Did you know most consumers (92%) on the verge of purchasing will read reviews and testimonials first?
Businesses seeking partners will do the same, with a report stating that more than 80% of buyers will thoroughly research a vendor before partnering with them. Of course, part of that research process is reading testimonials.
Do you still doubt the power of testimonials? Nearly 90% of consumers mention being influenced by reviews and testimonials, so it’s almost everybody. I’m sure you’ve had a review sway your decision-making somehow, right? It’s a common experience, especially when shopping online.
Testimonials are incredibly important, so if your business doesn’t have any, or if you get them sporadically and want to ramp up their frequency, you’re exactly where you need to be.
In this blog post, we’ll showcase nine impactful testimonial examples to help businesses create and leverage their own.
Table of Contents
Key Takeaways
- Well-crafted testimonials effectively boost sales and credibility, making them desirable for businesses of all sizes.
- Proactively collect and creatively use testimonials to advance your business goals.
The Importance of Customer Testimonials in Business
Customer testimonials, including endorsements in written reviews, case studies, social media posts, videos, or audio recordings from satisfied customers, continue to drive business goals for companies of all sizes and in varying industries.
Here is why they matter so much.
Customer testimonials play a crucial role in influencing potential customers and driving business goals by showcasing success stories that attract prospective customers and increase conversion rates, while also building online credibility and trust.
Improves brand credibility
Everyone wants to become the de-facto brand that consumers trust. Part of the equation is undoubtedly leveraging the power of the testimonial.
When enough people bother to write reviews and leave video testimonials lauding your brand and its products and services, this sends signals to people. It indicates that your brand is important enough that all these people need to take time out of their busy lives to comment on it.
That tells people your brand is legit, because why else would consumers review you en masse?
Better brand credibility can help you convert more leads and further build your business.
Increases consumer trust
Do you know what kinds of marketing messages consumers trust? Those that come from their fellow consumers.
People trust online reviews and customer testimonials almost as much as they do a recommendation from a friend, family member, or colleague, with 88% of consumers reporting as much.
Why do they trust testimonials so much more than your painstakingly-built marketing message?
There is always sales gain to be had for your company. A testimonial writer doesn’t have the same monetary gain. They leave the review because a product or service genuinely helped them, and they want to share the wealth.
Incorporating testimonials from loyal customers further amplifies this effect, as their long-standing and positive relationship with your brand adds an extra layer of credibility and trust for potential leads.
In other words, it has no sales angle, no matter how you slice it, which builds consumer trust.
Inspires more purchasing decisions
Up to 95% of people have said customer testimonials have affected their purchasing decisions.
This statistic is particularly relevant when considering prospective customers who have not yet purchased but are evaluating their options. Testimonials can significantly influence these potential buyers by providing social proof and genuine evidence of customer satisfaction, guiding their decision-making toward trusting and choosing your business.
That doesn’t mean people will read or watch your testimonial and automatically buy your products and services. They may, but if you get a lot of negative reviews, they just as easily may not.
Either way, reviews and testimonials served as the basis for their decision-making.
Springboards more conversions
Once you get leads through the funnel to the point where they’re willingly making purchases, you’ve successfully converted them. Now, you’ll have to keep them converted by building upon your professional relationship, which is something a testimonial doesn’t do.
However, you should notice an uptick in conversions after more consumers leave reviews on your goods.
Elevates SEO
Customer testimonials are also handy for boosting your SEO ranking. How, you ask? For starters, they generate more social signals to search engines like Google. They also enhance user engagement, lending you more authority and trust.
If you’ve fine-tuned your website design to attract more testimonials, optimizing it and making it more user-friendly will benefit your SEO.
Acts as free promotion
Who doesn’t love saving money on marketing, especially as a startup or small business? Who am I kidding, even SMBs and bigger companies appreciate free marketing.
That’s yet another reason to incorporate customer testimonials into your marketing strategies if you haven’t already done so.
That’s free, credible publicity when others talk positively about your brand. Testimonial advertising is a cost-effective marketing strategy that leverages this concept by using customer recommendations in ad copy and creativity to build trust.
