One of the reasons that people trust a company is because they have gotten social proof that the company is trustworthy. People are often skeptical of product and service claims because they have been burned before or they know someone else who has been burned. And do you blame them? So many exaggerated claims are made through advertisements that it is hard to know what to believe. This problem is especially true in service industries. Who's word can the prospect trust? This is where social proof comes into play. If you can't rely on someone you know personally to refer a vendor, then the next best thing is to read reviews and testimonials.
Think about how you shop online for products and services. For small purchases, you may be willing to spend the money and try out the product. However, for medium-to-large purchases, you compare pricing and read numerous reviews. For service vendors, Angie's List has become a source of social proof as an added layer of surety against fraud and sloppy work. People are watchdogs concerned with spending their money, and this follows through on a corporate level as well. To help combat this wary attitude, the right testimonials can ease the prospect's mind.
Focus on Your Audience
No one company can be the best solution for every problem. Your company has expertise in your niche and that is where you shine. To appeal to prospects that need your service, you should be asking for testimonials from customers that have been thrilled with your product or service because it provided a solution for them. Create landing pages tailored to specific prospects with focused testimonials. Get inside your reader's head and provide assurance for the problem they are seeking to solve. Testimonials should be real, and illuminate real problems with real solutions.
Reviews Highlight Benefits
When customers write a positive review, they highlight the benefits of your product or service. They are selling your product for you without working for your company. Their statements are perceived as unbiased, third-party opinions that are reliable. The more specific a review is, the better it highlights how your product or service can be used in any given situation. If the review demonstrates how their lives were improved by using your product, then other prospects will be apt to believe them. The best reviews point out why the product works for a specific situation and why it wouldn't work for a different usage. For instance, why a lamp is perfectly sized for a desk, but would be a poor choice for a large room.
Add Credibility
The most important benefit you can receive from a testimonial is credibility. Not every testimonial is equal in this aspect because credibility has to come from someone that is trustworthy, that people are familiar with. If you can obtain testimonials from large companies or known individuals in an industry, the testimonial will go much further to establish trust. However, even testimonials by unknown individuals will help build trust if they offer specifics. New customers want to know if your product will fix their problem. While you can try to convince them yourself, your customer testimonials will add the social proof that you need to be credible.
