For marketers, there’s nothing more valuable than happy customers. When a consumer is so satisfied with their purchase and willing to share why their decision to buy from your business was such a good one with others, the resulting content can be the most valuable form of marketing collateral: an authentic, word-of-mouth testimonial.
Using the reviews of happy customers in marketing and advertising materials is a great way to make the most of the goodwill and trust your company has built. Here, 15 members of Forbes Agency Council share their best tips for leveraging customer reviews as testimonials. Read on to learn about the best ways to turn the praise and thanks you’ve worked so hard to earn from your customers into free marketing.
Members pictured from left to right.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.1. Develop An Ambient Website Video
Use the verbatim reviews to develop an ambient video to play on your company’s website. You can develop a looping motion graphic video that plays as ambient imagery on your website so that visitors will feel the positive energy while perusing your services. It’s fun, unique and easy to produce. - Jeremy Jackson, SKY Marketing Consultants, LLC
2. Turn The Best Quotes Into Instagram Reels
Get more mileage out of reviews by turning the best quotes into Instagram Reels. This is a quick and easy way to leverage a popular video format using content you already have. Sending a “surprise and delight” package in the mail can turn happy customers into long-term ambassadors who continue to share the love on social media. As a bonus, you get even more great content for your brand to repost! - Cooper Munroe, The Motherhood Inc.
3. Handle Negative Reviews With Care And Class
People are wiser about online reviews than they were ten years ago, so having thousands of positive reviews only goes so far. You also need to handle your negative reviews with the utmost care and class. Most people I know immediately look at the 1-star reviews. How did the business handle those? That’s what really matters. Anyone can buy or acquire lots of positives. Stand out by handling negatives amazingly. - Brian D. Evans, BDE Ventures
4. Design Templates For Pull Quotes To Use On Social Media
Design templates for pull quotes to add to social media content, feeds, stories and highlights. Add testimonials to your marketing materials and newsletters. Implement a client appreciation strategy, offering those buyers an incentive. Reply to their reviews with personal messaging and ensure your client communication is personable, non-salesy and genuine—not robotic. - Jessica Kopach, The JKO Agency
Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?
5. Invite Customers To Recommend Products To Others
Make reviews part of a flywheel sales model through post-purchase incentives where you invite customers to recommend the company’s products to others. Word-of-mouth will always trump traditional forms of marketing, so being mindful about making it part of the customer journey makes it a secret weapon for growth. - Gilbert Corrales, Leaf
6. Turn Videos Of Individual Stories Into A Showreel
We make videos of the individual stories for our positive testimonials. We ask each of our clients these questions: “What was the problem you had before meeting X agency? What was different about its offering? When did you first realize your problem was being solved, and what is life like now?” We then use each client’s individual story and turn a mixed collection of them into a compelling showreel. - Ryan O’Keeffe, Jago
7. Make Bookmarking Kudos A Teamwide Best Practice
Ah, testimonials—your golden converters in case studies and on high-traffic Web and social media pages. Don’t be shy about asking your clients if you can repurpose their reviews. More importantly, get them organized. Sometimes, there’s a powerful quote siloed in someone’s inbox. Don’t let it sit there idle. Make bookmarking kudos a teamwide best practice so that you always have content at your fingertips. - Samantha Reynolds, ECHO Storytelling Agency
8. Use Reviews That Explicitly Commend Specific Offerings
If and when possible, it’s especially impactful to use a testimonial that explicitly commends a specific service or product that your organization offers. Not only does this serve as a stronger, more enthusiastic review, but it also helps promote that service or product by keeping it top of mind for readers. - Tom Hileman, Hileman Group
9. Leverage Customer Reviews Everywhere
Use customer reviews in your social media content, on your packaging, in your paid media, on your website—everywhere. Consumers love to hear and see authentic experiences from other buyers. The worst thing you can do is not utilize your positive reviews in some way. Whatever you do, do something! - Bryanne DeGoede, BLND Public Relations
10. Use An Official Tool To Validate Your Reviews
It’s absolutely necessary to use an official tool for your reviews, such as Reviews.io or Trusted Shops, to prove that these reviews are real and not made by the shop owners. You should use the reviews in widgets on your site, emails, ad creatives and Google ad extensions. Use them to build solid trust and persuade potential customers. - Nico Tettenborn, MAKE IT TETTEN GmbH
11. Get Customers To Post Testimonials For You
Posting testimonials on your brand’s website and social media pages is dead. Take it to the next level by getting customers to post them on their own social accounts. Find ten happy customers who are active on social media. Rent a beautiful space and hire a videographer. Schedule times for your customers to come for hors d’oeuvres and wine and shoot testimonials. Provide a link, and they’ll do the distribution for you. - Michael Chagala, Rank Harvest SEO
12. Include A Photo Of The Person Who Gave The Testimonial
Definitely put those testimonials on the website and, if possible, include a photograph of the person who gave it. This gives the testimonial an extra dimension. I would also make sure to group together any themes you can see and utilize them as marketing collateral to highlight the key messages you are trying to push. - April (Margulies) White, Trust Relations
13. Present Testimonials As Case Studies
Testimonials are essentially success stories, and what better way to present your product or service that does wonders for a client than through a case study? Instead of an empty talk about good communication and on-time delivery, testimonials presented as case studies focus on the outcomes of your work so that potential leads know what they get if they choose to work with you. - Dejan Popovic, PopArt Studio
14. Turn Quotes Into Easy-To-Share Custom Graphics
Feature positive reviews on social media and the company’s website. Both channels reach wider audiences, which lets you showcase the company’s strengths to brand-new clientele. For instance, you can create custom graphics quoting the testimonials for easy sharing. - Hannah Trivette, NUVEW Web Solutions
15. Organize Reviews To Help The Audience
Organizing reviews is a great way to help leverage their message. You can have a list of reviews that readers can filter, or you can organize them by topic or theme to help readers looking to address specific questions or concerns. The original message is kept intact and authentic and is presented in a more structured way for the audience. - Mark Skroch, BCV Social
