To be most effective we find that whenever possible testimonials should speak to one of the market’s major objections or answer one of the market’s major questions or skepticisms.

Finally, people like testimonials from people just like themselves so as you pointed out making sure your testimonials come from your target audience is also key the their being as powerful as possible.

Regards,

Scott
FetchLocalCustomers.com
Chicago Online Advertising Agency

One thing I’ve wondered about recently is geo-targetted testimonials.

I think US-based sites who do business beyond the US could particularly benefit from this, assuming they have a significant percentage of traffic coming from other countries.

Pick the top 3 or 5 countries and show them some testimonials from their fellow countrymen or women.

Would a local (to the visitor) testimonial trump a better or equal non-local one? I have no idea, but it would make for a fascinating test!

The sites that use ratings well (Amazon, Yelp, Netflix, TripAdvisor) do so by raising the bar and building community to some degree. These customers generally stand by their comments, post or rate items frequently, comment on other posts and ratings, and express themselves through their ratings and reviews. That context makes it easier for readers to relate to certain posts and their authors, and formulate decisions based on that “instant” trust. Like ignoring the crank on TripAdvisor who gave a place one star and left a horror story when everyone else rated it fours or fives. Or buying a book you weren’t sure about, but a reviewer you don’t know (but whose judgment you trust) recommended it.

Contrast that with flat testimonials, or sites that allow totally anonymous reviews, and the level of trust is decidedly lower. This is what’s contributing to testimonial blindness and, I believe, widening the gap between testimonials and user ratings. Even though ratings may not fit every site, and testimonials can still add value, the bar is being raised every day by sites that use customer reviews effectively.

Your idea about encouraging customers to post reviews is dead on. In recent months, I’ve had two organizations ask me to post a rating about their services (not here, but on rating sites specific to their services). That should be a standard part of customer service, like sending the request and link in a follow-up email after a completed transaction. I’m often more inclined to do that than respond to a survey … but that’s a whole other post.

Thanks for posting. We’ve actually got a few URLs “in the shop” right now and we’ll be posting those critiques this week. We’re also putting together our next live optimization clinic on PPC ads, so if that topic is of interest, please join us for that session as well.