Customer testimonials

[Pet Nanny]

A lot of our customers are now leaving wonderful reviews of our service on Trust Pilot.

I am therefore wondering how we can best make them work for us. We already use a sample on our website, but would it be worth my creating a stand alone blog post and including them there?

Perhaps there is another way of harnessing them to further our reputation. Would therefore appreciate your advice please.

 

[Ashley_Price]

I am assuming you go and visit prospective customers, or they come to you. If so, have some of the testimonials printed out and put in a nice presentation folder. Keep it with you, so you can say to prospects "Of course, you want to be certain of my service because you are leaving me in charge of your beloved dog [or loved processions if house-sitting]. Here is a selection of what current customers have said about us."

Also, if you use social media a lot, then have them showing on Twitter, Facebook, etc.

I do little graphics with the testimonial on (I call them "cards"), so I get round the limited number of characters on Twitter. For example...

Sorry for the self publicity but it was the best way to show @Pet Nanny what I mean.

I put these regularly up on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. As you can see my customers allow me to use their name... but that's because they get some publicity as well.

 

[Informi]

You can't beat testimonials when it comes to demonstrating the value of your business to potential customers - especially for a service-led local business, where much of the custom is built on trust and word of mouth.

It sounds like you've already set up a dedicated testimonial page on your site, which is great. Make sure you're adding them regularly, with dates, so you can show your consistently providing a quality service. I'm not sure a blog would do anything that a testimonial page doesn't do - but there's no harm in trying.

@Ashley_Price makes a great point about creating images for social media purposes. Extending on this, you could get your customers to film a short video testimonial on their smartphone. If you get a few of them, edit them together into testimonial compilation.

 

[Ashley_Price]

Extending on this, you could get your customers to film a short video testimonial on their smartphone. If

Videoing it on their smartphone... hmm, not so sure that's a good idea. You want a decent looking video or else it is going to end up going against you. Need to make sure the person gets the lighting right, etc., and it's not just a video selfie.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with YOU videoing them on your phone, then you can see the results immediately and make any changes.

 

[Annoying Donkey]

You can't beat testimonials when it comes to demonstrating the value of your business to potential customers - especially for a service-led local business, where much of the custom is built on trust and word of mouth.

Yes you can...

Referrals!

 

[Food From Cyprus]

I would suggest to buy and read this book by Alex Goldfayne. It explains in detail how to get the best out of testimonials.
The Revenue Growth Habit: The Simple Art of Growing Your Business by 15% in 15 Minutes Per Day

 

[Clinton]

Good idea about the snapshots for Twitter. I never thought of that!

At present I simply bung them on a blog post, complete with photographs of the client, and that seems to work very well. I make sure I put the person's business name/logo as well especially if the testimonials is from a M&A professional rather than a client (as many of them are recognisable names in investment banking/venture capital circles). Here's my testimonials post if anyone's interested. I post a link to each one's website as well ... which, I believe, adds to the credibility.

 

[Steve Alphabet]

We already use a sample on our website,

Yes, but they're hidden away in the 'about' bit Give them their own page, accessible from your main navigation bar.

And call them 'reviews' (more neutral) rather than testimonials (salesy).

 

[Mike_Cartwright]

Agree to give customer testimonials their own page.

But besides short testimonials or reviews, you should also try to create case studies that can have a more in-depth insight on how customers are happy with your product/service.

 

[TheConsulter]

A good piece of advice is to put the reviews on Facebook accompanied with a picture of the customers. It has worked for many businesses that I have worked with. Make sure that you get the permission of the customers, and there shouldn't be any problems.

To further gain interest of your pet nanny services, I would recommend that you make posts about pets that you have served. Tell a personal story about them accompanied with a picture. It will surely gain interest.

 

[columbo]

Excellent suggestion from The Consulter.

Stories + Pets + a nice picture = powerful emotional blog posts

advice well worth following.

 

[Clinton]

I put these regularly up on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. As you can see my customers allow me to use their name... but that's because they get some publicity as well.

I don't know about others but when I see someone regularly posting self promotional stuff, I disconnect.

 

[ethical PR]

I agree with @Clinton on this one - putting your own reviews on FB or other social media is big PR faux pas.

Much better to have your clients post on your social media saying how much they enjoyed your product/service and/or talking about it. Third party comments are much more credible.

Much better to have personal stories. For example, '2 year old rescue dog Millie was so shy when she came to us, but with a loving home provided by her new owner and the company of other dogs on her walks with us, she soon came out of her shell and now loves playing chase'. Accompanied by photo of the dog catching a ball or stick and/or video content with quote from happy client.

Keep your reviews for your website and to include in client proposals.

 

[Ashley_Price]

I don't know about others but when I see someone regularly posting self promotional stuff, I disconnect.

And yet you regularly post self-promotional stuff on UKBF - in your signature.

 

[Clinton]

Some marketers are so stuck up their own backsides they don't recognise that, if the sole purpose of their post is to promote themselves, they aren't adding any value.

 

[hazmog]

Ouch.

Ok, going back to the original thread, my advice as someone in the web design business would be to improve how you present those testimonials so that they better do their job as key indicators of social proof and helping turn a maybe into a sale.

If you can, surround the testimonial in supporting text, for example have a well designed and written case study that ends with a a fantastic customer testimonial. Contact a couple of people and ask if they would like to be featured in this way.

