Customer testimonials command a high value amongst marketers for one simple reason – each testimonial is an endorsement (or expression of dissatisfaction) straight from the horse’s mouth. Positive feedback is motivation for maintaining quality work, whereas negative feedback provides directions for improvement. Such feedback can quickly cause a snowballing effect that either attracts or dissuades more potential customers, so naturally, you want to do your best to keep customers happy.
Now let’s say you’ve got several customers who are very satisfied and are willing to provide testimonials. Great! Should we just grab their quotes and slap them onto our company website? Well, let’s not be too hasty… Don’t get us wrong, endorsing testimonials and direct quotes are valuable assets, but most can always do with a bit of polish – it just wouldn’t be good copywriting without it! Join Wordsmith and as we explore the ins and outs of quality testimonials.
Picking the right people and content
Who do you want to feature in the testimonials section? It’s not a decision to be taken lightly! If possible, try to choose a testimonial from somebody who personifies your brand. This will help to create a positive association between that person and your desired image.
After finding suitable candidates, it’s a good idea to think about what you want them to say. Good testimonials usually cover:
· Why did they need the product/service?
· How did it perform and what stood out about it?
· Would they recommend it to someone else?
Treat each testimonial like a mini-story – the customer struggled when dealing with a certain problem, but after using your product or service, it helped to simplify or remedy the problem. It’s simple storytelling, but to other potential customers who are having the same problems, this makes the story believable. Relatability to other consumers is an important factor when people are considering a new or different brand to try!
Strength in simplicity
People have short attention spans and generally prefer reading shorter blurbs to long ones. If Chatty Cathy writes a five page testimonial for you, only someone with a lot of free time would bother reading through the entire thing. On the other hand, what if Solemn Simon writes us one sentence that simply says “I liked the product.”? While it is indeed short, the lack of detail isn’t very compelling. Would you be inclined to try the product from that statement alone? Probably not.
According to Indeed, each testimonial should be no longer than two to three paragraphs. After you’ve come up with your list of questions that you want your testimonial-givers to answer, ensure that they do in fact, address your questions properly. While editing their responses, be sure to preserve each customer’s tonality for more authenticity points – otherwise, we might as well have written the testimonials for them! More on editing below.
Testimonial types and editing
As the Indeed article illustrates, there are many types of testimonials available. Here are the most commonly used styles.
Quotes
The most straightforward kind of testimonial, where you take a direct quote of what the customer has said or written.
Peer
Think of peer testimonials as a curated and storytelling-esque version of the quote testimonial – it “shows your customer as someone similar to your future customers”, allowing other people to also imagine themselves in the same scenario.
Social
Instead of writing on your company website, the testimonial is done through social media. It’s more casual, but it’ll create more reach than just having a post on your company website .
Video
Videos are time consuming to create, but the video medium offers a more modern and fresher way to express customer testimonials. While text-based testimonials often include a picture and name of the customer, being able to hear their voice adds another level of authenticity.
Interview
Interview testimonials are very unique, as they allow back and forth banter between the customer and the interviewer. Although it’s a medium more relevant for magazines and journalism, it does allows the interviewer to openly dig for more information – very handy if the customer is shy or has a tendency for short answers!
Influencer
Many influencer testimonials tend to fall under the “sponsored posts” category, which can dissuade some audiences from trusting them. However, popular influencers also command legions of loyal fans who are eager to gobble up whatever they promote. Ideally, you want an influencer who can benefit from your product or service – that way, they’ll give off a more authentic statement versus someone who was just paid/sponsored to wave something around on camera.
Some options work better in certain contexts, so have a think about which would work best for you!
Now let’s try putting everything together in an example. We’re gathering testimonials for the latest release of a popular brand of sneakers – the Grunge 2.0. After searching through a list of compatible customers, we’ve decided on a 15 year old adolescent who wears the shoes for hip-hop dancing, let’s call her Jamie. We’ve also decided that the peer testimonial would be most suitable, as we did not have the resources to do a video or interview format (a video would’ve been great though – imagine if she pulled off a few dance moves wearing the shoes on camera!)
Here’s what she wrote for us:
“Jamie Lee says:
The Grunge 2.0 is totally me. I needed a new pair of kicks for my TikTok vids and these are hella fine. The lines, the curves, the neon stripes – 🔥 🔥 🔥!! Dancing is my life, I gotta be able to move and look good while doing it. I can literally move like Jagger when wearing these, and most importantly, The Grunge 2.0 aren’t clunky at all – I’m looking at you Air Force 1! This one time, my stylist worked out a great wardrobe, but he had me wear Air Force 1’s and I couldn’t move in them at all! He probably only thought about the looks!
Anyway, would I recommend these? Fo sho~~ Follow me @TotallyARealUser2006”
It’s definitely an authentic sounding testimonial, but it’s a little too conversational – not to mention filled with internet slang, informalities, bashing competitor products, veering off course and overly blatant self-promotion. Nowadays, it’s commonplace for people to include their Twitter or Instagram handles to raise their follower count. We feel like this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it might motivate Jamie’s friends to try out our product and make their own posts about the shoes as well… we just need a less abrasive method.
Instead of having her Instagram handle inside the testimonial, we can move it to a bracket by her name. This way, it’ll be less about her recruiting followers and more about her opinion on the sneakers. With Jamie’s permission and without altering the tonality, let’s give it a quick edit:
“Jamie Lee (@TotallyARealUser2006) says:
The Grunge 2.0 is totally me. I needed a new pair of sneakers for my TikTok vids and these are purring. The lines, the curves, the neon stripes – 🔥 🔥 🔥!! Dancing is my life, I got to be able to move and look good while doing it. They aren’t clunky at all and I can literally move like Jagger while wearing them.
Would I recommend these? Definitely.”
Customer testimonials are simple in concept, but they offer many layers of diversity. While you should always try and let customers speak their heart, you also need to be able to draw the line when things go astray. Follow these simple rules and you’ll be able to edit and polish persuasive testimonials like a pro!