6 Ways to Leverage Local Testimonials

Customer testimonials are like money in the bank for your local business. But just collecting great testimonials is only half the battle, you've got to know how to use those testimonials to make the biggest impact. 

Today we're talking about six ways to use testimonials in your local marketing to boost those customer conversions.

6 WAYS TO USE THOSE CUSTOMER TESTIMONIALS

You may have emails from customers thanking you for your product or service or maybe you have customers rating your business on third-party websites. Or perhaps you've gone out to your best customers and actively asked them to provide a testimonial.

Now you have a treasure trove of social proof, what do you do with it?

Here are 6 simple ways you can use your testimonials to show the world you've got it going on.

1. POST ONE TO YOUR HOMEPAGE

When new customers come to your homepage and read what you have to offer, seeing another parent raving about what you do and why can speak volumes. It may even be what it takes to push that customer to call or even buy on the spot.

When choosing a testimonial to feature, make sure it is— and feels—authentic and ideally includes a customer photo and name.

Being able to relate to the customer via their image can help give the testimonial even more weight.

2. CREATE A DEDICATED TESTIMONIAL PAGE

Your next step is gathering many testimonials and putting them on a dedicated testimonial page.

If you do feature a testimonial on your homepage, have it click through to a page that shares what other parents are saying, essentially your dedicated testimonial page.

It's extremely powerful to hear not just one but many parents praising your business and giving a little bit of insight as to why they love it or why they had a great experience.

And the more testimonials you have, the easier it will be for prospects to find several parents that they can relate to.

3. POST THEM TO FACEBOOK

Post those awesome testimonials to Facebook! Drip them out throughout the year--so every few weeks or every month your audience sees this social proof in their newsfeed. Use a photo and name when possible.

You can find creative ways to post your testimonials so they don't feel self-serving. Post a thank you to that customer for sharing their kind words. Or a post that says, this is why we do what we do. There are plenty of ways to post feedback from customers that feel like you're giving your audience more valuable information about your business or give them a feel-good impression without seeming boastful.

You can also pin an awesome one to the top of your page to make sure visitors see it.

4. INCLUDE TESTIMONIALS IN YOUR MARKETING MATERIALS

If you use print marketing materials, be sure to include one or two testimonials. Once again, it will help prospects validate what you're saying in your marketing materials, and make your effort that much more effective.

5. LINK UNDER YOUR EMAIL SIGNATURE

If someone in the company reaches out to new prospects regularly, they should consider including a link to your business's testimonials page in their email signature. It could say something like Read what parents say about XXX and hyperlink to your testimonial page.

6. INCLUDE THEM IN AN EMAIL NEWSLETTER

If your business sends out an email newsletter to customers or leads, consider featuring a testimonial or two. One way is to simply include a testimonial in a section that highlights what customers are saying. Or you could create a special section in the newsletters where you ask a customer a few short questions, and that becomes the testimonial. As always you want to make sure the testimonials feel like they're adding information and feel genuine.

Doing some of these simple steps to include social proof in your marketing will make your efforts more powerful and more effective.