With new online businesses springing up in recent years, brands with outstanding services should be able to convince potential customers they’re worth buying from.
There are several ways to make customers feel safe and stick with you for a long time.
But, what better way to increase conversions than letting other customers talk about your brand’s greatness?
Customers endorsing your business is what’s known as testimonials.
You might have seen them before but probably didn’t consider creating them.
Don’t worry, we cover everything you need to know in this guide and that includes:
- What a testimonial is
- Benefits of testimonials for your eCommerce business
- How to create amazing testimonials
Let’s get right down to business!
Table of Contents
6 Benefits of Testimonials for Businesses
3-Step Process to Creating Killer Testimonials for your eCommerce
7 Examples of Great Testimonials to Inspire You
What’s a Testimonial?
A testimonial is an honest review of your products or services from loyal customers, employees, or colleagues who have experienced great results from using your products or services. It’s like the star ratings you see on Google search results.
Customer testimonials carry a strong message because they’re endorsements from real people who know your business.
Ads are great – there’s no doubt about that.
But, your loyal customers will do a better job of persuading potential customers to buy from you.
Here’s a great illustration:
When passing by a cafe and seeing people laughing and having fun, chances are you’ll feel compelled to check the place out.
That feeling isn’t because they had a very fancy signboard or some other alluring enchantment but because of the happy customers you saw.
No images, copy, or videos—just other people enjoying themselves at a cafe and you want a piece of that.
That’s what a testimonial can do for your eCommerce business: it will ignite a level of curiosity in potential customers because the loyal customers spoke about the awesomeness of your products.
In a 2021 research, Adobe Business found out that 7 in 10 people buy more from brands they trust and will stop buying once that trust is broken.
That leaves one question on the minds of business owners:
How do I build trust as a brand and increase my cash flow?
You can start with eCommerce testimonials.
And here’s what testimonials could look like:
A pretty long Facebook comment from a satisfied customer.
In your case, you could take several screenshots and include them in a blog post.
But there are other formats your testimonials can be in such as:
- Quotes
- Videos
- Case studies
And more!
We will discuss all that in detail in subsequent sections.
For now, let’s dive into the benefits of eCommerce testimonials.
5 Benefits of Testimonials for Businesses
There are several benefits of customer testimonials for an eCommerce business, but how they increase conversions stands out the most.
Plus, this social proof further provides you with insight into your customers’ buying habits.
Here’s another confirmation:
90% of buyers read online reviews before deciding which products or services to buy.
Do you have customer testimonials as part of your marketing process?
If you don’t, let’s give you even more reasons why social proof is needed for your business.
Testimonials come with several benefits, they include:
- Building trust
- Emphasizing your business’s value
- Answering questions potential customers may have
- Increasing sales
- Improving SEO
Boost trust and credibility
Who fuels the growth of your online business?
Clients!
We know you have an important role to play in your business but everything you do is because of them, right?
As such, you need to show them just how much you care.
Good customer reviews will do that for you.
The testimonials tell a story to potential clients about how your business cares for them enough to offer exactly what they need.
After reading or watching several customer stories, they are assured your business is credible enough for them to transact with.
Businesses that don’t prioritize trust can lose a good number of customers.
We’re not just saying that!
In fact, the Adobe research team found that 71% of UK consumers said they’ll not deal with a brand once they’ve lost trust in them.
Let’s see the next benefit.
Effectively highlight the value of your product and service
Another benefit of getting happy customers to share their stories is that it highlights your deliverables as high-quality products that potential clients need.
It’s one thing to have good products or offer quality services and a different thing for people to be aware of it.
Certainly, running ads can get people to interact with your business.
But testimonials from real customers add some zing to it—plus it won’t cost you a dime!
These reviews from Larry and John about their experience at Backlinko are a good example of what we’re saying.
Testimonials like these emphasize the value they've had from being your customer which practically does all the convincing for you.
Isn’t that interesting?
Overcome objections from potential customers
Sometimes, your marketing materials leave the wrong impression on potential clients for different reasons.
It can cost you more money running ads to retarget customers or get them to visit your website again.
If you notice this pattern in your eCommerce business, guess which solution can help you out.
You guessed it right…
Welcome, customer testimonials.
They’ll help you settle any objections from new customers and answer questions that relate to the value of your deliverables and business operations.
Many businesses place testimonials on their landing pages so it would be among the first things people see when they’re on the website. That way you get to overcome any objections potential customers may have.
Boost sales
This is one benefit any eCommerce business owner would love.
Really, who wouldn’t like to see their sales increase?
More sales equals higher income and that’s a good thing.
According to Econsultancy data, businesses that include testimonials on their website saw an 18% increase in sales.
