By Téalin Robinson
Client Services Coordinator, Lessiter Media
trobinson@lessitermedia.com
262-777-2430
All companies need ratings, reviews and word-of-mouth. Whether it’s an email after an online purchase, a QR code on the bottom of a receipt or an automated series of questions to “stay on the line” after a phone call, everyone wants your testimonial.
Despite the annoyance or inconvenience, consumers largely depend on opinions and experiences from others when choosing a product. According to the 2025 BrightLocal survey, 96% of consumers read reviews at some point, and 75.5% of consumers put their trust in online reviews when making a purchase decision. The purchase likelihood for a product with five reviews is 270% greater than a product with zero reviews.
Word-of-mouth and online reviews are still the most effective way most small businesses gain new customers. According to HubSpot, 90% of people trust suggestions from family and friends., and 70% of people trust consumer reviews online. BrightLocal found that 42% of consumers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations, placing less trust in online reviews and more attention to detail in the review.
Ensuring positive online reviews and encouraging word-of-mouth referrals can effectively grow your customer base and cultivate lasting loyalty. Below are eight steps you can take to develop a well-rounded testimonial archive:
Understand Your Customer Journey
A previous Marketing Minute by John Bennett said it best: “Testimonials are an in-depth look into customer success stories. They demonstrate what the ideal customer journey looks like and what strategies you should implement with new customers. Understanding this portion of the customer journey map will help you replicate customer success and generate future testimonials. It also helps define aspects of the customer journey you will want to focus on to gain those specific types of testimonials.”
Use Organic Testimonials, Not Search Engine Reviews
Depending on your business, you will need to ask for organic feedback through email campaigns, end of event surveys, in text messages, QR codes or comment boxes to use for future advertising. Unfortunately, reviews from Google, Bing or Yelp are considered intellectual property of the channel and the original poster, if you check the Terms & Conditions.
Diversify Your Portfolio
Different customer experiences at different stages of the customer journey will provide you specific messaging for when you need it most. Asking for feedback prior to a purchase, immediately after the purchase and down the road from the purchase helps insure a positive customer experience. You can also capture feedback on services, staff and problem-solving by sprinkling in questions throughout the journey rather than all at once if not feasible.
Don’t Lead or Load Questions
Leading questions will be more harmful than helpful by producing misleading or untrue results. Avoid leading questions with assumption bias, coercion, preemptive emotion, interconnected statements or direct-implication, according to Qualtrics. Perfect reviews do not exist and raise questions. You can however incentivize consumers to provide testimonials with giveaways as a thank you for their time.
Seek Out Success Stories
Any simple positive comment and rating is always welcome, but fluffy, soft language will not create conversions. The key is to find specific testimonials that tell a story of why and how the product has helped the consumer. Full sentences detailing experiences are emotionally drawing and empathetic. You can encourage these through personalized asks, templates, incentives or follow-up requests.
Respond to Reviews
It is important to respond to as much if not all feedback, good and bad, to ensure your reputation is strong and encouraging. Engaging creates a space for a customer to return to your product again or try your product again by showing respect and trust for the reviewer.
Avoid Anonymity
Be sure to collect names, city and state when obtaining a testimonial to show credibility for the quote. Note the date or at least year of the review and where it came from to help you stay organized and vary the quotes used in your advertising rather than repeating the same customer quote for long periods of time.
Video Testimonials are Fast & Effective
Capture video testimonials at events or connect with success story consumers to set up a time to record their written testimonial live, placing even greater trust and validation on the review. Over three-quarters of US consumers consume video content when looking for information about local businesses, according to BrightLocal. More than a third of US consumers prefer to consume video content posted by businesses about their products or services over content from their own friends, influencers they follow or everyday social media reviewers.
| Sources: BrightLocal, DataBox, Forbes, Qualtrics, HubSpot, Marketing Minute, Spiegel |