Businesses can utilize testimonial ads, such as success story ads on LinkedIn or customer video testimonials on YouTube, to effectively use customer feedback in their advertising efforts, turning the speaker of ads from the brand to consumers.
Builds your brand reputation
Reviews matter, but the ratings you receive matter more than the number of them. Everyone clambers to see testimonials with the highest star rating versus the lowest to get the whole truth on a product or service.
If your brand is known for consistently good reviews (i.e., overwhelmingly positive), that will contribute to your reputation.
Now, this isn’t an excuse to scrub all your negative reviews from the annals of the internet. Providing service worth rating well is the most surefire way to ensure good reviews.
Read also: Mastering Testimonial Advertising: A Marketer’s Guide
6 Key Elements of a Powerful Testimonial
Have you ever read an evocative testimonial that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go until the last word?
Those are the most powerful kinds, the ones every brand wants by the dozen. Incorporating a testimonial video can significantly enhance the impact of these customer experiences, offering a compelling format that combines storytelling, customer interviews, and real-life demonstrations.
Yet, what is it that makes a customer testimonial so compelling?
Let’s peel back the curtain and take a look. Equally important is creating testimonial pages, a crucial element in showcasing a collection of powerful testimonials on a website, providing potential customers with a dedicated space to explore real-life experiences and build trust.
Specificity
Anyone can upload a review mentioning, “I really love this product; it was so helpful and changed my life.” That’s great, but exactly how did it change your life?
That’s what people want to know. The best testimonials detail what advantages the consumer enjoyed after trying your product or service. This puts others in the consumer’s shoes and entices a purchasing decision.
Authenticity
A good review should come from the heart. Although it’s a little easier to fake it when writing text testimonials versus video, savvy consumers can usually tell who means it and who doesn’t. You need the most authentic, pure, and true testimonials to sway your audience.
Relatability
Besides being authentic, a good review must also be relatable. When potential customers read or watch it, they can understand why your customer chose that product and service. The relatable element can inspire a purchasing choice if they have a similar issue.
Brevity
Here’s the thing about testimonials: no matter how positive and gushing they are, they do no need to be overly long. Three paragraphs are long enough for a written review; a video shouldn’t exceed 90 seconds.
Name recognition
If you have an influencer or major name in your industry who leaves a testimonial, congrats, you just hit paydirt.
Influencer testimonials, where influential figures or well-known brands endorse your product, significantly enhance brand credibility and foster consumer trust. Between the person’s name recognition and positive sentiment, you will drive more traffic to your website.
Emotions
Emotions are visceral. They remind us of our human connection and pull us in like a magnet. There’s no need to display crocodile tears or other flagrant shows of emotion, but really getting excited or passionate about products or services in a video testimonial is contagious. Others will want to find out what the fuss is about.
Once you find reviews that check most, if not all, those boxes, contact the customer who left the kind words and ask if you can use their comments as testimonials.
Read also: 10 Emails Real Estate Agents Should Send to Every Lead
9 Inspirational Testimonial Examples for Your Brand
Now, here comes the moment you’ve been waiting for: a full analysis and review of customer testimonials across industries, from retail to tech, including testimonial ad examples.
This exercise aims to showcase the elements above in action, emphasize the importance of learning from successful testimonial ads, and help you narrow down the best testimonials among your audience.
By analyzing testimonial advertising examples, we aim to inspire effective advertising strategies that leverage customer recommendations in advertising copy and images to persuade potential buyers.
1. Kissmetrics
Customers had nothing but good to say about the event analytics tool Kissmetrics, as spotlighted in three separate testimonials.
Two of the three reviews mention hard data, such as David Shackelford’s review, where he says that he had a trial engagement spike of 25% through Kissmetrics, and Spencer Mann, who states in his review that his conversion lift was 30%.
You can’t argue with numbers. This hard data makes it easier for business owners or employees reading the review to envision how their company can succeed using a tool like Kissmetrics.
2. TIDE Services
By the way, not all testimonials have to come from customers. You can also look inward and procure employee testimonials, as seen here. A customer service advisor for TIDE Services, Evie Bigneli, shares her thoughts on TIDE’s work environment.
What I like about this testimonial is using a pull quote next to an image of a smiling Evie to drive home that TIDE is a great place to work.
