The power of testimonials

Testimonials are a formidable tool to have in your marketing arsenal. Having someone else say how awesome you are carries a thousand times more weight than if you make the same claim. Testimonials build trust and show you are capable, often before potential clients reach out to you.

Kim Louie, a real estate consultant and broker with Coldwell Banker Peter Benninger Realty in Kitchener, Ont., has generated business from an impressive list of testimonials on his website. “I use them in my introductory emails as well as in social media and at listing presentations and buyer interviews. I include the link to the testimonials and even print out some of them for handouts. If you don’t leverage them in social media, handouts and presentations, then what’s the point? It’s like having a great presentation, but just winging it instead. Why spend the time and money and effort if you aren’t going to make the most of it?”

Kim Louie

Diane Allingham and Jennifer Stewart are brokers with Royal LePage Team Realty in Ottawa. They have had many people find them online and specifically cite their reviews as the reason they were contacted. “The shift to online reviews is incredible and not to be ignored, so we are focused on encouraging clients to share their feedback online. We always ask prospects why they contact us and why what other clients think of us is important to them. In addition, people like to flip through to see if they know anyone who has provided one.”

Kathy Schmidt, the broker/owner of Schmidt Realty Group in Edmonton, has experience with the power of testimonials. “Prospective clients often do research before calling us, including finding us on social media and visiting our website. Once on our site they find the testimonials and that gives them a high degree of confidence that they’re making a smart choice. And we often hear from new clients that they found other people they know on our testimonial page who had already worked with us. Edmonton is really one big small town in that way – we’re a very closely knit community and it’s not surprising for people to discover a mutual connection with us.”

Other than displaying testimonials on your website, consider the following uses for them:

Post a “review of the month” (or “week” if you are ambitious) on your Facebook page.
Create an email marketing campaign that highlights your satisfied clients, including testimonials from said clients.
Share testimonials on your social media posts.
Include a favourite testimonial in your email signature.
Allingham and Stewart include testimonials in a booklet they give to buyers and to seller prospects.

Kathy Schmidt

Schmidt uses their testimonials in a number of ways. “We include them in our New Client Information Package as well as the personal brochures we provide to each of our agents and also in the Special Reports, which we produce as part of our education series. Also, when we have relocation clients contact us, we often find it helpful to provide them with testimonials from past clients, as it gives them extra comfort that they’re making a good choice, even from a distance.”

Maela Ohana, the marketing manager of Shupilov.com based in Montreal, is convinced that testimonials play an important role in conveying trust to new clients. “It’s hard to track the extent to which new clients were influenced by our testimonials, but several buyers and sellers who reached out to us organically have complimented us on the positive feedback on our Facebook page. As we know, across industries, an unhappy client is far more likely to leave an online review than a satisfied one is. And the damage that can be done by a single negative experience is far greater now that brand messages are communicated via social media rather than just by word of mouth. So the key is to make all your clients feel respected and listened to, especially at times when there are obstacles or delays impeding their goals.”

When it comes to collecting testimonials, there are numerous ways to go about it. Louie includes a request for a testimonial in an email after every firm transaction, along with steps to follow (lawyer, lender, insurance).

Diane Allingham and Jennifer Stewart

Ohana reaches out directly by phone, after the client’s goals have been achieved, to thank them for their business and ask for a review of their services. Allingham and Stewart ask their clients for a testimonial after a sale is firm when sending a complete soft copy of all their paperwork; sometimes they reach out specifically for a review to clients with whom they have an especially good relationship. Schmidt emails every client after every transaction with a survey to ask how they did.

Another way to collect testimonials is to ask permission to use their words as a testimonial when you hear your clients say something flattering about you. If you prefer the email route, consider sending a video email instead; seeing your face as you request a testimonial will remind clients why they love you more than a few words on a blank page will. And don’t forget to ask people for permission before using their testimonial.

Photo and video testimonials lead even more credibility than words alone. Video testimonials can be posted on YouTube (the third most visited website in the world after Google and Facebook) and with a link to your website, it can drive more traffic to you. They can also be posted on your social media sites, just like written testimonials. But keep them short and to the point.

Don’t make up testimonials. Fake ones are easy to spot – often because the same tone and punctuation is used across numerous quotes – and will come across as insincere.

According to the most recent Nielsen advertising survey, consumers trust peer recommendations such as online reviews 6.5 times more than traditional advertising methods. Use testimonials to show everyone that you get results.