Leverage User Testimonials For Your SaaS Product

Regardless, your software product is a product. However, unlike traditional physical products, SaaS marketing was born with a congenital disadvantage, intangibility. As word of mouth is still the cheapest form of marketing; having people talk about your Software becomes difficult, because like any other product, users have to 'experience' it first.

There are obstacles (procrastination, distrust, low priority... ) in the way of a user for the initial product purchase- SaaS and physical products alike. A product might help a prospective user overcome these obstacles. When a user comes in contact initially with a physical product, the product is accessible and obstacle number one(1) is out of the way. SaaS products don't have this advantage.

To mitigate this, software based businesses can leverage the power of genuine user testimonials. Forget about your 'About Us' page, no matter how well written it is. Even though it gives a prospective user an idea of your product, it is ultimately you telling the user what your product is. This isn't a bad thing in itself, but research has shown that user generated content has more conversions than your 'about us' page.

The Stats:

• According to Reevoo stats, 50 or more reviews per product can mean a 4.6% increase in conversion rates. 
• 63% of customers are more likely to make a purchase from a site which has user reviews. (iPerceptions, 2011).
• Site visitors who interact with both reviews and customer questions and answers are 105% more likely to purchase while visiting, and spend 11% more than visitors who don’t interact with UGC. (Bazaarvoice, Conversation Index, Q2 2011).
• Consumer reviews are significantly more trusted (nearly 12 times more) than descriptions that come from manufacturers, according to a survey of US internet users by online video review site EXPO. (eMarketer, February 2010).
• According to Reevoo, reviews produce an average 18% uplift in sales

Now that the importance is out of the way, how do you get your users to write you a kick ass testimony for publication? In this fast paced internet age where everything is demanding attention, consumers are jaded. A loaded but concise testimony is the only way to get the needed reaction.

Here are guidelines we use at OneCard Nigeria for our ElitePlus platform to coach users on writing testimonials in short and concise form in under 80 words. In the testimonials a few key things you want addressed are;

1. Who is writing the testimonial(individual), representing what company(business)-
2. What feature(s) have you found most helpful
3. What work/services have you used this product to accomplish
4. How has the product improved previous ways of doing things (what pain has been relieved)
5. If you'll recommend or already recommended the product

You can mix things up, shoot videos(if there's a budget) where users speak, using the same guidelines above.

Cheers