Question

Topic: Website Critique

Use Of "dated" Testimonials.

Posted by twalsh on 10/24/2008 at 8:37 AM ET 250 Points
We are putting our testimonials up on our websites. We have been collecting for some time. What are best practices regarding leaving the date in the testimonial as written (even though it could be 4-5 years old) or removing it. When using a portion of the testimonial, do you have to put (...) in where you take the extra text out? Is it better to disperse testimonials throughout the website and/or have a testimonial page labeled "What Our Customers Are Saying" instead of "Testimonals"? Where would be the most important places to place them - home page, buying pages, checkout? Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 10/24/2008 at 8:45 AM Member
    You should always have permission from the testimonial writer to use the quote on your website; just ask them to approve the small change of taking the date out or reorganizing/using a portion. That will eliminate any need to use elipses in the item (which can make it look as if you may have removed, say, a "but").

    I would do both a testimonials page and disperse some around the site. On my site we have a testimonials page under "About Us" that includes paragraph-long customer raves and a javascript on our tech support page that rotates shorter quotes in the sidebar about how great our tech support is.

    If people are actually shopping on your site, I would do rotating testimonials on the homepage and product pages.
  • Posted by twalsh on 10/24/2008 at 8:57 AM Author
    We have permission, but some are old testimonials that have dates like February 10, 2005. I just wanted to shorten to February 10th and leave out the year. Still think I would need to get permission? And some parts of the testimonials are comments that have nothing to do with our products. So, we don't want to use everything they wrote due to space limitations. Some also have the full name of our sales associates in them, and I would like to shorten to just first name. Your thoughts..... And if we sign them with the customer's first and last name, and city and state, is that enough?
  • Posted by Mikee on 10/24/2008 at 10:03 AM Member
    I would get permission if you are going to change the testimonial

    I would not worry about changing the date if you have current testimonials as well. It might acutally be good for people to see that you have happy customers in the past and currently. It could demonstrate that you have always been comitted to customer service.

    I guess this is assuming you have a testimonials page that people can see both the old and new testimonials together.

    Mike
  • Posted by Inbox_Interactive on 10/24/2008 at 10:08 AM Member
    Where you put the testimonials and in what format depends on what you're trying to get the site vistor to do.

    Buy something online? Call? Make an appointment? Fill out a form?

    I do not think you need to date your testimonials.

    I think it's fine to edit them for brevity, clarity, or privacy. This is not a deposition.

    I would never use someone's last name unless it's a high-profile, public figure who has agreed to it. This goes for both your associates and your customers.
  • Posted by twalsh on 10/24/2008 at 10:21 AM Author
    The testimonials aren't dated, per se, but they do note dates in the body of them. I just wanted to know if I should/could remove the year. But Mike's point above makes sense too - leave the year in so our customers can see we have always been committed to customer service.

    I, too, am uncomfortable about using our customer's first and last names, but it seems everywhere I look for best practices it is saying to give as much info as possible to make the testimonial real. First and last name, city, state, title if they have one, and web address if available. What is wrong with using the first name with initial of last name, city and state, title if I have it, and website URL?

    Plan is to strategically place them throughout our website (on a rotation basis) and also have a link to a "What Our Customers Are Saying" page that would have all testimonials related to that site.
  • Posted by Frank Hurtte on 10/24/2008 at 11:52 AM Member
    i would not worry about the dates unless something dramatic has happened or it turns out you dont have any from the recent past.

    I personally prefer the testimonials be scatted throughout your site to enforce the claims you have made.
  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 10/24/2008 at 5:43 PM Member
    The date is irrelevant. It has no expiration. And I like "what our customers are saying" vs "testimonials"

    Sell Well and Prosper tm

  • Posted on 10/24/2008 at 7:23 PM Accepted
    Scattering through the site is good, a snippet of the testimonial that links to the full testimonial on another page/section.

    What is more effective than rotation them through however is to target them to the content of the page they are to appear. It increases the relevancy of the testimonial and strengthens the content on the page. It also avoids the confusing possibility of a testimonial about "Widgets" appearing on your "Wingnuts" page, or vice versa.

    Best of luck.
  • Posted on 10/25/2008 at 7:44 PM Member
    I'd remove all mention of the date. You don't need permission to do that.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 10/26/2008 at 9:44 AM Accepted
    So long as what the testimonial is saying is still relevant to your business, don't worry too much. As for where to place them, you want them to appear where you expect "friction" in your copy. That means, not initially (since you haven't told them what you do), but as doubt creeps into the reader as they read it. Yes, have a testimonials area, for those that are curious.
  • Posted on 10/26/2008 at 11:27 AM Accepted
    On your website you should have a Customer Testimonial page. A few testimonials could be placed on the home page as well. You should always update your testimonials; they shouldn't be more than 6 months to 1 year old. Also, make sure to include the full names of customers along with their titles and Website URLs. If possible, try to get video testimonials. Video is much more powerful than text.
  • Posted by babbsela on 10/26/2008 at 2:43 PM Accepted
    I don't include the dates on any testimonials, and you don't have to include "..." when removing them. They are your strongest advertising piece you have, so don't limit yourself to one page. I use testimonials throughout the website, and on a testimonials (or: what clients are saying) page.

    It's always best to get the client's permission before using their name or other identifying information. If they are a happy client, that shouldn't be a problem. If these are people you've done work for that is online, a link to their site helps put the testimonial with the work, and will boost the results.
  • Posted by twalsh on 10/29/2008 at 8:32 AM Author
    From what you are saying, there are no standard practices, per se. Wanted to thank you all for your responses. Plan to have a testimonial page, as well as strategically place testimonials throughout our websites. We will also be adding video testimonials. Don't know whether those are best utilized on the home page or on buy pages or check-out. Any comments on that?
  • Posted by jpoyer on 11/1/2008 at 5:23 PM Accepted
    I wouldn't recommend the video testimonials in the check-out path, from my experience with online shopping, when I'm checking out, I'm checking out and I don't want to deal with the extra stuff that pops up there with the exception of a well placed additional offer that is relevant to my order.

    I also agree with taking the date off for your testimonials. I prefer "What our customers are saying" to Testimonials - but testimonials is a widely used and understood term. Esp. because your testimonial from 2005 doesn't mean a whole lot to me now at 2008. Keep them current. If you are a B2B and other companies are referenced in your testimonials, make sure those companies are still in business, or it looks bad for you.

    If you can use categories to target specific testimonials to the page content, that is a good feature - all are in the pool for the front page or general pages, and only those relevant to specific content. For instance, we created a site for a furniture store that also managed a carpet cleaning and interior design business. All testimonials show up on the main home pages, only interior design testimonials show up on the interior design pages, and only carpet cleaning testimonials show up in the carpet cleaning pages.

    Home page is a good place for video, in my opinion overused video makes the shopping experience a bit overwhelming and busy. Use sparingly, not like regular testimonials.

    Best of Luck,

    Jennifer
    XPRT Creative
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