Customer testimonials are an important part of your sales page and can give your visitors that added confidence they need to purchase your product or service. It is important, however, to use testimonials in an ethical and trustworthy way. Failure to do so can negatively affect your credibility and of course, your conversion rate.
First, and most importantly, never use purchased testimonials such as those found on Fiverr. While you may be able to fool some of your customers, you will not fool them all and once you’ve been found out, it could mean the end of your business endeavors. Nobody likes to be lied to and it is a shady, unethical business practice to claim your testimonials are legit when in fact, you’ve paid someone who is reading off a script and has never even used your product or service to tell your website visitors how great it is. Don’t do it. And if you have done it already, go and take them down.
You have heard it a million times: People make purchases from those that they know, like, and trust. Don’t ruin your relationship with your audience by paying for testimonials. It’s simply not worth it. Not only from the standpoint of losing credibility with your audience, but also because it could lead to trouble with the Federal Trade Commission or FTC.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about the right way to use testimonials on your sales page.
Choose Wisely – Not all of the testimonials that you receive will be exactly what you are looking for. Choose the ones that provide specific details about your product and those that give your viewers an idea of the benefits of using it. Try to avoid short, vague, one sentence testimonials such as: “I love this product!” or “Steve is so great!”. These won’t help separate you from the crowd of other marketers at all. Choose customer testimonials that have a bit of substance.
Include Customer Picture & Website – We all like to be able to put a face to a name, and honestly, a testimonial from “D. Smith” doesn’t do much for anyone. Who IS D. Smith? Are they even a real person? Who knows!
Put a picture of your happy customer alongside their testimonial and include their full name and website or location. If your customer doesn’t want you to use their personal information to endorse you or wants to remain anonymous, simply wait until you have a testimonial from someone who will allow it.
Remember Who You’re Talking To – It is important to choose testimonials that speak to your target market and the problems they are facing. Your product should solve a particular problem or set of problems. Prospective customers want to hear from people who have the same issues that they are having, in as specific language as possible.
You should also consider any possible objections a person might have to purchase your product or service. Include some testimonials that speak to those concerns and reassure your potential customer of the value you offer.
Have Testimonials In Several Formats – Make sure to get testimonials in video, text, and audio formats. The more that you have, the more people you are likely to reach!
Never Stop Collecting Them – Continue to collecting testimonials for the duration of the availability of your product. You can never have too many words of praise from people who have tried and loved what you have to offer. Social proof is undoubtedly one of the best ways to generate new clients and customers.
Now that you have learned some of the most ethical ways to use testimonials on your sales page, get out there and start asking for them! Contact some of your past customers, ones that have had great results with your product(s), and inquire if they would be willing to share their story.