3. OptinMonster
Marketing tool OptinMonster chose to spotlight this testimonial from Yoast founder Joost de Valk in a unique fashion. The review features a caricatured version of Valk, plus five stars and bolded words to emphasize important points.
This is also a worthwhile quote testimonial because it has the name recognition I discussed in the last section. Yoast is a major marketing tool, so to have its founder recommend your service is a big deal.
4. HubSpot
Major marketing name HubSpot cements its legacy with this minute-and-a-half video testimonial.
It just fits within the recommended video length for a testimonial, and the time goes fast as you learn about Andrew Lindsay, HubSpot’s VP of Corporate Development & Business Development (at least at the time of publication).
This is not HubSpot’s video before you think it’s odd for a company to use its own VP to promote its services. Instead, it was uploaded by video conferencing platform Zoom, showcasing the integration between Zoom and HubSpot.
5. BambooHR
This BambooHR testimonial is an excellent example of how your business will grow. It mentions Angie Liams’ role as an HR manager and includes a photo of her smiling face to drive the relatability of the tool.
Next to the image of Angie is a quote from her. This client testimonial might not be long, but it gets the job done.
6. SEMrush
This one from SEMrush is in a similar style to the BambooHR testimonial. It features a small photo of the reviewer, Andrea Cruz, and her title, digital marketing manager for KoMarketing.
SEMrush chose a light pink background with black bolded text. Again, note the length of the testimonial here, which is only a paragraph. Still, Andrea’s succinct words still get the point across.
7. Basecamp
I quite appreciate Basecamp’s page layout when introducing its reviews. The project management software wrote a brief intro with a headline before switching to a testimonial from Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke.
There’s that name recognition in action again.
8. Groove
Helpdesk tool Groove went with a bold approach for its testimonials. See the review above from Allan Branch with LessAccounting. Groove mentions that Allan switched from FreshDesk and now has three users.
This kind of information can persuade those who are using a service like FreshDesk to give Groove a try instead!
9. Cisco
Speaking of testimonials in a different style, this one from Allison Grant with Cisco is not a traditional testimonial. It’s an article about how she was confident starting a family once she found a job at Cisco.
Grant goes into her struggles with infertility and using IVF, including its cost and why good insurance coverage matters.
She does a great job selling Cisco in ways the average testimonial doesn’t. New parents especially could really resonate with this one.
Read also: Get Noticed — 16 Creative Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses
How to Get Testimonials for Your Business
High-quality reviews like the best testimonial examples above rarely drop into your lap; you have to work for them if you want them. That means knowing how to approach your audience and format the testimonial well to drive the most engagement.
Here are some strategies for beginning your testimonial journey.
Creating your own testimonial ads is a powerful strategy to leverage the positive experiences of your satisfied customers. You can enhance credibility and trustworthiness by letting happy customers speak for your business.
Consider filming short testimonial videos or writing case studies highlighting how your product or service solved a problem or improved your customer’s life. Encourage customers to share their genuine experiences and feelings, as authenticity resonates more with potential customers.
This approach showcases real-life success stories and humanizes your brand, making it more relatable and appealing to your target audience.
Select your medium carefully when requesting testimonials
There are many ways to connect with your customers, such as by sourcing their reviews as testimonials or by using social media, email, or SMS. You can add a footer or header CTA to your website requesting feedback.
You don’t necessarily have to choose just one; combining methods might ensure you get more testimonials.
Offer a reward
Ensure you provide an incentive for sharing testimonials, like a discount code, freebie, or exclusive gift card. Once others in your audience hear of the sweet rewards they can earn for leaving reviews, they’ll be more inclined to do it.
Use a template
When you reach out to your audience and ask for a testimonial, what do you say? That’s the million-dollar question.
I recommend keeping it short and sweet. First, request them to partake in a testimonial. Include questions centered around their experience to help them create talking points (the questions can be open-ended or yes-no answers), and don’t forget to ask for consent to use the testimonial for business purposes.
Once you have these elements, you can create a template for sending more testimonial requests. You can rely on email automation or manual effort, or even a combination of both.
Watch your timing
Your customer must be at exactly the right point of their journey in the sales funnel before you request a testimonial. If you ask too early, they won’t have feedback persuading audiences to act.
