Question

Topic: Other

Testimonials - Can They Be Believed?

Posted by Anonymous on 12/15/2008 at 7:41 AM ET 125 Points
I have run a small travel company for over 3 years now. During this period we have constantly received excellent feedback.
We have a page on our website with some of this feedback, clearly indicating to people that they can contact these customers to prove the validity of their feedback. I have noticed however on travel forum websites that people are still sceptical about such feedback.
When you have worked hard and have an excellent product, how do you convince people that such feedback is genuine?

Richard.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 12/15/2008 at 8:00 AM Member
    If your testimonials are text-only, consider added video or audio testimonials. These forms of testimonials have a slightly higher trust factor. Also - if all of your feedback is glowing, it can also lead to skepticism. Make your customer experience transparent for all to see.
  • Posted on 12/15/2008 at 8:15 AM Member
    I agree with Jay. However, you don't necessarely need to add audio/video streaming if that slows down your website or simply does not fit its design.

    Either way, text or not, what you need to know is that your testimonials need to be from real people from the real world. not an hypotetical John F. or Marianne B..

    Always remember to disclose full name and surname, and possibly company name and title.

    Also, do not forget that you need the authorization from the testimonee. Ususally an email that authorizes you to use the testimonial is sufficient.

    One morereason for using testimonials instead, is for SEO. Say you have 10 testimonials, but you publish only two at a time. If you make the rotate, even if they are always the same ten, search engine crawlers will love that as they see that your website content always changes.


    Hope this helps. Best of luck,
    Davide Pasini
  • Posted by Paul Kemper on 12/15/2008 at 2:12 PM Member
    Well, people tend to take pictures on their travels. You might want to provide an option for them to upload a nice photo, maybe even with these people in it. Be sure to check those photo's first :-) Or allow links to be provided to their YouTube video or Flickr/Picasa photos.
  • Posted on 12/15/2008 at 10:16 PM Accepted
    I echo Jay's advice to add video testimonials.

    At my previous employer we used a small travel agency, and I know the woman personally went on many trips as she usually put together group outings to South Africa, Hawaii, etc.

    Richard, if you're in a similar situation it'd be smart to record moments of the trip and edit these into a video. Maybe at the end asking, everyone what they enjoyed best.

    Use the footage to create a complimentary (Or For Sale) memory DVD + Testimonial clips for your website. Two birds with one stone.

    Of course, this is assuming you're handy with video recording. But hey, that's what night classes are for!

    Cheers,

    Jesse Kanclerz
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