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In this blog, I’m deep diving into why you need testimonials for your business. I’ve discussed about how to get testimonials for your business in a recent blog too as I see so much focus on the why, but not so much on the how…and the how is where all the action takes place!
So does any of this sound familiar? What are people saying?
- Marketers: ‘You need testimonials for your business.’
- Social Media Team: ‘We need more testimonials.’
- Sales Team: ‘We need testimonials from our marketing team for proposals and tenders.’
- Solo Businessperson: ‘I know I should have more testimonials for my business.’
- Prospective Clients: ‘Let me check the testimonials for this business before I engage.’
Research tells us that nine out of 10 people trust what a customer says about a business more than it says about itself. As a result, customers are likely to spend 31% more with a company with good customer testimonials. That’s a gold mine waiting to be accessed.
But it’s so hard…
But why?
I think there are a lot of reasons for this. Perhaps it could be:
- It’s not thought about as a critical part of the sales and marketing plan.
- Not sure how to do it – I focus on the ‘how’ in my blog How to Get Testimonials for Your Business
- Imposter syndrome and sheer lack of confidence
Anything I’ve read on testimonials, always focusses on the technical reasons to ask for testimonials. And don’t get me wrong, I’m going to elaborate on the practical and technical reasons too…they are all valid.
But I want to extend the ‘why’ out to some emotional reasons too. Here are the top 4 number of reasons for getting testimonials for your business.
1. Combatting Your Wobble Week
Getting testimonials is a super way of reinforcing your value, both for your business but also to yourself. When you are feeling down and have, what I call a wobble moment or a wobble week, then looking at your testimonials can really help with shifting your mindset.
Rather than listening to your inner critic and those dratted voices in your head, you can look and focus on tangible, real, objective and 3rd party testimonials, i.e. the truth about what people are saying about your product or service.
I, for one, recommend to all my clients that they work out a strategy for harnessing testimonials for their business. If you aren’t sure where to start, have a look at How to Get Testimonials for Your Business.
This isn’t a one size fits all solution, but it might get you started to work out a plan as to how you are going to approach getting testimonials. And the key, as with everything – how can you make this a consistent part of your sales and marketing activities during the week.
2. Social Proofing & Credibility
Before someone is going to reach out to your business and request a quote or start a conversation, they are going to be lurking and watching. They’ll look into your social media profiles, personal and professional (where they are available) and go on to your website.
They want to see who you are working with. What are these clients saying about you? Are your values and what clients are saying, congruent with their values and mission? Do you have experience in the sector or verticle that the company is in?
Testimonials help you social proof you and your business and generate leads as a result.
Third party endorsement gives a bucket load of credibility to your business. By one customer communicating their trust in your product or service, it helps others have confidence in choosing your business. It’s also a reflection of excellence. The credibility and validation that is generated is a solid avenue for business development.
3. Marketing Content
You can use the written version of the testimonial on social media, your website, marketing brochures and collateral, in tenders and on proposals. This all helps generate more brand recognition for your business.
A testimonial from a satisfied customer is golddust. It’s a real gem that you can use to qualify and validate your service or offering. A satisfied customer acts as an ambassador or advocate for your business. They are talking about you, instead of you talking about you!
I give lots of ideas on where to use testimonials in my blog How to Get Testimonials for Your Business.
4. Search Engine Optimisation
New content going up on your website and Linkedin profiles, in particular, are quick and easy ways to ensure you are actively putting up new content on your website which will help with SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation. This is also where it’s important to be specific about asking clients to focus the testimonials on areas that matter for you in your business, e.g. is it to reference a particular service or product? Is it to use words and attributes that matter to you as part of your business development strategy?
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