The Power of Testimonials: Inspiring Examples That Make an Impact in Business

Intro

We all know testimonials are an important part and parcel of every business, but just to once again touch upon the gravity of their importance, here's a quick tidbit: research from Bright Local shows that more than 92% of customers online are searching for testimonials before opting to buy products.

The same research that found this information also addressed that customers are now smarter than ever: more and more customers can now identify fake reviews. They know to visit multiple channels to check for reviews, and even though the number of internet users has largely remained the same, more customers have opted to check for reviews in the past three years.

Since there's a demand for high-quality testimonials during the buyer's journey, you must supply potential customers with what they need to purchase your products.

In this article, we're focusing on some of the best testimonial examples you can replicate to create an impact for your business. Let's dive right in!

1. Campus.edu

The first inspiring example on the list goes to Campus.edu, an online community college that uses a segment called "Hear From The College Campus" to promote its student voices on social media.

Since most younger students are now online and actively using social media channels, promoting these voices from real people on social media seems logical.

To make the testimonials more credible, they show the student's photo alongside the quote and even specify their name and course.

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Never underestimate the power of a social media testimonial — especially for the millennial and Gen Z target audience. It's a quick and easy marketing strategy to turn customer reviews into social media posts.

Soon you'll have a whole pipeline full of marketing material. What's not to love?

2. AccessiBe

Next up on the list, we have AccessiBe, a business that's dedicated to providing a variety of solutions, such as ADA compliance checks, to ensure accessibility for everyone.

And since the business is committed to creating a better world for everyone, they post testimonials that showcase how faithful they are to the cause.

For example, if you consider this testimonial, it not only reflects the core values of AccessiBe, but the caption is also accessible for screen readers by sharing an excellent description of the Instagram photo.

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3. Zeda

Zeda follows all the best practices of having a good testimonial — authentic and bite-sized testimonials proudly displayed on the homepage of the website. They highlight the most important point and show the name and image of the happy customers sharing the testimonial.

Why does this work? It helps show that the reviews are real customers. It gives a face to the name.

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Another way Zeda stands apart from its competitors is by having other social proof alongside each customer ‌testimonial — this helps interested prospects in** **AI product discovery tools digest all the information they need before converting into potential customers.

4. Pumpkin

Pumpkin, a pet insurance company, uses testimonials from happy customers who have the best storytelling techniques ingrained in them.

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For example, the first two testimonials use the before-and-after storytelling technique and involve the hero element. Here's the gist of both testimonials:

Before: The pets were suffering from extreme illness.

After: The hero, Pumpkin, could save the day with its helpful pet insurance.

The third testimonial uses the hero element too, but it also uses specific data to make the testimonial more informative and credible.

Additionally, just like Zeda, Pumpkin also showcases the star rating it's received from trusted peer-to-peer review sites (i.e., TrustPilot). Oh, and let's not forget the added images of the cute pets that might also help convert prospects, too!

5. Square

Square, an A-to-Z platform for small businesses, uses a combination of video and article testimonials to convert prospects. However, in this section, we're focusing on video testimonials from Square.

The‌ testimonial videos are short and sweet (around two minutes), shot in high quality (almost like a movie), and they even educate the reader on how to use the platform and how they can tie it in for almost every service they offer.

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6. Slack

When it comes to powerful testimonials, Slack is another company we can look towards. Most of their testimonials occur in the form of case studies, thereby giving the customer enough information on how they can replicate the results for their brand, too.

However, if users wish to look at quote testimonials, those have been embedded within the text too.

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This entire testimonial tells a story about the pain points the prospect had before switching to Slack and which features of Slack helped combat them. Or success stories, if you will.

7. JazzHR

Like Slack, JazzHR, too, uses case studies to build a powerful impression in front of potential customers. However, one way it stands out is by providing quick snapshots of the cold-hard facts of their accomplishments in the HRIS software industry.

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Moreover, every time they write a blog post about the results they achieved for satisfied customers, they use a different format to make the section stand out.

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8. StudioSuits

StudioSuits, a renowned clothing brand specializing in handmade and custom leather blazers, pants, jackets, shirts, and more, understands the value of testimonials in building trust and credibility.

In their testimonial section, StudioSuits showcases a collection of verified and authentic testimonials from their satisfied customers who have experienced their products firsthand and shared their honest opinions.

One striking aspect of StudioSuits' testimonial approach is including a verified tag alongside each testimonial. This simple but powerful addition ensures potential customers that these testimonials come from real people who have genuinely used their products and have taken the time to express their opinions.

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By providing this verification, StudioSuits establishes transparency and authenticity, reinforcing the trustworthiness of its brand.

9. Briogeo

If you've ever been down the rabbit hole researching testimonial examples, you've probably noticed one company most blogs talk about, Hims.

