3 Smart Ways to Use Customer Testimonials to Win People's Trust

One of the key aspects of marketing is cultivating consumer trust. You want people to trust your brand to deliver great products or services.

This is easier said than done. Genuine trust must be earned.

Other than making sure your products or services are the best they can be, customer testimonials are one of the best ways to win over a skeptical reader. If you can get satisfied customers or clients to vouch for you, that's something people are naturally inclined to trust.

Getting testimonials is pretty simple.

All you need to do is ask.

Most of the time, people are glad to give a quick review that's positive.

There's also a bit of a dichotomy to reviews in general: they either gush enthusiastically about whatever it is they're reviewing, or they're brutally scathing.

People are more likely to remember very good or very bad experiences, and far more likely to leave a review if they're very impressed (or very disappointed) with your product.

It's a very “love it or hate it” thing, and when you ask for reviews, you usually end up with tons of praise and positivity. They tend to focus heavily on what they liked best.

In a recent blog post, Quick Sprout goes over some of the things you can include in your testimonials to maximize their impact.

1. Use images

I won’t bore you with a long-winded explanation of the importance of images.

This is usually one of the first bits of advice you’ll hear.

But they really are a critical element of a strong testimonial.

In fact, 65% of senior marketing executives believe that visual assets are core to how their brand story is communicated.

[image source: Quick Sprout]
Not only do images make testimonials look more professional, they increase “truthiness,” defined as a subjective feeling of truth.

This is what you’re looking for when attempting to create a connection and persuade leads to buy.

2. Include specifics

You probably know I’m a stat guy.

I love stats!

For me, data is the perfect way to help prospects connect the dots and understand why your brand is worth doing business with.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to include concrete numbers in your testimonials.

Don’t just feature testimonials that say your product “is good.”

Give prospects real data.

Here are a couple of examples of testimonials I use on NeilPatel.com.

There’s one reason I use these specific testimonials.

They work.

3. Experiment with a long-form format

If you listen to standard advice on testimonials, you’ll probably hear that you should keep them short and sweet.

However, this isn’t always the best route to go.

In fact, longer testimonials are often more persuasive than standard, short ones.

Why?

Think about it.

Long-form testimonials allow you to explain the ins and outs of your product and provide specific examples of how it has helped your customers.

You can effectively cover multiple aspects of your product and address any concerns your prospects may have.

One of the best examples I’ve seen of long-form testimonials is Noah Kagan’s landing page for Make Your First Dollar course.

Here’s what I’m talking about:

[image source: Quick Sprout]
It’s incredibly in-depth, and I’m sure many of the people reading this testimonial could put themselves in Bryan’s shoes.

Now, I’m not saying long-form is the right approach for every single brand, but it’s definitely something to consider.

If you zig when your competitors zag, this could be your ticket to making your brand stand out.