Using Customer Testimonials to Generate More Revenue
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Using Customer Testimonials to Generate More Revenue
It’s safe to say that everyone has heard that “word of mouth” is the best advertising. Regardless of how much money you throw at your paid advertising, your prospects are more likely to do business with you if someone else gives them a recommendation. With all of the current technology available, businesses can leverage placement of customer testimonials online to provide word of mouth advertising, allowing their potential customers to make educated decisions.
Customer testimonials matter to your potential customers because they appear authentic. People know that a business is trying to sell to them, but a customer testimonial is a personal experience that someone else has had. It is a person sharing a positive experience. They are not profiting from you making a purchase; they are only sharing their own experience. Customer testimonials make it easier for potential customers to believe what your business is saying. Here are five practical ways to include customer testimonials in your digital marketing efforts.
One of the ways that you can gain the trust of potential customers is with social proof, which is proof of your customer satisfaction ratings and security seals. Incorporating social proof on various locations on your website will help visitors to trust you more, even if they can’t accurately pinpoint why they feel that way.
A study by the Baymard Institute found that 18% of consumers buying online actually left in the middle of the checkout process because they didn’t trust the site. They also found that many people are reacting on their instincts and gut when making these decisions. That means you need to give them the proof they need so they will feel comfortable purchasing with you online. There are two ways to accomplish this: (1) show them your high customer ratings and (2) use a security seal that shows your website is safe.
Take the company ProFlowers for example. This site added a way for consumers to be reminded of their high ratings which add comfort to shoppers because if others trusted them and it turned out well, then they can expect the same excellent service.
PetFlow is another company that does social proof well. They added a Norton security seal to their checkout process, which according to the previously noted study, Norton is the seal that people trust the most.
Website
Your website is a great location for customer testimonials. While consumers are reviewing your products and learning about your company, they can see what others thought about their purchases and why they love your products. When putting testimonials on your website, be sure to choose customers that are genuine and authentic.
If possible, you will also want to include an image of the customer, as this helps consumers to know that the testimonials are coming from a real person. Include the testimonials on your homepage and product pages, or create an entire section dedicated to testimonials, so that they are easy to find and see.
Louisiana Grills took advantage of all of their positive feedback by including a mix of written testimonials as well as Instagram posts on their testimonial page, not only showcasing all the positive messages they’ve received, but also images of their happy customers with their products.
Speaking of Instagram, social media has made it easy for consumers to review products that they love and those that they don’t. They are easily able to give their opinions and recommend their favourite products to their friends and followers. Businesses need to take advantage of social media.
Search daily for people that are posting about your product on social media platforms. When you find a positive review, share it. If you don’t see much, only ask your customers to snap a selfie of themselves using the product to share. People love taking pictures of themselves for social media. Make sure that you leave a nice comment as well as a re-tweet or re-gram. Consumers are always excited when businesses interact with them on social media!
A good example of this comes from the company BioClarity. This business took advantage of a post from one of their customers by sharing it. Doing this takes only a minute, but can make a big impact on your business and its customers.
Paid Ads
Adding customer testimonials is a good way to improve the conversion rate of your paid advertising while simultaneously increasing the trust with your target audience. While the click through rates of Google AdWords is small, businesses that used a customer review extension in their ad saw their click rates rise by an average of 10%. This is an excellent way to get the most out of your marketing budget while also separating your ads from the competition.
Eddie Bauer is an online retailer that implements this tactic. By doing so, they’ve increased their exposure and chance of conversion by making their product rise to the top thanks to the customer review extension within their PLA ads.
Organic Listings
Using customer testimonials for organic listings holds the same benefit as adding them to your paid advertising. As a consumer searches and scrolls through the SERPs, your customer review score will jump out at them. Since people are more likely to purchase from businesses that are highly reviewed, you improve your chance of them viewing your site if you have proof that you are a trustworthy business to work with. To improve the number of ratings you have, try installing a product review rating plugin to your site.
As seen below, Legion Athletics has implemented this technology into their website and are reaping the benefits of increased real estate within the SERP and also capturing the eyes of all the users searching around their related keywords.
Final Thoughts
As we can see, the benefits of customer testimonials are plentiful, and there are multitudes of ways your business can incorporate these positive endorsements into its marketing mix. Whether it’s on your digital assets or inside the SERPs themselves, leveraging this word of mouth marketing can have a tremendous impact on your conversions and brand perception. Are you currently using your customer reviews to their full advantage? Let us know your thoughts down below in the comments.
Author Profile
- Nicole Stelmar is a managing editor at 365 Business Tips, a new site geared towards helping small business owners grow their business. Nicole specializes in helping entrepreneurs master the art of content marketing and improve their digital presence.
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