Last Updated on October 25, 2021 by Bright Past

The most effective testimonials for businesses are pretty specific. It refers to the tangible impact of the services or products offered by the business. Customer testimonials are a great and authentic way to build your online reputation and make others perceive your business as highly professional and reliable.

Once businesses start to meet and exceed their customer’s expectations, they can easily start asking their customers to write a detailed review that describes your business and its offered services or product. It’s because the end goal of having high standard customer service is to satisfy the customers and grow your business.

Testimonials

Using customer testimonials can be a powerful way to build your online reputation. Happy customers that reiterate the benefits of your product or business can go a long way towards converting skeptical browsers into buyers.

Focus on testimonials that feature the benefits of your product or service. Consider asking your customers to provide a video or audio testimonial that can be posted on YouTube. Testimonials are a great way to give credence to your website.

If you make a claim that your product can be used in a certain way, customers testimonials will back you up. Most online shoppers look for proof that a business is trustworthy. They want to know someone who has purchased from your company before and got the product and service they expected.

Disclosing your Connection

Whenever you use a testimonial, you must disclose your relationship with the person endorsing your product or service. You also want to be sure to disclose whether the person is getting any type of compensation for endorsing your product or service.

You must disclose any special relationships between you and your endorsers such as whether they are friends, family, or even employees. Customers need to be aware of the connection between you and your endorser as this information could influence how they feel about your product or service. Disclosures and disclaimers need to be written in language that is easy to read, and easy to understand.

True and Accurate

Customer testimonials are required to be factual and truthful and written by someone who has actually used your product or service. Testimonials also cannot be doctored or changed, so if you don’t like the opinion or the endorser, do not post it. Above all, never write up testimonials yourself as that is considered fraudulent.

In addition to being truthful and not misleading, endorsements must reflect the actual experience and opinion of consumers who use the product. If the testimonial is not a typical experience, be sure you can prove the results. You must also clearly disclose what the typical results are.

Getting Permission to Post

It’s good business practice to always get permission in writing before posting a testimonial, especially if you include identifying information such as a person’s name or location. Permission must also be granted for any pictures you post of the customer or their family members. There are times when a customer may wish to withdraw their testimonial, so having written permission is vital to protect yourself and your business.

Having a Privacy Policy or Terms of Service included on your website is necessary to gain consent to publish testimonials on your site. A disclaimer that is highlighted in a prominent location on your site will alert customers that their comments can be posted online and used for marketing your products and services. By agreeing to your Terms of Service, customers are aware that they are giving permission to the site owner to publish their testimonials.

Use Original Testimonials from Your Customers

Online content belongs to the person who wrote it, so it is not okay to borrow testimonials from other websites. If you only use testimonials from your own customers, you will not have to worry about violating any copyright laws. There are third-party review and rating tools that you can add to your site to allow customers to write about their personal shopping experience. Or, if you prefer, you can add links to other review sites for your customer’s convenience.

BrightPast and Reputation Management

We hear it all the time, once it’s on the internet, it’s there forever. Unhappy customers or a past encounter with someone wanting to get even can wreak havoc on your reputation and your online future. BrightPast can help you manage your online reputation by monitoring your site and searching for positive aspects to highlight. The goal is to push positive feedback to the forefront of search results and any negative feedback as far to the end of search results as possible so as not to be noticed. By managing your online reputation, BrightPast can help your business be noticed in a positive light.