How To Boost Your Credibility With Powerful Testimonials

Powerful testimonials are a proven way to add credibility to your business. I place an emphasis on the ‘powerful’ bit, because judging from some company websites, it seems all too many businesses are happy to print any old testimonial and be done with it.

Let’s be frank, some ‘recommendations’ don’t look terribly authentic do they? And poorly written (or dubious) testimonials on a website or in a brochure can have a worse impact on your reputation than none at all.

Which of the following do you think looks more credible?
“Wow! XYZ company is a pleasure to do business with. I can’t recommend them highly enough.”
Mrs JH , London.

or

“I’ve been working with Michael from XYZ for the past six months and during that time I’ve seen our website rise from virtual obscurity to Page 1 of Google. Not only that, but the number of ‘qualified’ enquiries has doubled over the same period. Here at JS Accountancy, we consider Michael a valuable asset to our sales team.”
Jack Smith, CEO, J S Accountancy, Norwich.

The second one sounds like it’s from a real person doesn’t it? In fact, it’s really easy to check that this testimonial is genuine.

So if you can, always include your endorser’s full name (rather than initials), their position within the company, the company name and location. A photograph of the person giving the testimonial makes a nice addition to the piece, but it’s not a ‘must have’.

You might think contacting customers to ask for a testimonial is tantamount to hassling them, but the reality is, satisfied buyers of your product or service will be pleased to help you out.

Having your customers do your talking for you within your marketing materials is a sound business strategy. Getting the right testimonials from the right people will do wonders for your professionalism and prospects.

Having one or two testimonials to back up your business is great. Having a whole range of endorsements is even better. Ideally your testimonials need to come from slightly different angles, so they are not all reinforcing the same point.

For example you could have individual testimonials which highlight:

Your great service
The quality of your materials
How easy you are to work with
That your business represents excellent value for money
That your product or service consistently exceeds expectations
That customers have recommended your business to friends, family, or colleagues

By including lots of testimonials, which focus on differing facets of your products or services, you give your potential customers the complete picture – an overview of what it’s like to do business with you.

I’m sure you will be able to come up with lots of exciting ideas for testimonials that you could use to boost your reputation in business – resulting in more enquiries – and more sales.