Testimonials are an essential tool to help potential customers make a choice about whether they should make a purchase. These days, as testimonials hold so much power, simply asking for them is not enough. You should also be guiding your existing customers through the process.

The difference between a poor and high-quality testimonial can really be the difference between a conversion and not. The way you can create powerful testimonials is through copywriting, of course! 

In this article, I’ll walk you through some key tips that you can use when trying to get more effective testimonials from your existing customer base:

1. Thorough Guidance

If you want something specific, you’ll have to provide enough guidance. Skip the basic (and stale) questions like “How was your experience?”. Instead, focus on questions that are more likely to generate a deeper response, like “How did our product/ service improve your life?”. 

Now, you’re probably already thinking about how much time this will take. If you develop a template to use for all your customers, you can effectively save time. Providing customers with a structured questionnaire that can be tweaked slightly to their individual situation is highly recommended.

In your guidance, you should place emphasis on results. So, request information from your customers about the results they received, and the actual benefits they saw when using your products/ services.

2. Crafting the Copy

Before you can start editing any testimonials, make sure you get approval from the customer. Editing a testimonial (especially major edits) without the customers’ knowledge is a big no-no. You want to use the customer’s own voice in the testimonial, so avoid overediting. 

The review should sound like it is coming from a real person, so it doesn’t necessarily need to be perfect. If you nail the guidance when requesting reviews, you shouldn’t have to edit too much of their copy either.

While testimonials should tell a story, it shouldn’t be a long one! Keep things as concise as possible, avoiding unnecessary fluff and beating around the bush. Focus on the most impactful parts of their review.

3. Build Credibility

In a world of fake reviews, credibility is so important. You want potential customers to believe the reviews that have been left. To build credibility and trust, include a photo of the customer leaving the review. This helps to humanise the testimonial, and others can see a face behind the name.

Speaking of names, you should be using the customer’s full name as well. This adds a layer of authenticity that you can’t get by simply adding initials or a generic title like “Business Owner”. For B2B testimonials, adding the company the customer works for, and even their title, is a good idea.

4. Add Testimonials Correctly

It’s not just about the actual testimonials, but you should place them in the right spots on your website as well. You can use them as a support when you make certain claims about your business. 

They should also be easy to find, not buried down near the bottom of a page. Also, the most important thing is to confirm with the customer that you can display their review on your website, and for any other marketing materials (like email campaigns) they may be used for.

Need help buffing up testimonials or with copywriting in general? Well, here comes the shameless plug! I’m always here to lend a helping hand, so reach out and let’s see what we can do 💪