In past decades, before the dawn of the internet, smartphones & websites, our parents and grandparents usually chose a product or service through word of mouth. If Mrs so and so down the road recommended it, that gave their seal of approval for good quality and most likely influenced the decision.
Nowadays, we might be more inclined to look to the web for information, browsing through company websites to decide which would be the most suitable for our needs. But what is it that actually makes us decide?
Initially it might be how presentable the website is or what type of services and products are offered, swiftly followed by price. Nevertheless, what will make a difference between one company over another is a highly satisfied customer’s testimonial.
It comes down to trust. If you are going to part with your hard earned cash, you want to know that the results will match your expectations.
Today, our source might not be Mrs so and so down the road but our decision making behaviour in choosing a company is no different to our grandparents. We still seek a referral from a customer.
Influencers v customer promotion
Some companies with larger budgets use ‘influencers’ to brag about a product or service. These influential people will use their personal social media channels to create noise about a brand. There are issues with this type of tactic in comparison with a genuine recommendation from a client.
Here is a link to a great infographic from Jay Baer that shows the benefits of customer brand advocacy versus social media influencer.
How to use testimonials for brand advocacy
The first thing to do is ask your customers for their feedback. A testimonial doesn’t need to be very long, just a few sentences in their own words that recommends your firm.
In the meantime you can create a case study explaining what was required of your company to meet with your customer’s objectives. Don’t be afraid to bring up challenges and issues that were faced. Being able to overcome these or find solutions will only highlight your company’s dedication to customer service and satisfaction.
Upload your customers’ testimonials to your website’s home page and also place them at the bottom of each case study. Then you can share these articles on social media to help attract new customers to your website.
Who better to point out how well your company operates than a satisfied customer?
As an example, check out our case study from Silver Line Cruisers. This page is dedicated to discussing the elements of our work: the challenges, our recommendations to the customer, how we achieved the objectives and the outcomes. We backed up it up with a testimonial from the company.
One of our biggest challenges to date was to film, produce and edit 65 videos within 8 weeks for the Taste Leitrim project on behalf of Leitrim County Council. We worked together as a team and succeeded in meeting the client’s scope. This was our goal from the day we accepted the job and a testimonial backs up our efforts.
If you want to read more of our case studies then visit our page or to find out who we are, check out the team MakinMediaMobile.
[Featured image source: www.sujanpatel.com]
