As stated on Forbes, 92% of consumers read online reviews and 68% have stated that reading positive reviews builds their trust for a business and is a significant influencer when deciding whether to invest their time and money with your brand. Testimonials are an effective way to not only build a community of trust around your brand but showcasing your feedback demonstrates that your product or service is being used and valued by many others. Alongside this, there are several other benefits to using testimonials on your company website.
Building Advocacy
The most significant benefit when providing testimonials is that it builds advocacy around your product or service. Testimonials offer a source of referrals allowing your customers to feel they can trust your company. Demonstrating that you are willing to take a risk by posting consumer testimonials or reviews shows the confidence you have for your company’s ability. This goes a long way in proving to your audience that both you and your customers are supportive of your product and this, in turn, can create long-term credibility.
Transparency
Transparency is becoming a key deciding factor behind a consumer purchasing decision. With many companies experiencing the backlash of consumer criticism surrounding their policies, it is now more important than ever to appear honest and upfront with your audience. In fact, consumers often respond more positively to those companies who are willing to take a risk in order to demonstrate their reputability. The placement of your testimonials within your web design can support this. Rather than hiding within your footer, it is worth displaying your testimonials on your homepage similar to Renew Advice.
Real Life User Experience
UX design is becoming a prominent source of innovation across a diverse range of industries. In a competitive market, the user journey and the way consumers interact with your product or service is increasingly valuable knowledge. Real-life user reviews are a free and effective method of market research; an insight into user behavior and can demonstrate an alternative perspective and offer more values for your business that perhaps were not previously considered.
Communication
Testimonials from your customers show that your company is regularly opening up a dialogue with your audience. Consumers appreciate feeling valued and providing a platform for them to voice their opinion will lead to a more personable relationship between consumer and company and a higher conversion rate. This is even more beneficial if consumers and visitors to your website are able to see how you have responded to feedback, such as improving an aspect of your business based on testimonials. Ultimately, consumers value being listened to and testimonials can show this in action.
SEO
Client reviews offer another source of keywords that help to improve your search engine rankings. Testimonials are therefore an effective marketing tool as they provide consistent and updated user-generated content. As more potential consumers search for your product or service reviews, your business will appear higher up in the rankings and achieve a higher conversion rate.
Final Thoughts
Including customer reviews and testimonials within your business strategy has a proven track record of leading to improving brand positioning. Airbnb, for example, relies heavily on this method in order to attract customers and is now a major business within this industry. In a competitive market, establishing a sense of trust is instrumental in improving customer acquisition and should be considered when designing your website.
