Did the title catch your attention? Did you get just a little defensive? Do you think you effectively use testimonials on your website?  I thought the same, but the more I researched this topic, the more I came to believe that TKO Graphics could do a better job using testimonials than what we currently do and I think most of you can too.

Think about it, when you research a buying decision with an organization what do you look for? Are testimonials and reviews the first places you search? Most people do, therefore your business should make testimonials easy to find.

5 Places to Use Testimonials on your Website

Testimonial Pages

Many sites have a testimonial or results page, and that’s great, but is it enough? What if visitors to your site don’t open that page? What if a prospect is considering taking action but needs more information? Shouldn’t it be available or easily accessed wherever the visitor is on their journey of your website? You know the answer. Here’s an example of a results page, TKO Graphix Results Page Testimonial videos

Homepage

I’m not suggesting that a homepage should be wall-to-wall testimonials but shouldn’t visitors be given a taste of what your customers think of your business, product, or service or at least the option to read further?

Call to Action

When you ask people to take action, you should give them the information they need to make a good decision.  For example, if you offer a free download in exchange for contact information, include a short testimonial from a customer who has taken this action testifying how it helped them.

Blogs, Videos, and Case Studies

Customer testimonials and success stories can be added as case studies, blogs, and videos on your website.  TKO Graphix case studies

Every Page

I’ve heard web developers and marketers claim this to be overkill, and if it’s overdone with multiple long content testimonials on every page, it would be. It would soon become annoying. However, if each page shared a short testimonial that fit the page wouldn’t it add credibility and trust to the page? I think it would.

Why Testimonials work

It’s important to stop and consider how and why testimonials work before plastering them all over your website. To know what types of testimonials you need, first you must know why they work.

Build Trust – This can be especially important for a startup or an under promoted small business. A positive testimonial on how the business fulfilled promises given by a satisfied customer could be perfect for a homepage.

Share Benefits – A customer sharing how a product or service benefited them means more than statistics and information about the product.

It’s not hard sell – If you say your product is great –it’s selling. If your customer says it’s great it’s advocating.

It can be made to fit any audience – If you know your target audience, you can solicit testimonials from satisfied customers that represents your audience.

Back up your claims – You can shout whatever you want, one hour service or lifetime warranty, etc. but it will never have the impact of a customer saying the same thing.

Are One or Two Testimonials Enough?

Are one or two testimonials on your website enough? Is it enough if a visitor is about to make a decision on a call to action, but there’s no evidence to help them make the decision? Is it enough if a prospect, researching your startup, knows nothing about you and can’t find anyone who does? How many testimonials do you share on your website?