Can I still rely on testimonials?

[Axxe]

Hi to everybody,

Today I read an article about testimonials and there was written an interesting and rather convincing idea. The author says, that nowadays customers do not believe in testimonials, cause most of sites pick over only the best testimonials or sometimes (or more often than sometimes) webmasters or other site related persons write it their selves.

So what do you think, is it still possible to depend on testimonials while buying of booking some items or services on the web?

And another question would be. If you own a site which sells something, would you leave a testimonial page on it or would you rather replace it with some other, more reliable information?

Regards,
Donatas

 

[fastfences]

Hi,
There is a place for testimonials, but some companies seem over reliant on them. I know of one company that 'points' everyone to it's testimonial page rather than using the same energies to convey a message about its product.

Very few people will, by THEIR OWN INITIATIVE, send a company a testimonial or words of appreciation. Sure, they'll tell you in person, but won't just send it in writing. This, therefore, means that the bulk of testimonials are 'solicited', in which case there 'authenticity' must be questioned.

I think it's made much clearer by looking at 'personal' job references in comparision. Does a company EVER give out a bad reference? An employee may have been a complete dud, but somehow they get a reference good enough to allow them to get the next job.

In summary, yes, there is a place for testimonials, but ensure they're authentic, and that the referrer does not mind being contacted to prove same.
Cheers, Nigel

 

[Amber]

I've been asked to write fake testimonials for clients so many times now, that I have absolutely no faith in them. I still use (genuine!) testimonials on my site, but I no longer pay much attention to them on sites I'm buying from - there's always a part of me wondering if they're real.

 

[Donnash]

No good online company would use fake testimonials. But genuine ones have their place, they add fresh/keyword rich text to your site. But just about all companies with only show their best testimonials - who on earth would put up one that said "this product is really shoddy". That just wouldn't make sense

 

[cjd]

Americans tend to use them a lot - some have pages and pages of them; they are used to build confidence. They also use the term 'award winning' in every other sentence - another confidence building trick that I notice is now being used regularly on TV hair product adverts.

I suspect we're a cynical lot and that our views on them are not particualrly representative - they probably work quite well on consumer sites offering products that can't really be tested or are relatively unknown or unbranded or may contain a perceived risk. The feedback system on ebay is a great example of where it works extreemly well.

We run a user forum which is actually whatever the opposite of a testimonial is. If you read it, it seems to contain nothing but brickbats and complaints - "this is broken", "that doesn't work" "where's my oder" etc etc. It's a bit of an experiment but unless a post is actually abusive or defamatory we leave it up there. We hope it shows that we have the confidence to show our customers all of the story not just the 'puff'.

It does seem to work as if someone starts shouting at us for something they think is our fault and it turns out not to be (it's about 80:20 in our favour at the moment) the community backs us up.

It's not for the faint of heart though, it's a terrible temptation to delete a post just because it makes your business look bad; particularly if it's justified.

Here's one that really got me going; in this case we were right and he was wrong - but it's not always that way round.

http://www.voipfoneuserforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=1441&highlight=

 

[fastfences]

Here's one that really got me going; in this case we were right and he was wrong - but it's not always that way round.

http://www.voipfoneuserforum.com/index.php

That's a link to the index, not the thread. Show me the money!!
cheers, Nigel

 

[cjd]

oops - sorry (everybody's a damn critic......

http://www.voipfoneuserforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=1441&highlight=

 

[Axxe]

Yup, it’s a link to the index, so which thread is it.
I'm very curious to read it

Donatas

 

[etechsupport]

Using fake testimonials can create problem if a customer ask references to check them, btw if you have good number of loyal customers nothing to worry, you can get it easily.

 

[telemax]

Hi to everybody,

Today I read an article about testimonials and there was written an interesting and rather convincing idea. The author says, that nowadays customers do not believe in testimonials, cause most of sites pick over only the best testimonials or sometimes (or more often than sometimes) webmasters or other site related persons write it their selves.

So what do you think, is it still possible to depend on testimonials while buying of booking some items or services on the web?

And another question would be. If you own a site which sells something, would you leave a testimonial page on it or would you rather replace it with some other, more reliable information?

Regards,
Donatas

Hi

I don't bother putting listing testimonials on my site but once I am speaking to customers and they are interested. I always take the initiative and tell them to call my customers.

This has worked very well for me and has gained me several contracts

Jonathan

 

[martinj]

Like all other points of reference, testimonials only form part of the overall picture that you need to consider before engaging with a company. I would certainly ask to speak to these referees if I were placing a considerable piece of work with a company for the first time. I certainly use them for my business. They are genuine, and I expect most others to be so too, but I generally ask companies for something that I can publicise to show that they are happy woth the work I have done. It's a bit like a job reference - your employer will give you a reference, but only if you ask for one.

 

[Real World Hypnotherapy]

I think testimonials are very important, in fact my testimonials page is the 2nd highest viewed on my site after the index! All my testimonials are 100% genuine and I provide website links to the people who have written them.

Just having testimonials on your site won’t make you money, you have to use them too. When I send out an email to a specific market, I always include relevant testimonials. For example if I am selling flyers to nightclubs, I will include several testimonials from other club owners and promoters. I also have relevant testimonials on each of my product pages, this has helped a lot for sales!

I would say to get testimonials, always keep them up to date, try to get website links, photos and even video clips of your customers.

Matt