Testimonials seem to be a great idea (social proof, etc), but I'm not sure they have any meaningful impact on sales. And they could actually be causing problems for our existing customers. For example, if many potential clients contact your previous client, he or she may feel bothered. Any other factors should be taken into consideration?
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Great question. Here's two studies that have some good statistics and graphs on this issue. This research included over 25,000 Internet consumers from over 50 countries. Article 1: Friending the Social Customer - The Nielsen Company (2010)
Hope this helps! |
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Testimonials are a great marketing technique because of the psychological principle of social proof. To quote Wikipedia, social proof is
You must get permission from the testimonial-giver to use their name and quote. If they work for a company, you should make sure you have the company's permission, too, to use the company name. I have never known a testimonial-giver to be harassed as a result, but obviously, if this happens, you must take down the testimonial. Other than that, testimonials are a great idea and an important part of marketing. |
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Testimonials do increase conversion rates: This study shows a 309% increase in conversions for those viewing the testimonials and a 8% site-wide increase in conversions: This study shows a 25% increase in conversions with text testimonials and 201% with video testimonials: http://www.marketingexperiments.com/improving-website-conversion/using-testimonials-effectively.html |
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We use testimonials all the time and they really help. While asking for testimonials, we explicitly tell our clients that it may be used on our website with their name and city/country. We don't mention their contact information on our website for privacy purposes. Clients normally won't have any issue with that. |
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I think that completely depends upon the status of the person or group giving the testimony. If it from a well respected industry member (or from a celebrity), I think it may make a difference. -Ralph Winters |
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In a B2B situation the problem with testimonials is that they can't be easily verified (because usually there's only initials and not names) and/or they are easily cast as inauthentic and purely offered as a professional courtesy. My solution to that is scale... if you have a large number of testimonials (or some that are so long they simply can't seem to be concocted) then the viewer is far more likely to presume that at least some of them are authentic (here's that social proof bias at work). In other words, it's like SEO... the content has to validate the claim... if you're a 'leading provider' and have three testimonials I'm put off. If you're 'the area's fastest growing provider' and you have 50 testimonials I'm all thumbs up...you've validated your claim. |
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