Writing Effective Testimonials – Advice from Holly Buchanan
Since I’m into testimonials, I found someone who is an expert at writing them. Holly Buchanan is a marketing professional and she graciously agreed to answer my questions: 
1. What makes an effective testimonial?
Effective testimonials do 3 things: They are specific, they overcome objections, and they are properly placed.
#1 – They are specific.
Avoid vague or cliché testimonials like “I was very impressed with your service,” or “Great course. I loved it.” These have little or no impact. Look for testimonials that are more specific. “Tech support spoke to me in plain English and isolated the problem in 90 seconds.” Or “The section in your course about negotiating with stubborn sellers was invaluable.” Specifics make testimonials more powerful and believable.
#2 – They overcome objections.
Some of the most powerful testimonials you have are ones that address common customer objections. Testimonials from skeptics stand out because they sound credible. And by addressing and voicing what many perspective customers may be feeling, these testimonials are powerful persuaders.
For example: “Taking an online course felt really impersonal to me. I was afraid I’d miss the in-person interaction. What I found, though, was that the format was incredibly interactive. I’ve even made some friends in my study group. We phone and IM, which helps since we’re facing similar challenges. It’s great!”
#3 – They are properly placed.
Testimonials should be placed in contextually relevant areas. What do I mean by that? The testimonial subject matter should address the questions the customer has at that point in the buying process. If a customer is on a home page, what questions might they be asking at that point? Perhaps, “Why should I do business with this company?” So, on the home page, include a testimonial like, “I looked at other companies, but we went with XYZ accounting because they have actual former IRS employees working for them. They know their stuff.”
If you’re on a product page, what questions might your customers be asking? Perhaps, “What if this pair of shoes doesn’t fit?” Provide a testimonial like “I ordered 2 pairs of shoes that didn’t fit, but returning them was a piece of cake. They come in a box with pre-printed return labels. I had the right size shoes within 3 days.”
2. How and when should I ask for a testimonial?
Sean D’Souza at Psychotactics is the master of understanding and using effective testimonials. His answer to my post on testimonials on FutureNow is one of the best I’ve ever heard:
When you ask for a testimonial, you’re usually saying: Hey (insert name) can you give me a testimonial? Which is a slightly crappy way to ask for a testimonial. Because you’re giving the person a zero-chance to respond to the question the way you want them to respond. (Waitasec, isn’t this wrong? Why would you want to control the response?) Here’s why.
For one, it’s bloody hard to give testimonials. Try giving someone a general testimonial. Now suppose I change the way I construct the question to: Was price a big objection when you considered using our service? Now I’ve not just got the client to think about a testimonial, but specifically about price. So the customer may say: “No, it wasn’t a big objection.” Well that sets up the next question. So what was the big objection; what would have caused the hesitation to using our service?
Now the customer will tell you what the hesitation was. But if the objection was indeed ‘price’, then the customer would go down the road of price.
So why is all of this ‘going down the road’ important? Well, it’s important because a testimonial is not a rah-rah set of words. A testimonial is designed to reduce risk. And increase the like-factor–both simultaneously. So if it doesn’t address a single focus (e.g. Price) then the testimonials you receive are all over the place. And when you consider that testimonials are precisely meant to kill objections, then you need to have testimonials killing every objection.
So if you have a product or service and the main objection to the product or service is the following: 1) Price 2) Timing 3) Distance 4) Whatever… 5) More whatever… Then the testimonials need to address each and every one of those objections. Rah-rah won’t help at all. What will really help, is the construction of the questions.
As you’ve heard before; Input=Output. The quality of your questions + the direction of your questions is going to determine the quality + direction of your answers. And that’s just one tiny-itty-bitty lesson in the secret world of testimonials.
3. Does the number of testimonials matter? That is, is it better to have lots of testimonials?
You don’t want to clutter up your web pages – so I’d recommend having just a few powerful testimonials, with a text link to “more testimonials” where they can click to read more.
But the more credible and specific testimonials you have, the better.
4. Is a testimonial from an “expert” or recognized authority better than a testimonial from an ordinary user?
The cop-out answer is….it depends. They can sometimes serve two different purposes. Testimonials from an “expert” build credibility. The idea is, if this is big name that I know and I trust likes these folks, then they must be a credible company. It can be more of a status thing.
Ordinary user testimonials may not carry the status that “expert” testimonials do, but, again, if that ordinary person says something that you can directly relate to, it can be just as powerful, if not more powerful than hearing from an expert. (Especially if that “expert” tends to endorse a lot of companies, thus losing some of their credibility)
When in doubt, use both.
5. Should you let people write their own testimonials, even if they aren’t very well written?
Let me start by making one obvious, but still important point – never fake a testimonial. Seriously. It could cost you your entire credibility. Customers have an uncanny knack at sniffing these things out. So you always want to use exact quotes. It is ok to fix a spelling or serious grammatical error. You don’t want to make the person look bad. But if they use slang, that needs to stay in. It actually makes the testimonial sound more authentic.
That said, most people really can’t write. I’m not exaggerating. So I’d encourage you to try to sit down with customers, in person or on the phone, and tape their answers to your questions (see Sean D’Souza’s advice above about asking good questions to get good testimonials).
Transcribe what they say, then show it to them and get their permission to use it.
Thanks, Holly. This is great advice. By the way, if you haven’t found Sean D’Souza’s Psychotactics blog, you should. He understands the psychology of selling and marketing and he knows how to write.
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Holly Buchanan is the co-author of The Soccer Mom Myth – Today’s Female Consumer, Who She Really Is, Why She Really Buys. Holly’s specialty is marketing to women and marketing to women online. You can read her blog – http://marketingtowomenonline.typepad.com,
Image courtesy Holly Buchanan
My other posts on Testimonials:
Testimonials – Why You Need Them, How to Get Them
Testimonials May Soon Be Illegal