A big part of online purchases is research. Think customer testimonials and reviews.
Consumers want to be sure they’re making the best purchase for them from a business they can trust at a competitive price.
While consumers read about 10 reviews before they trust a local business, about 86 percent of consumers read reviews on the internet.
Keep in mind that while testimonials are basically positive reviews, they do tend to be more elaborate and detailed. In other words, testimonials can be very effective in converting a researching consumer into a paying customer.
Testimonials can increase sale conversions by about 58 percent and raise the average order value by about 3 percent. Testimonials clearly can help build trust with potential customers, so you want to leverage them in your digital marketing.
The following are five ways to use customer testimonials to help boost sales for your business.
Incorporate testimonials on your landing pages
Landing pages offer more focus than your overall website, which makes it a great place to showcase your testimonials. This can help you build trust with visitors and show them that what you’re claiming is true.
Landing pages are standalone web pages that are disconnected from your website’s navigation. Their purpose is to present focused content that aims to convince visitors to act, whether that’s to buy a product or service, sign up for something, download something and so on.
When a landing page features testimonials, you’re giving visitors a reason to convert.
Remember that you can share testimonials in various formats, such as quotes, success stories, embedded videos and more. But the nature of the testimonials depends on the goal of any given landing page.
Make sure that the testimonials are relevant to the context of the landing page they’re featured on. Is there a question you can help a landing page visitor answer through any of your testimonials?
Check out our 10 tips to create more effective landing pages.
Create a testimonial page for your website
Different from landing pages, creating a dedicated page on your website for testimonials is another way to increase sales conversions.
This differs from landing pages because a website page should be easy to find within your website navigation menu. Landing pages are standalone web pages that are disconnected from your website’s navigation. Their purpose is to present focused content that aims to convince visitors to act.
Visitors do expect to see testimonials from previous customers when they view your website for the first time. They want proof that you’re a trustworthy brand, and testimonials offer that social proof.
A testimonial page on your website can answer various questions visitors might have. You also can incorporate various types of testimonials to make it more engaging for visitors to navigate. These testimonials can also be more broad than one you would use on a focused landing page. You can highlight your service, expertise, trustworthiness, customer service and so on.
Check out our 11 steps to create an effective business website.
Highlight testimonials in your marketing emails
Email marketing is a powerful tool to drive revenue, and testimonials can boost that even more.
Simply put, email marketing is the use of email to promote your brand’s products or services. But in addition, you can develop relationships with your current customers and connect to potential customers. It’s about informing and engaging your recipients with a personalized message that resonates. Email marketing is one of the most cost-effective and conversion-rich tactics you can embrace within your overall digital marketing strategy.
You can get very specific and targeted with emails, so testimonials could help you cross-sell or upsell to existing customers. Consider testimonials in emails an opportunity to convert potential customers into customers and one-time customers into repeat customers.
Check out the 11 do’s and don’ts of email marketing.
Share testimonials on social media
Social media platforms are the perfect opportunity to engage with consumers and share your brand story.
By sharing your testimonials on social media, you’re likely to boost engagement and ultimately traffic to your website, where you can further drive consumers into your sales funnel.
You also can target your posts with paid social media advertising campaigns. Just keep in mind that many platforms have guidelines regarding paid testimonial advertising.
Check out our 11 best practices to help you grow your social media followers.
Expand into case studies
Case studies are actually a more advanced type of testimonial in some ways. Simply put, a case study is the analysis of a particular instance of something to demonstrate quantifiable results as a result of the application of something else.
In digital marketing, case studies are used as social proof, just like testimonials, to give consumers context to determine whether they’re making a good purchasing decision.
Consider each testimonial you obtain the seed to a more in-depth case study that can be developed. Then, you can use your case studies as lead magnets and in marketing campaigns.
In conclusion
While testimonials can be incredibly powerful in boosting your revenue by acting as social proof and generating trust among consumers, there are legal considerations to keep in mind, especially when using testimonials in any paid advertising.
Beyond legalities, the more ways you can leverage your testimonials, the better.
While you’re boosting your revenue with customer testimonials, consider leveling up your digital marketing process. DailyStory features automation, dynamic audience segmentation and more. We can help you get your survey to the right respondents. Schedule your free demo with us today.