And that's because they have some of the most effective testimonials. Not only are they fun to read, but they're also extremely actionable.

For example, consider these testimonials on the company's website. You'll soon realize that Hims has great hair care products. But there's also a CTA right there in the customer testimonial that takes the prospect directly to the product these folks are talking about.

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The result? Less friction in the buyer's journey. Nicely done, Briogeo.

10. Charlotte Tilbury

We all know and love Charlotte Tilbury, one of the most popular makeup brands, thanks to TikTok. But the one ingenious way their testimonials stand out is by using popular and well-liked faces to authentically promote their various products.

This phenomenon is known as influencer testimonials. It works wonders in connecting with a specific target audience. Here's an inside look at a sample social media post:

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Since the brand is so well-known, it also has the luxury of using famous faces who've used their product on their Instagram page. For example, here's a non-filtered image of Amal Clooney having used Charlotte Tilbury products on their page.

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11. Alo

Alo, a fitness brand that sells yoga products, doesn't use videos, quotes, or vocal testimonials. Rather, it focuses on non-verbal testimonials.

What do we mean by this? Well, Alo was one of the first brands to start the trend of wearing leggings, and they did this by using the most authentic images of influencers, models, and celebrities organically using their leggings.

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At the time of its peak, Alo's feed was a lot of user-generated content that showcased everyone's favorite celebrity wearing its leggings.

Not to mention, all the articles written about celebrity spotting certainly helped Alo's publicity, too.

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12. Glossier

Glossier is one of the biggest community-focused companies, so prioritizing customer testimonials seems like a no-brainer for this brand.

Unlike other brands on the list who have focused on case studies, videos, or social media content, Glossier has an Into The Gloss blog, which interviews famous people about what beauty products they use and how they infuse Glossier products into their routines.

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These interview testimonials come out as extremely authentic as they aren't self-promotional and also focus on other competing names without putting them down. Besides, the blog itself has multiple guides its community can use to its advantage.

Just a quick FYI: this isn't the first time customer reviews have helped Glossier. The company even has a Slack group with its most loyal customers to get feedback on their products.

13. SweetProcess

Like Glossier, SweetProcess does something different with its customer testimonials, too — that's to say, they create audio interviews to showcase the testimonial.

Once that's done, they create a case study around it and highlight (with quick snapshots) what customers liked about the document processes solution.

For reference, here's a client testimonial with an audio interview from their website:

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14. Clean Origin

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15. Customer Camp

Customer Camp is a newsletter entirely driven by its founder, Katelyn Bourgoin. Its main unique selling point (USP) is about educating users on how to use psychology to drive purchase decisions.

One of the tips Katelyn shared recently (by showing a real-life example) is how you can use informal testimonials to show customers the importance of your product.

The example she shared was of this testimonial she received from David Chilton through a Twitter DM exchange.

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According to her, raw testimonials like these are, in fact, better than their polished counterparts.

16. Cloudbeds

Video testimonials hit differently than written words on a screen. They’re powerful and let viewers see and hear your customers firsthand. Cloudbeds, a hotel PMS company, features video reviews and case studies on a dedicated page of their website. Visitors can select whichever case study resonates with them, or they can browse through them all.

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17. Myntra

Sometimes, a company may provide multiple services/products as part of its offering. So, to only present ‌customer reviews for one product may seem unethical.

Imagine if you were to buy a Product Offering A from Company ABC, and the company only posted testimonials of customers telling you how great Company ABC is and nothing about the Product Offering A — that'd be kind of a bummer, wouldn't it?

Well, Myntra sought to solve this problem by providing online reviews for each product. So, if you go to buy a dress from the company, you'll easily be able to see customer testimonials along with images and star ratings.

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What To Consider When Selecting and Posting Customer Testimonials

Based on these stellar examples, it's clear that customer testimonials come in all shapes and sizes — video, case study, social, interview, quote, etc. First, figure out which types of testimonials work best for you and what channels you'd like to publish them on.

Once that's done, you'll ideally need to ask your happy customers for a testimonial (you can either ask for one once they've purchased your product or when you develop a good relationship with them).

You can send them a few questions and tips so they know how you'd like them to structure the testimonial. Ideally, a good testimonial should be bite-sized (or if it's on the longer end, you should highlight your USP).

Other tips to consider when creating a testimonial include:

• Make them authentic
• Specify your key benefits
• Focus on customer pain points (and how you can solve them)
• Personalize them to each customer's use case

Once you have the finished testimonial, use different channels to promote it (you can copy Lizzie Davey's strategy here). Additionally, you can use visual elements or point to specific examples to make the testimonial more engaging.

Remember, testimonials are golden - seek them out and treasure them. Let them shine for all to see. You’ll be glad you did.

To your success!