kinds of reviews are most common in the B2C space for eCommerce sites, where consumers are relying on other consumers’ real-world experiences to make a purchase decision.
Not only that, but ratings are also important for local businesses like restaurants, shops, personal care service providers, and any other company someone might look upon a review site.
Oftentimes, reviews are shared voluntarily, however, companies can persuade customers to leave ratings for them.
#2. Quote testimonials
Not all businesses operate a B2C marketing strategy. This is where quote testimonials come in handy.
Quote testimonials are small-sized forms of testimonial advertising, that range from one sentence to a short paragraph. They are very versatile and can add an extra dose of credibility to any form of marketing collateral.
Here’s an example of a quote testimonial from Writer’sGig.
This example shows that the quote is to a real person, and more specifically, someone who is the same as the site’s target audience.
Next, there’s a photo, which shows the consumer that it is a real person speaking. All of this adds up to provide social proof and an added level of reassurance to someone considering the services.
#3. Q&A Interviews
When you want to get one client’s experience of using your services or product, following a question-and-answer format is a quick way to do it.
Q&A and interview-style testimonials can work great for blog or video content. And, depending on how you conduct the interview, it can be more subtle than an entire promotional testimonial.
You could frame the conversation around the industry at large or a celebration of your client’s major accomplishments before prompting them to talk about their experience working with your company.
Social media shout-outs can be a compelling form of testimonial advertising, especially for B2C businesses.
The key is in finding these shout-outs and making the most of them. Although the customer’s network will see their positive review of your brand, customers searching for your product or service online probably may not see it.
One way to tackle this problem is to screenshot the posts or save the direct links, to enable you to entwine them into other marketing materials.
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#5. Success stories
The success story is an opportunity to share the customer’s experiences in a more vivid way. Hence the name “story.”
They begin by introducing the client and discussing their problem, before diving into the solution and the final results.
#6. Video Testimonials
Video content is fast surpassing written word content and makes for the most authentic and engaging testimonials.
It takes a lot of work for busy clients to sit down and record themselves, talking about their business problems and how your product or services provided a solution.
Any prospective client will be able to see that this is real, and the client is really happy with the results they’ve seen.
More so, video captures a customer’s positive emotion in such a way that others can see, hear, feel and easily relate to. Plus, it’s possible to entwine examples of the actual work done.
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#7. Case studies
According to Brafton, a case study provides a detailed look at how a customer found success through a partnership with your company.
They are usually structured with sections that include;
- The client.
- The problem.
- Solution.
- The results.
The most compelling case studies are a combination of qualitative and quantitative results.
For instance, they can highlight how satisfied the customer is, in their own words, while also identifying numerical improvements in the key performance indicators described in the “problem” section.
How to Collect Testimonials
Now you understand that testimonial advertising is important for your business. However, the big question is how do you collect testimonials. Of course, it’s by asking, but how?
Here are a few ways to gather testimonials from your customers and present them well.
#1. Follow up with recent customers
Your product/service will still be fresh in the minds of your customers a few weeks after they got it. So this is a great time to ask them what their experience is.
Keep in mind that recent customers are only going to be able to comment on their experience from when they interacted with you till when they got your product/service and started using it.
#2. Follow up again later
Use drip campaigns to send emails to your customers after a specific time to secure their testimonials.
There are two segments of people to send the emails to.
- Customers who didn’t respond to your initial email – Maybe, they hadn’t yet formed a solid opinion of your product or service at the initial time, and may be receptive to share a testimonial later.
- Customers who replied to your initial email with a testimonial – You know they’re receptive to your requests, so why not ask them for another testimonial now that they’re better acquainted with your product or service?
#3. Ask the right questions
Don’t just ask for a testimonial. Ask product or service-related questions that guide your customers to writing testimonials that actually talk about the product, and are not just complimentary.
According to Content Marketing Institute, you can get such testimonials by asking questions like;
- How much money did our product save you?
- How much time does our product save you each day/week/month?
- What’s the biggest benefit you’ve seen as a result of using our product?
#4. Approach your best customers individually
You know your best customers will give you a great testimonial. So, reach out to them personally, and request a testimonial.
Plus, it’s a win-win for both parties because it’s a means to strengthen your relationship.
#5. Design your testimonial
When presenting your testimonial on any of your mediums, include elements like a name, date, and photograph of the customer who provided it.
If available, add a link to the customer’s website. This information helps to legitimize the testimonial.
Where do you use testimonials for your business?
Here are several ways you can use testimonials in your content and marketing materials.
#1. Blog content
A visitor that lands on your blog through an external source or link on your website is a potential customer.
So, including testimonials within your blog content can help attract the attention and interest of visitors who have landed on your blog.
#2. Case studies
According to Content Marketing Institute, Case studies are detailed analyses of specific instances or events.
They’re an awesome sales tool in their own right, but they can be enhanced further with testimonials from the customers in question.
#3. Next to CTAs
You can use testimonials to help drive conversions, whether a business inquiry, an email sign-up, or a content download, by including short testimonials next to your call-to-action.
In fact, it could be the trigger needed to overcome a potential customer’s final objections and get them to buy.
Social media is another medium where you can use testimonial advertising. Whether you intend to promote your content or push your product or services, testimonials can help you boost clicks and conversions.
#5. Email marketing consequences
You can enhance your drip campaigns using testimonials. To maximize its effectiveness, match testimonials to the primary objection each email aims to achieve.
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How does testimonial advertising help your business?
Testimonials can be a very effective marketing tool, especially online because many customers are extremely cautious when internet shopping.
However, having a successful testimonial campaign isn’t tied to having a popular celebrity induce customers to make statements about your brand or website. It could cause issues, especially if the person is found guilty of misconduct.
This is why it’s best to have originally generated user testimonials.
One way to do this is to aggressively engage with your consumers on all social media platforms. Interact with the consumer, share your products, place social ads, run promos, and create sweepstakes.
In exchange collect social user-generated content (social posts including photos, videos, and testimonials), increase brand awareness, and increase your return on investment by gaining a loyal customer base.
Collect and display social testimonials from consumers who publicly support or recommend your product.
Then, display the testimonials on your eCommerce site, social sites, and in-store displays to increase sales. With this strategy, you will record a massive increase in sales!
And this is all because you gave your consumers an avenue to be in touch with the brand.
Bottom Line
In conclusion, testimonial advertising is a very effective marketing tool that helps to increase your sales.
It’s all about balancing the art of marketing and psychology. Then you’re good to go.
So, go ahead, create effective testimonials from your consumers, and watch your sales increase!
Good luck!
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