A great testimonial is a fantastic sales tool. A few words from a real fan telling the world how much they love your stuff is better than any clever copy you could come up with.
While kind words from satisfied customers are always welcome, some testimonials are better than others. Great word of mouth marketers know how to create awesome ones.
What to do:
- Keep it short. Lengthy testimonials get overlooked, especially online. Ask fans to describe you in just a few words, or try asking them for their “Twitter version” of a testimonial.
- Keep it specific. Ask fans to highlight results in their testimonials. Percentages, numbers, and references to specific product features help potential customers see how great you really are.
- Keep it trustworthy. The more influential the source of your testimonial, the more powerful it will be. Mixing in a few comments and reviews from established brands will mean a lot to prospective buyers.
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[...] SmartBlog On Social Media » Andy’s Answers: Traits of a great testimonial smartblogs.com/socialmedia/2009/12/08/andys-answers-traits-of-a-great-testimonial – view page – cached A great testimonial is a fantastic sales tool. A few words from a real fan telling the world how much they love your stuff is better than any clever copy you could come up with. [...]
Very useful tips here, and depending on how the testimonials are viewed by potential customers and then discussed on social networking sites they may help generate more sales.
Video testimonials are really powerful because they seem more authentic and harder to fake.
[...] SmartBlog On Social Media » Andy’s Answers: Traits of a great testimonial. Submit this to Script & StyleShare this on BlinklistShare this on del.icio.usDigg this!Post this on DiigoShare this on RedditBuzz up!Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUponShare this on TechnoratiShare this on MixxPost this to MySpaceSubmit this to DesignFloatShare this on FacebookTweet This!Subscribe to the comments for this post?Share this on LinkedinSeed this on NewsvineShare this on DevmarksAdd this to Google BookmarksAdd this to Mister WongAdd this to IzebyShare this on TipdShare this on PFBuzzShare this on FriendFeedMark this on BlogMarksSubmit this to TwittleyShare this on Fwisp Categorized in Marketing Tags: testimonial, traits [...]
There is some great data from Nielsen who showed that Testimonials “from peers” is trusted 90% versus 70% for other stuff on your site – even consumer “opinions”. Shows how important it is to match testimonials to your prospects (demographics, industry, etc…). If you’re interested, I’ve got additional tips at http://www.testimonialdirector.com/ecourse.
Thanks, Colleen Francis
[...] I wrote about what a fantastic sales tool a great testimonial can be and how the best ones are short, specific, and from influential [...]
Great tips. A testimonial from a reputable source goes a long way to establishing trust with your potential customers.