Testimonials can make or break your website.  Pay special attention to the three factors of strong testimonials below and weed through yours to ensure you’re offering your clients the word of mouth they need to hear.

Strong testimonials are specific: Vague testimonials read like this: “I was very satisfied with your hotel’s service.” “I got great results.” “I really enjoy your product.”  Whereas specific testimonials say things like: “I was impressed by the 24-hour concierge service, especially when they found an all-night printer at 3 am. ” “I increased my productivity by 20% after your course!”  Specific testimonials work because they sound more credible and they promote a specific benefit or address a question that may help persuade potential buyers.

Strong testimonials overcome objections: Use testimonials that talk about objections. Some companies are afraid of these kinds of testimonials, yet they can be the most powerful tool you have. 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.

Testimonial that address objections sound like: “I’ve been in property investing for 7 years. I didn’t think there was anything in this course I didn’t already know. But, ultimately, I was surprised to learn valuable techniques I’d never considered before.” “When I first got your product I thought it was flimsy and poorly made, but then I was in an accident and it saved my life, I won’t doubt it again.”

Strong testimonials are well placed: Make sure the testimonial subject matter is relevant to the information around it. Each page at your website serves a purpose, determine that purpose and tailor your testimonials to those pages.

Overall, testimonials are great things for your website and yet so few sites use them.  If you don’t ask your customers for their opinion how will you ever know?  How do you ask your customers for their opinion?  Send them a thank you card for their patronage and include a brief 2-3 question survey, send a follow up e-mail with a link to an online survey, provide an online Comments form, or pull snippets from your bulletin board.  Whatever it takes, find out what your clients think and let them tell others how great you are!