Better Testimonials, More Conversions
Gone are the days when anything appearing on the (Internet) screen was believable. While it would be wonderful to return to those times, it just won't happen. These days, consumers are more savvy, sophisticated and more than willing to poke some holes in the arguments put forth by merchants and marketers that blatantly espouse the benefits and advantages of products or services without proof that it's worked. Easy access caused and now magnifies (thanks to social media) the problem and it's creating an environment that can diminish the trust and credibility that others might put in your enterprise - a major problem for Internet retailers and Web entrepreneurs.
It should come as no surprise that a major point of concern for those doing
business online regards their credibility. This issue is amplified for small
businesses who as quickly as the click of a mouse button, can be dismissed,
never to be visited again online - a virtual death knell. One way to
combat this terrifying scenario is by focusing on the presence of testimonials
at your website. Let's review some basics of presenting testimonials to aid in
conversions.
Transparency and Clarity; Don't Just Think About It
Transparency was the buzzword du-jour a mere eighteen months ago and
hopefully it's made an impression on your communication strategy. Simply
integrating empty quotes from semi-satisfied customers and social networking
badges into your pages is not enough. A page that is full of genuine testimonies
to the quality of a product or the knowledge and efficiency of a customer
support staff is the only real way to make sure that future clients know what
your priorities are and why they can believe in your enterprise. But you can go
farther with this than you may think. Focus on integrating testimonials into
your site which tell a story about usage and make sure it contains clear,
meaningful language. Ask highly specific questions of your users/consumers, such
as "how much time has product a saved you on a weekly basis?" Not all
testimonials need to be completely glowing representations though. Being candid
shows honesty and that's an essential part of building trust. Why not show a
testimonials such as "my widget broke and a replacement was sent to me in 72
hours - awesome!".
Put Testimonials To Work (When Consumers Need It)
As testimonials became more common on Web pages, savvy marketers learned how to
use them to help increase conversions. To make these credibility indicators more
powerful, marketers must use them within the sales funnel, when points of
anxiety may interrupt the sale/buying process. For example, Website Magazine
publishes a handful of testimonials on landing pages for its
professional level
subscriptions. Take a look at any successful independent merchant and you'll
likely find the same - when a decision needs to be made they let others do the
selling for them. It is essential when considering which testimonials to use
that you also consider the intensity of the message in relation to the proximity
of the point/argument being made in the sales copy and how it might be perceived
by consumers.
It should come as no surprise that merchants risk everything by displaying
exaggerated and unsubstantiated claims - they may turn away consumers. The
problem is amplified though when fake endorsements make their way onto a
testimonials page - which ultimately leads to no one believing the testimonials
they encounter anywhere. Understand that when the quality of information is
debatable, consumers will analyze the quality of the source. For those that
don't want to invest time in proving to consumers that testimonials are genuine
or authentic, there are a handful of services like
Authenticated Testimonials
which provide a service that validates that the authenticity of consumer
testimonials.
Reworking Tired Testimonial Pages
Marketers need to step up their efforts with testimonials if they want to
improve results. By itself, displaying a list of quotes from random customers
into a page is not likely to produce a significant gain alone. You need to
provide authoritative testimonials and use them strategically on your pages if
you want to see a major impact. One way to increase testimonial effectiveness is
by organizing them into categories and applying them to the most relevant areas.
For example, a blogger might include twitter testimonials about their own content when encouraging visitors to sign up for a newsletter or subscribe to a news feed.
An iPhone developer might include a testimonial on a custom landing page of those that have used the application.
Doing so conveys to consumers that you listen, something followers want from the publishers they are consuming content from.
Testimonials Work... So Use Them!
While there is no guarantee that testimonials will work definitively to increase
your conversions, it's definitely something to test. If testimonials are used at
your website, you can improve their effectiveness though by ensuring they fit
within the flow of the sales process, make sure they tell a story, soothe a pain
point and/or answer a question. Take some time to make sure that your
testimonials are providing you with the support and the help that you require to
get your conversions on the upswing!


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