Customer testimonials can provide a positive and compelling endorsement of your products and services. They can add power to your claims about your product because they come from an unpaid, unbiased source: a customer. And they’re a key strategy to building consumer confidence and sales.

Making purchasing decisions can be intimidating—especially online where you can’t touch or “test” products prior to sale. Before buying a product, people often want to know if the product actually does what it promises, if the company is reputable and if the website is secure. That’s where customer testimonials come in.

Customer testimonials provide answers to important questions, build trust and close sales. And research shows that consumers often rely on customer testimonials when making purchasing decisions. In fact, testimonials have been known to increase sales by as much as 250 percent. In short, testimonials sell.

Components of a Testimonial

Testimonials generally include comments, a full name and descriptive identifier, such as a professional or informal title. Each of these elements is important to the anatomy of a testimonial for unique reasons.

Comments from customers—preferably placed inside direct quotes—deliver a powerful endorsement because they are unbiased. Attaching a complete name to clearly identify customers adds validity and punch. You might even include the person’s city and state. And providing a descriptive title can add even more weight, especially if the person has particular relevance to the product/service being endorsed.

How to Collect Testimonials

Collecting testimonials is relatively easy, as most satisfied customers will be eager to help. The most direct way to obtain testimonials is to simply ask. Whenever you complete a project with a customer, ask what they liked best about your product or service. You can gather their comments by telephone, blog, email, postcard or letter.

You can also gather feedback by providing a free trial to select users in your target market. Then ask them what they liked, didn’t like and their suggestions for improvement. Along the same lines, you could offer product trials or samples to an industry expert who is well suited to judge how your product works.

Regardless of how you acquire customers’ comments, always get permission to use their testimonials in your marketing materials. Better yet, have them sign a release form granting their permission.

How to Use Testimonials

You can put testimonials to work in all your marketing materials. Offline, testimonials can enliven brochures, print ads, posters and newsletters. Online, they can be an ideal way to enhance your web content. You can group them on a single web page or sprinkle them throughout your website.

You can use testimonials to emphasize key benefits of your product or service. But for the biggest impact, they should also quantify those benefits. For example, “Product X is less expensive and more effective than other similar products on the market. It cost 20 percent less and has help my company save 30 percent in labor costs.”  

Remember, the words of satisfied customers are powerful tools for building trust, your reputation and sales. So start harnessing the power of testimonials for your business today!