How do you leverage customer testimonials and referrals to grow your business?

Customer testimonials are key to building and sharing your name and brand on various platforms ; however you do and always need to seek permission to use these and they can’t be amended or doctored out of context. I don’t believe there is much emphasis put on testimonials from others, and the impact it can have ,however they do carry a lot of weight .

Testimonials need to be authentic. Genuine feedback is key. Encouraging happy customers to tell their story in a way which resonates and in ways in which customers feel comfortable will reinforce trust and credibility at key touchpoints in the customer journey.

Testimonials have always been a part of a solid business marketing plan. When prospective customers see positive testimonials from satisfied clients, it validates the quality of the products or services. People are more likely to trust the opinions of their peers than traditional advertising or marketing messages.

This is definitely one of the best "word of mouth" experience that a company can create. Sharing happy customer stories helps attract new customers and build trust. By posting these stories online and asking satisfied customers to refer friends, company can grow the business. Encouraging them to participate in events and case studies also strengthens your brand and community.

While word of mouth is still in top place for building your overall rapport to nail down sales, the digital age definitely makes it easier to get those words out to your customers. Understanding the sales process and strategizing where their "words of wisdom" will best hit home for your customers to answer the questions you know they will have, build the reassurance that your product or service is exactly what they are looking for is key.

A live webinar can be an effective tool for testimonials in the B2B world. Not only do you get the initial audience who attends the webinar and the leads that that generates but also you can use clips from that webinar on your website and social media to further promote the testimonial (assuming permission from the client is given).

You must display your testimonials and referrals all over the place, including: - Website pages - Check out pages - Landing pages - Newsletter - Social media - On your office walls - Print marketing materials You should also thank your referral partners on your social media, website and newsletter to show people that you get referrals and that they should refer you too!

We've all seen testimonials and demos of popular products on social media- mainly because it works. Buyers have the power and can be skeptical or even confused about which product or brand to choose when there are so many options. Social media testimonials are helpful to differentiate your product or service when "everyday" people demonstrate it's value.

In addition to putting testimonials on your website and promoting them on social channels and in email campaigns, you should also share them with your sales team. They can include quotes and video snippets in their pitch decks, emails, and sales sheets to build trust and overcome objections.

Experiment with various testimonials on your landing pages and track their conversion rates. - Click through rate - POurchase rate - Time spent on page Track these numbers to see which testimonials help you convert better.

If you have invested time, effort, and most-likely cost, into any customer referral/testimonial program, you need to measure and analyze the data to know it's effectiveness. Employ data analytics tools to track and analyze customer usage patterns, behaviors, and interactions with your product. Identify the point customers drop off and create plans to address.

It's crucial to be bold when selecting customers to provide a testimonial. Usually, companies ask for testimonials to the customers that they have the best relationship with. But this is not the most strategic way to do it. Companies use testimonials to: 1. Provide trust to new potential customers 2. Although it may seem odd, to engage the customer that provides the testimonial. There is a cognitive effect called "reversed reciprocity" which mentions that, when someone helps you with something, they cognitively need to prove themselves that you deserved it. Thus, you can ask for a testimonial to a strategic customer that is not sufficiently engaged, because she will be more likely to increase your product adoption afterwards.

Use video! To actually hear and see your peers talking about why they live your product or your people is much more impactful. Just short form video of between 1-3 minutes is far more impactful than a long article.

In my experience for a very niche product as airmail, the best way to get testimonial is based on "word of mouth". Post offices managers know each other in the world and they often refer each other with reliable airlines for airmail. As an airline you need to give the most reliable service and Customer service possible and avoid headaches to the post offices managers.

Apart from what is listed above, use "Like-for-Like" examples when pitching to new businesses. For instance, if you pitch your SaaS solution to a travel company, you can use the testimonial from your other travel industry client to pitch to a new client. If there is no similar industry client, a close match to their problem/solution is ideal. Use data, VoC and testimonials to get the point across. Another example is to use these testimonials in road shows, conferences, and industry forums where your competitors and potential new clients are present.

Referrals are good in breaking the ice when the client is not very keen to go for the offered services. However, once the client agrees to put the services to a trial, it is the muscle strength and the robustness of the service which is going to keep the service provider into regular consistent business on a long term perspective. Hence, these should be at best considered as a means to open the door and do some meaningful activities and business transactions to strengthen the promises and commitments made. It is important to mention here that these referrals must be taken from those clients who have had business interactions for a sufficient period of time so that they provide solid positive feedback, if contacted.