ASK ALL OF YOUR HAPPY CLIENTS FOR A TESTIMONIAL
Before purchasing a product or service, potential buyers want to determine if the intended purchase is a good value for the money. Most customers will want proof that a product or service is good before spending money on it, especially for more expensive purchases. Many potential customers will do some research on a product or service before purchasing. With the ubiquity of internet access and the wealth of material available on thousands of web sites, doing research before making a purchase is easier than ever.
One of the first websites a potential buyer will check is the service provider or product seller’s own website, going right to the source. This first stop will give the potential buyer a feel for the professionalism of the provider as well as a sense of how they may be treated by them. Many online businesses, like Amazon.com, even provide customer reviews of their product or service right on their own site. This way, customers can read a positive review quickly and easily before making a decision. For people who provide a service, not a product, it’s become common practice to have quotes from customer reviews or testimonials appearing prominently on the homepage of your site.
Whether it’s a fair review or not, people trust the opinion of their fellow consumers more than they trust the description of the product or service by the company itself. This makes sense, because consumers are all on the same team; and by calling out under-par service, consumers protect one another. People want to know how many people use the product or service, and of those that use it, how many are satisfied? Potential buyers can’t find out every detail that they want to know, but even just a one sentence testimonial from a few different customers can be highly reassuring for them.
Amazon.com provides an excellent example of how real life customer feedback can be used to influence potential buyers. Each item sold on Amazon allows customers to rate the product and write a review. Potential buyers use these ratings and reviews to help determine which of many similar products is most liked by real users. Products sometimes have hundreds, or even thousands, of reviews. Amazon sends an email soon after the product has been delivered, inviting the purchaser to rate and review the product. This helps remind and encourage buyers to participate in the process of rating and reviewing products, which in turn contributes to the overall success of the site.
If you have clients who are happy with your product or service, you should invite them to write a testimonial. There’s nothing like a personal ask coming from you or a sincere member of your team. Your happy customer will feel valued and likely excited to put in a good word for you. These testimonials can be posted on your website and in your product documentation. If possible, follow Amazon’s example and have an email asking for a review or testimonial sent out to buyers automatically some time after they make a purchase from you. The email should be scheduled to go out after a reasonable time period, giving the customer enough time to see how they feel about your product or service.
Positive reviews from actual clients can go a long way toward influencing potential buyers to buy your product or service. When a potential buyer reads positive reviews from actual clients, they will see more credibility in your product or service and be more inclined to make the purchase.