Moreover, Wikijob carried out a test and saw conversion rates go up by 34% on a page with testimonials as opposed to another page that didn’t have them.
You see where this is going, don’t you?
In other words, include a good testimonial in your content marketing process if you want to see your sales increase.
Boost your SEO
One way to optimize your online business page for search engines is to post content on a regular basis. People do that by constantly updating their blog section.
Here’s a quick hack that you can use as an alternative:
Let search engines get content from your customer reviews. Since the reviews are constantly updated, your eCommerce store will have a higher chance of a better ranking.
Testimonials prove to search engines that customers are engaging with your business and if you get good reviews from your customers and include them on the site, Google rewards you with a better ranking.
Yotpo, a user-generated content software, proved this hypothesis over 9 months and saw a 45% rise in traffic of sites using customer reviews.
We’ve covered the benefits of testimonials for your eCommerce business; how about we show you how to create them?
3-Step Process to Creating Killer Testimonials for your eCommerce
The importance of having a testimonial section or a reviews page is so underrated especially when it’s a new product or service. The fear of losing money or buying something that won’t cover your needs can cause potential buyers to back out of a deal.
Then they see a testimonial.
Someone else was in a similar position to the potential buyer, used your products, saw great results, and couldn’t hold back how good it was so they had to share.
Potential customers see this and are convinced your product or service is worth their money.
And just like P. Barnum would say, “Nothing draws a crowd quite like a crowd.”
Before we go into our 3-step process, we’ve got a couple of things you shouldn’t forget:
- Be real: Avoid faking testimonials, it rarely ends well. Besides, your audience can tell.
- Keep it simple: Short and direct is the way to go. People are busy; embrace the specifics and avoid the cliches.
- Make it conversational: Let it be free and keep formalities to a minimum.
Now, let’s get into the details.
1. Define the story you want your testimonial to tell (and the questions you’re going to ask)
Even though content on the testimonials page is provided by satisfied customers, you want it to be from the perspective of your brands and services.
What feelings do you want your target audience to have towards your product when they land on your homepage?
That’s the story you want the testimonials to tell including challenges existing customers faced and how they were able to derive value from using your products or services.
Think of it as a short but very detailed FAQ section where people’s questions are answered.
Once that is settled, you can then determine what type of testimonial resonates with your brand.
That leads us to the next step.
2. Decide the type of testimonial you want to create
There are several ways you can display testimonials for your business.
But, keep in mind that any option you decide to use needs to have an effect on your target audience and align with your brand’s values.
To help you create the kind of testimonials that can influence a potential customer’s purchase decision, we outline different types to display your customer stories below:
- Quote testimonial
- Video testimonial
- Social media testimonial
- Interview testimonial
- Case study
- Creator or influencer testimonial
Quote testimonials
They are more like ads or infographics that display statements, usually positive ones, from satisfied customers or brand ambassadors.
The name or picture of whoever is being quoted is included so potential customers can relate to it.
You can say it’s marketing your brand but using a loyal customer’s voice to enhance your credibility.
Video testimonials
Having videos on your testimonials page is a great way to build the credibility of your brand in the eyes of potential leads.
It’s a combination of motion pictures and audio to tell your brand’s story.
Plus, you can rely on the effectiveness of testimonial videos.
Little wonder why over 70% of people were convinced to make a purchase after watching a brand video.
If you can, go for this.
Social media testimonials
Social media is where everyone goes to have fun, look for recommendations, sell, and buy. It’s one place customers with opinions about a product can speak freely and influence others.
Over 80% of millennials say content generated by other users has a degree of influence on what they buy.
Happy customers wouldn’t hesitate in writing down their experience with your brand and share it with their followers.
That single act can positively affect your business in so many ways.
It’s recommended that you interact with their post whenever you see it.
Interview testimonials
This is another effective testimonial you can use. Even though there are several ways to get this done, it’s still pretty straightforward.
It’s a normal interview where you ask loyal customers what their experience has been like using products or services. What challenges were they facing and how was your brand able to guarantee their success?
Potential leads can see how profitable your business can be to them in more practical terms.
You can record and share it as written content, video, or an audio piece on your website.
Let’s move on!
Case study testimonial
It’s a detailed analysis of a loyal client’s experience with your product or service. Here you use a scientific (step-by-step) approach to display how your brand has led existing customers to success.
The customer experience story that’ll be shared is great if you run a B2B business and want to persuade another business to buy from you.
Influencer testimonial
The idea behind this type of social proof is similar to influencer marketing. You will need an influencer, celebrity, or spokesperson to support your brand.
Getting someone who has used your products or services and is aligned with the objectives of your brand is important.
It can be expensive to create but when your potential leads listen to an authority they look up to talk about what they love about your service, it assures them of the credibility of your brand.
Now, to the last step.
