Increase Your Profit with Customer Testimonials

Have you ever been chatting with your girlfriends about your favorite brand of makeup or the most comfortable workout shoes you just bought? Notice what they do after — they immediately go online and check it out for themselves! After all, customer reviews are the absolute best referral for businesses. You’re going to trust your friend who’s already tried out the item for herself and given it her approval before you buy.

When it comes to your business, customer testimonials always work better than you telling people yourself how good your company is. People will trust the customer’s opinion over yours because it’s much more authentic and the customer has nothing to gain from it. They’re genuinely sharing their experience and telling people how much they enjoyed it. Customers like to hear from other customers, not from the brands themselves, what working with that brand or buying from them is like.

People need to get to know you, like you and trust you before they buy from you. Customer testimonials are the easiest way to build that trust. Customers don’t just want to know that you can solve their problems. They want to know that you can do it better than anyone else can!

According to Big Commerce, 92% of customers read online reviews before buying, 72% say positive testimonials and reviews increase their trust in a business, and 88% trust online testimonials and reviews as much as they trust recommendations from friends or family. Additionally, using customer testimonials regularly can generate about 62% more revenue, according to Strategic Factory. These statistics show that having reviews from your existing customers on your social media, website or on Google increases your credibility, which will bring you more business.

So, how do you get customer testimonials?

My favorite way to present testimonials is through videos. Most reviews that you see are text, but statistics show video is actually much more effective and impactful. It’s easier for people to consume and it generates more shares on social media, which helps you reach a larger audience. Importantly, videos are seen as being more trustworthy, since it’s hard to “fake” a review on video. You can even film these with your iPhone — in fact, it might even make it feel more authentic!

The best time to do this would be when you’re making your final delivery to a client. For example, if you’re a commercial construction company, you could easily take out your phone when you’re having the final reveal of a new building with a customer. There would be no better time than when they’re seeing their amazing new building for the first time to get a short clip of their testimonial. Then you can use the video in future sales presentations, on your website, on social media, e-newsletters or emails.

Here are 5 ways to get testimonials for your marketing:

  1. Ask you customer if you can take a video of them talking about their experience with your product or service. You only need to ask one or two questions, and it can be very casual. The more ‘off the cuff’ it is, the more believable it will feel.
  2. If video isn’t an option or the customer isn’t willing to be filmed, have them text you or send you an email answering a few questions about your work.
    • For example, at D2 we would ask a client:
  • “What was your business’s biggest problem before you started D2’s marketing?”
  • “What results did you gain from our marketing campaigns — how many customers bought from you?” ?
  • “What was the return on your investment of marketing dollars spent?”
  • “Would you recommend D2 Branding to others? If so, why?”
  1. Ask your clients to submit a Google review, Facebook review, LinkedIn recommendation, Yelp review, or even a YouTube review. I highlighy recommend getting Google recommendations because they help index your company when people are searching for key terms in your industry. If someone is searching for a company like yours in your area, if you have a lot of Google reviews, you’re more likely to come up closer to the top of the page. The conversion rate here is often very high because the potential customer has already made up their mind: they want what you have, you just have to convince them that you’re the best option for the job!
  2. When you receive a compliment from a customer by phone, text or email, ask them if you can use it as a testimonial! I always ask them if they mind texting me what they said so we can use it as social proof on our website, and they’re usually very willing to do so.
  3. Ask for feedback on your social media channels! This is a good way to learn how your company is doing and get some great reviews to use. Don’t be afraid to ask.

Testimonials create a deeper emotional connection with your brand. They’re easy to get, don’t cost you any money and are extremely powerful in marketing conversion. What are you waiting for?

Deedra Determan, Founder

Deedra Determan started her career working in television for one of the top media companies in the country and later became a marketing consultant in the television industry.

Determan went on to launch a niche website for moms in her local market with over 100,000 moms visiting the website each month using the power of Facebook. After one year from launching, Determan sold the website to Oklahoma Media Company, Griffin Communications. Determan went on to launch a digital marketing agency, D2 Branding that was recently recognized as one of the “Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America” by Entrepreneur Magazine’s Entrepreneur360.

Determan is the host of the Do It My Way Podcast Show, empowering women business owners and CEO’s to do business on their terms with no regrets, hesitation or fear. Determan coaches these women on how to create a personal brand so they can live a life of financial freedom, working when they want to work and making the money they want to make!