The power of a customer testimonial is undisputed. They are known to boost conversion rates and increase profits, and for Ecommerce companies, they’re an invaluable tool if they’re collected and shared in the right way.

The 2012 Nielsen report stated that 92% of consumers trusted product recommendations from people they knew, while around 70% of respondents trusted online product reviews even if they didn’t know the reviewer.

This proves that happy customers are integral to telling a story about your business and the products it sells. A good story will influence customers and increase or decrease the likelihood of them buying your products.

Principle of Consensus

Consensus is the idea that ‘people will look to the actions and behaviours of others to determine their own…especially when they are uncertain.’  This can be applied to customer testimonials. If a customer is unsure about your product, they will immediately look at the reviews and testimonials to determine whether your product is worth their time or money. The Principle of Consensus work off the basis that if your potential customers are not sure about your ecommerce brand or the products you sell, a testimonial may provide the consensus they need to make a buying decision. At WunderTalent, our recruitment specialists use this same principle when determining a candidate’s potential. If they come to us without any references, we are far less likely to accept their word. If they come to us with years of testimonials behind them, then we are more likely to believe their claims.

Empathy

Communicating ideas through personal accounts or stories creates empathy. Empathy is an essential human skill. It allows us to understand each other better, connect and learn from each other’s experiences. WunderTalent works with a lot of people, and without empathy, we wouldn’t survive as a recruitment company. By meeting people on a level, you create a bond that is likely to yield positive results, whether that’s an in-depth understand of where to place a candidate, or a positive customer testimonial. Without a basis of empathy, your ability to collect testimonials is hindered.

Collect Testimonials

This leads us onto how we collect usable customer testimonials.

It’s simple: just ask.

Customers tend to like the products they buy and are usually willing to share their experience. How you collect their feedback can be done in several ways. You can follow up each sale by sending them a survey, asking them to state whether they’d recommend your company and its products, or you can text or call your customers to ask for their testimonial directly. Open-ended questions often gather written responses from the most satisfied customers, with elements of a story you can use and share.

Good testimonials include people, a place, a purpose/goal, and a plot of some kind.

Share Testimonials

Having collected your testimonials, the next step is to share them. We recommend that you do this several ways, such as:

  • On a review or testimonial landing page;
  • On product detail pages;
  • As quotes in blog posts;
  • As posts on social media;
  • In email newsletters; and
  • As part of media relations or influencer marketing.