3. Make it engaging and authentic (use names and faces!)
Irrespective of the type of testimonial being used, being authentic is so important.
It helps support the uniqueness of your brand and that’s one factor you don’t want to mess with.
Otherwise, your business begins to lose credibility in the sight of potential leads.
So, what can you do?
Ensure your testimonials have the names and faces of your customers.
This way, you will have effective testimonials telling your brand’s story the right way.
How about one bonus step before we move forward?
Bonus Step: Ask creators for testimonials
We know what you’re thinking – fine, we can guess.
Who are the creators again and why do I need them for testimonials?
Think of them as influencers who specialize in creating content for their followers. They are trusted and followers can always rely on them for credible information.
In a 2021 survey by Statista, over 60% of millennials trusted the recommendations of influencers when buying beauty products. The survey showed a higher percentage among generation Z.
Hence, you can be sure of seeing returns on your investment when you partner with creators.
You can ask a creator to do a review of your product or service and share it with their audience.
This is how you can get that done:
You need to find a creator in your niche.
To do so, feel free to sign up with Insense to put together an influencer brief. The brief is needed to effectively communicate your objective to the content creator.
Here’s how the process works:
Once you’re in the Insense space, click on Fill out a brief under Create a Campaign.
From there, you can proceed to add your brand’s information.
All of these are so the creator is familiar with your objectives.
The next step is to input your campaign details including the company logo as seen in the image below.
Moving on, you will need to select your preferred campaign which in this case would be customer content creation. Then, don’t hesitate to follow the on-screen instructions as you go on.
After completing your influencer brief using our template, share it with your creator so they can get started on the testimonial.
We’ve shown you how to get customers to share their own testimonials so your brand’s conversion rates can go up.
Now, let’s see examples of testimonials to inspire you.
7 Examples of Great Testimonials to Inspire You
Let’s go through some good examples that can inspire you to create testimonials with amazing success stories.
With prospective customers researching you online, they’re getting familiar with your business through your content.
It’s good practice to let satisfied customers do most of the talking whether you run a small business or a big brand.
That’s why we believe these examples would make a great impact on how potential clients eventually come to perceive your business.
Let’s get started with them.
1. SupergaUK Social Media Creator Video Testimonial
Trishna is a content creator on social media who created a testimonial for SupergaUK– an Italian footwear brand.
A quick look at the caption and you can see the pronouns were used in the first person.
This tells you she used SupergaUK’s product which is the authenticity we spoke about earlier on.
2. Insense Case Studies
Remember case studies are an in-depth analysis of the customer’s experience with your brand. We believe in the power of testimonials and that’s why we prepare detailed case studies.
In every case study, there are three details on display to demonstrate how each brand can truly benefit potential customers.
They include the following:
- Challenge
- Solution
- Outcome
That summarizes a customer story for a potential lead.
3. Ahrefs Customer Quote Testimonials
Short, detailed, and precise is how this Ahrefs quote testimonial is displayed. A short quote with a happy client’s face makes it very authentic, right?
Have a look:
It’s just an excerpt of what your customer has said in a graphical setting.
4. Glossier Social Media Creator Photo Testimonial
Satisfied customers share testimonials on social media. Most times, it isn’t because it was requested but because they loved your services or product.
Glossier is known for using fabulous user-generated content from happy customers.
It makes you wanna try out the products she’s using, right?
5. Chanel Customer Testimonial on TikTok
You would think a popular brand like Chanel wouldn’t care for a testimonial.
Well, that’s not close to the truth.
Whether your business is popular or just starting out, brands continuously need sales. This is another testimonial in video format.
If you look closely, you can observe how many impressions the video testimonial has had.
And that’s what you want:
Loyal customers have a subtle influence on potential leads by getting your services or products out in the open.
6. L’Oreal Favorite Product Testimonial
Not all testimonials need to be long and they don’t have to be directly shared by the company either.
The important thing is that the product or service is getting an honest positive review.
That’s what this Instagram post is all about – sharing a positive experience a customer has with the company. You may not always be able to get loyal customers to share their testimonials.
It’s their choice.
But whenever they do, ensure you interact with their post.
7. Sephora TikTok Content Creator Testimonial
Influencer testimonials are seen here again with the creator showing how the product can be used.
As long as your testimonial answers the question, “How can this product or service benefit me?” you’re good to go.
We’ve reached the end of this guide.
Let’s wrap up with some closing words.
Now Over to You
There you have it!
In this guide, we’ve discussed everything you need to create killer testimonials.
We hope our examples have inspired you!
Keep in mind that you can always work with creators to create testimonials for your business.
Well, if you still have questions about how creators can help out, don’t hesitate to book a free demo with Insense and we’ll guide you every step of the way.
Thanks for reading.
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