You also want to ask when a purchase is fresh in the customer’s mind, so the sooner after a purchase, the better. Don’t let more than a month pass before you request a testimonial.
Lightly edit video testimonials
Once you receive the testimonial, do you have to use it as is? If you mention it when asking for consent, you can edit it, but use a light hand.
For example, clean up a text testimonial’s punctuation, grammar, and spelling. You can also add a transition or another light effect in a video. However, do not manipulate the original text or edit a video so much that it loses the original point.
You’ll alienate your user base and find it harder to get more testimonials in the future.
Format for multiple platforms
Besides editing, you should also format the testimonial for display across platforms like email, social media, and your website. This way, you can get the full value of the testimonial and use it for marketing materials.
Read also: 12 Great Landing Page Optimization Practices — The Ultimate Guide
How to Leverage Testimonials for Growth
You’ve acquired a collection of customer testimonials through hard work. It’s time to maximize their usage to help your business grow.
Incorporating social media testimonials into your strategy is crucial.
These are customer reviews and feedback shared on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Their instant and genuine nature and the potential for widespread influence make them invaluable.
Engaging with these testimonials and repurposing them for marketing can significantly enhance your brand’s visibility and credibility.
The value of testimonial page placement
There are so many places you can utilize your glowing testimonials. Let’s review a couple of placement examples.
Your homepage
What better way to make a solid first impression than putting a testimonial front and center on your homepage? Okay, maybe not front and center, but certainly where people can see it to attract attention.
You’ll get first-time visitors interested in learning more about your products after seeing how beneficial other users have found your services.
Product pages
If your customers reviewed specific products in their testimonials, incorporate their positive sentiments into the product page. This will expedite a potential customer’s research, as they’ll have all the reviews they could want at their fingertips.
Landing pages
Just as excellent of a position for a testimonial is on a dedicated landing page for a product or service. Many companies use this strategy to increase sales by incorporating video or text testimonials between the copy. It works!
Checkout process
Consider adding testimonials somewhere in the checkout process. This way, you can convert those on-the-fence customers before they abandon their cart, causing you to remarket all over again.
Repurposing testimonials
There are so many ways to repurpose testimonials. You can take a poignant sentence or short paragraph from a text testimonial and make it into a graphic or splice a video testimonial into a teaser or longer YouTube video.
These are excellent ways to strengthen your brand message and extend the life of your testimonials!
Read also: Ultimate Insights For High-Converting Lead Capture Landing Pages
Conclusion
Using testimonial examples can inspire you to create compelling, trust-building customer stories. Leveraging the power of testimonials will improve all your business goals, so begin seeking yours out!
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. What makes a testimonial compelling to potential customers?
A testimonial is compelling if it’s emotional, authentic, brief, specific, and visually attractive, whether in image layout for a text testimonial or video format for a clip.
2. How many testimonials should I feature on my website?
Aim for between three and five testimonials on your website (scattered on the various pages) for best results.
3. Can I use testimonials from third-party Sites (e.g., Yelp, Google Reviews) in my marketing materials?
Usually, yes, but it doesn’t help to contact the customer and ask if you can slot their testimonial into your marketing materials.
4. What’s the best way to ask a customer for a testimonial?
Using email is a recommended method for requesting a testimonial. You can also conduct a client or customer interview to gain more insights.
5. Is it better to have video or written testimonials?
Video testimonials are better, as viewers can see the emotions on the customer’s face and hear it in their voice. Video is also an excellent medium for conveying authenticity.
6. Can testimonials be anonymous?
Yes, they can be, although they might not be as effective.
7. How often should I update the testimonials on my website?
At least as often as your current products and service roster requires. For example, upgrading one of your best-selling products but a testimonial still mentions the old edition won’t sit well with your audience. You also make the customer who left the testimonial look foolish.
8. Do testimonials really influence consumer behavior?
Yes, they absolutely do! Consumers always trust their fellow consumers over businesses; testimonials touch on that.
9. How can I ensure my testimonials appear authentic and not staged?
Humanize the testimonials as much as you can. Show an image of a person’s smiling face in a text testimonial or display a person’s behind-the-scenes routine using your product or service in a video.
