Creating a Website that Works for Your Business: Part 4 - Testimonials
I always recommend that businesses have testimonials on their websites. They are a great selling point and will help your business be perceived as a reputable and credible company.
Just like sheep
People follow what others do, so if readers can see that clients rate your service then they’ll be more likely to give your service a try.
Here’s an example. Have you ever walked past an empty restaurant and thought “I’m not going in there it’s dead!” But then gone into a similar looking restaurant down the road to find its full, but you’ve still waited to get a table in the full restaurant?
The empty restaurant might actually be better, but because it’s empty and the other restaurant is full, you automatically think it must be better than the empty one. This is the same principle with testimonials, if you visit a website with no testimonials and a site with them, you would probably be more likely to go with the one that had them.
Spread your testimonials
When you use testimonials try to have them spread across your site so people will see one or two on most of the pages they visit, and also have a dedicated testimonial page. I would usually include at least one on every page.
Ask your clients to be specific
Don’t be afraid to ask your clients or customers for testimonials. If you’ve produced a good job for them they should be more than happy to supply you with one. When you ask your client for a glowing reference, ask them to be specific, how the service was beneficial and why they would recommend you to someone else.
Brand logos
If you work for a brand that is widely recognized and they allow you to, you should add the brand’s logo to the testimonial as visitors to your site will recognize that logo and be more likely to read what they have to say about you.
Testimonial details
When using testimonials use this as a guide:
-
Add the date of the testimonial
-
Add the name of the person and their job role
-
Add the company they work for
-
Keep the testimonials short and sweet
-
Update them regularly
Video testimonials
They say, “a picture paints a 1000 words” and being a graphic designer I think that quote is quite right! As broadband speeds become faster and video on the web becomes more wide spread it only makes sense to use video to promote your company. Film your customers talking about you and your service, highlight the services you offer and film the premises that you work from. A web user is just as likely to view a video than read text, so cover all the bases to gain the biggest audience.
I would recommend using a video production company to produce and edit the video for you. It needs to look professional otherwise it could have a detrimental effect on your business. There’s a lot of equipment used including camera’s, lighting etc, so don’t think about using the video camera on your iPhone to create it! For roughly 2 to 3 days work a good video production company should be able to put together a 1-2 minute video, which is plenty of time to get the message across.
The added benefits with video are the multi channel possibilities. You can post the video on YouTube or Vimeo so you can reach a wider audience.
A good example of a company video can be seen on Hannah Couzen’s website.
If would like more information about this service please speak to us
Paul has over 13 years experience in Senior Design and Creative Director Roles delivering high-end eCommerce design which focuses on the user experience. Paul has the ability to design for the end user, to understand the customer journey through all touch points and translate the site information architecture into an easily useable navigation system, whilst maintaining an exciting and visually appealing site for the target audience.
Related Blog Posts
Readers Comments
