Before the internet, potential customers would learn about your business through direct outreach or word of mouth. Nowadays, 90% of browsers read online reviews first. Your potential customers are seeking social proof that you don’t just solve their problem, but you can do it better than anyone else.
One of the most influential pieces of content you can have is reviews and testimonials. With 84% of people trusting them as much as a personal recommendation, the question begs: how do you craft a killer testimonial to enhance your business’s credibility?
The Timing
It goes without saying that testimonials need to be truthful and come from real customers. A prime time to capture enthusiastic words is immediately off the back of a positive experience or a rave verbal review. A simple request of “Hey, may I ask for a quick testimonial? I just have a few quick questions?” is often all that is needed.
The Words
One of the biggest hacks to writing content that influences is to borrow words directly from your clients. As industry experts, we can be tempted to naturally include jargon and insider terminology. It is important to meet future clients where they are at, and that comes from speaking their language.
The good news with testimonials is the hard work is done for you. By capturing words from your existing clients, you will have a bank of content that will resonate with future clients. Just be cautious in over-editing, as you want to maintain the natural language.
The Questions
The trick to getting a quality testimonial that you’re proud to showcase is to ask quality questions. Rather than leaving your client to their own devices, direct their thoughts to overcome any hesitations future clients may have. The objective is to paint the picture for what it could be like to work with you to solve a specific problem. This can be demonstrated through 3 core areas:
PAINT THE BEFORE PICTURE
- Where were you before we worked together and what specific problem did you come to us to help solve?
For example:
Before using Space Digital for my marketing, I was just relying on word of mouth. I realised running ads would help expand my reach but wasn’t sure how to get started.
PAINT WHAT IT’S LIKE TO WORK WITH YOU ON THIS PROBLEM
- What has been your favourite part about the experience of working with us?
For example:
The Space Digital team took the time to get clear on who my target audience is, made sure I had an attractive offer that would entice my potential buyers and explained the different ads they were creating and why.
PAINT THE AFTER PICTURE
- Where specifically are you now in relation to why you came to us?
- Who specifically would you recommend this experience/us to?
For example:
Since working with Space Digital, I am reaching more people who I might not otherwise have helped. I don’t have to worry about working out the advertising side of the business as they check in regularly, send new campaigns each month and I can access all the important numbers in one place whenever I wish.
While this last section may hold enough testimonial gold, safeguard the full response to repurpose in the future.
If you’d like to develop or improve your online presence to build trust and credibility, we invite you to book your free consultation or call us on 1300 314 172 to discover what’s possible for you.