You could actually look into AB testing to see if variations of how testimonials are displayed on your site improve conversion of leads. Google analytics has tools for this built in for free. I find using graphics either photos of the client, or their logos (especially if recognisable brands, either local or national) makes a massive difference to the impact of a testimonial.

As others have said I would also cross post these testimonials in order to give them a greater reach, and potentially hand pick a few to use on mailshots/target adversing. When we get an awesome testimonial we send a tweet out thanking them and linking to our case study page.

 

[Clinton]

Ouch.

Yes, I'm sick of bloody marketers who think their message is more important than my time.

I've had four people try to cold call me today (which is fine as I don't answer my phone, at all, except when someone has pre-booked an appointment. I'm fortunate in that my business is such that I don't need to answer the phone - people keen enough to speak with me jump through the hoops of booking a call) but ...

I've had several people request to connect with me in LinkedIn. The moment they connect, they add me to their mailing list. Just because you now have access to my email address doesn't mean I want to read your crap.

I've had four retailers this month violate my email preferences. When I placed my order I specifically opted out of getting their newsletters / updates .

I've had six people sending me PMs (not in UKBF, but elsewhere) explaining to me what they do. I see your need to shout so loudly about your product as evidence you've got a crap product. I definitely do not want to buy it.

I'm sick and tired of aggressive marketers - which is most marketers today! I don't want to hear about your latest product. I don't want to buy the sh*t you're selling. I don't want to hear about how fantastic you are ...so stop filling my social media feed with your self praise, customer testimonials, humblebrags, and other bullsh1t (or I'll disconnect from you).

Just. Leave. Me. Alone. Go work on improving your product instead of spending so much time desperately trying to find someone to buy your crap.

</rant>

 

[Yana Yelina]

there is an array of services for testimonials and customer reviews. for example for software development companies -- Clutch

 

[Pet Nanny]

A good piece of advice is to put the reviews on Facebook accompanied with a picture of the customers. It has worked for many businesses that I have worked with. Make sure that you get the permission of the customers, and there shouldn't be any problems.

To further gain interest of your pet nanny services, I would recommend that you make posts about pets that you have served. Tell a personal story about them accompanied with a picture. It will surely gain interest.

In our industry, it is doubtful that clients would agree to having their photographs with a testimonial/review, since they are advertising that they are away a lot and some clients are high profile!

 

[Pet Nanny]

I agree with @Clinton on this one - putting your own reviews on FB or other social media is big PR faux pas.

Much better to have your clients post on your social media saying how much they enjoyed your product/service and/or talking about it. Third party comments are much more credible.

Much better to have personal stories. For example, '2 year old rescue dog Millie was so shy when she came to us, but with a loving home provided by her new owner and the company of other dogs on her walks with us, she soon came out of her shell and now loves playing chase'. Accompanied by photo of the dog catching a ball or stick and/or video content with quote from happy client.

Great idea - thank you

Keep your reviews for your website and to include in client proposals.

 

[WebshopMechanic]

@Pet Nanny if you have paid for the Trust Pilot service then you should use it as much as you can. It's a 'trust signal' and will add credibility to your service because it's unbiased.

I've many uplifts in the e-commerce world by simply adding an independent review logo (even if it might not be 100% independent).

I would do these following:

• Add to your homepage in a prominent position, not in the footer (with the Trust Pilot logo)
• Add to your about page - Reinforces trust
• Add to pricing page - This is the deal-breaker page
• Add the Trust Pilot widget to your Facebook page
• Add to your newsletters (they have a widget for that) - If you don't actively collect email addresses on your website (doesn't look like you do) then you should. You never know when someone is browsing and will have a need for your services further down the line.

If you haven't paid for the Trust Pilot service then you could pay a designer to create some images you can use across your site/ social / newsletter. Alternatively, use Canva as it's quick, easy and professional.

Matt

Hope this helps.

 

[Annoying Donkey]

...because it's unbiased.

 

[Pet Nanny]

• Add the Trust Pilot widget to your Facebook page

• Add to your newsletters (they have a widget for that) - If you don't actively collect

I have not paid for Trustpilot! I had no idea you had to. Lots of our clients have left reviews on there for us!

 

[WebshopMechanic]

Hey @Pet Nanny , don't panic.

You only need to pay for Trust Pilot if you want to use their automated reviews mechanism to email customers asking for a review and to use their widget on your site.

It looks like somebody has set it up on Trust Pilot and then people are just reviewing which isn;t a bad thing.

Trust Pilot isn't cheap to use but there are cheaper alternatives like Feefo and Trusted Reviews.

I'm not saying you need them but worth looking into because people tend to trust these companies a little more than you placing reviews on your own site.

Matt

 

[TheBigMarketer]

Hi @Pet Nanny

It's fantastic you're getting great reviews. In terms of promoting them, definitely use them on key sales pages on your website to build confidence with new potential customers.

Also, you can actually share the link from individual reviews on social media channels too. Think about offline too. You can use the TrustPilot rating on flyers, and posters etc.

In addition to this, if you really wanted to go the whole hog, TrustPilot has a paid service, which I have used a few times with different companies.

It allows you to create nice shareable images from reviews, install interactive "widgets" into your website, so people can scroll through your reviews without having to leave. You can also invite customers who haven't yet left a review to do so in bulk, if you have their email address.

Though it is pretty pricey...

 

[HelenCope]

Testimonials are great have you considered asking for Google testimonials as the new Business Local Listing algorithm gives preference to those listings with 5 testimonials and over.