Have you noticed differently testimonials were viewed by consumers only a few years ago?
We were all a little sceptical as to if they were “real” or not.
However, times have rapidly changed in this social age. We book accommodation, choose restaurants, buy products and even hire contractors, all based on testimonials.
Today we are living in the ‘Testimonial Economy’ and if you haven’t gotten on board, it’s you’re being left behind.
In the ‘Testimonial Economy’ if you talk about yourself too much, you quickly get labelled as a self-promotor or a spammer.
What we say about ourselves no longer matters; consumers are more willing to believe in what’s being “advertised” if they can relate to the source of the information. This is where testimonials come into play.
Testimonials can earn the trust and respect of the customer. They help you speak to your customer, not at them. When you have past clients that are mad raving fans of yours, it helps the potential client better identify with you and more likely to work with you.
They’re important to your business because they have the gift of humanising you. Making you more relatable and connecting you with your audience on an emotional level.
Testimonials are powerful social proof as they are “based on a true story”.
Customers want to know if you are credible and trustworthy before they sign over their biggest asset to sell with you. Testimonials from past clients provide the proof that you are who you say you are and do what you say you will do. Think of them like digital word of mouth.
Keep in mind that the best kinds of testimonials are ones that the client has written themselves. Let them know that you want their genuine thoughts about their experience and let them write it in their own voice.
Keep in mind you can talk your testimonial to the next level with video. It’s next level powerful social proof. Video has the added benefit of communicating with body language, tone and other physical cues that don’t translate to text. This combined the extra effort it takes to create a video testimonial makes the video even more credible and trustworthy.
So, if you haven’t implemented a structure into your business to collect testimonials, I hope I’ve convinced you why you should!
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