Harnessing the Power of Word of Mouth Advertising: Using Online Testimonials and Case Studies for Your Business

You know it, and so does the customer.

The best way to get more business is to get other customers to refer you. Your advertising won’t sell them as much as someone who has used your product or service and is happy with your company. Here’s how to engineer that process by using online testimonials and case studies.

The Stats

Before talking about process, let’s look at some stats. Sites, like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google+ are already proven platforms when it comes to sharing information, spreading ideas and news, and encouraging conversations. But, in 2012, an Optify B2B Marketing Benchmark Report found that social media sites only drive 1.9% of traffic to B2B websites.

The same study found that most traffic to B2B sites comes primarily from direct type in traffic and organic search. If you’re a small business, spending a lot of time on social media marketing could be draining your budget in exchange for subpar results.

The findings agree with what SEO experts like Alex Miller have been saying for years: B2B companies should be investing more in SEO and other strategies that increase brand awareness.

Focusing On The Consumer

In the past, vendors had almost complete control of the buying process. And, they decided what consumers could see and what they could not. They controlled the flow of information. However, this has changed dramatically with the rise of social media. Really, the Internet changed how information was disseminated.

But, it wasn’t until social media that consumers had a large, centralized, forum where they could talk amongst themselves and then share information off-site. Social media is essentially user-driven media or content.

Forrester research shows that B2B customers typically find three pieces of content about a vendor for every one piece that they read that’s published or delivered by the sales and marketing team. They’re reading more about you from sources other than your own company than they are from sources within your company.

The customer is now controlling the information and sales cycle.

You must cater to the customer research cycle.

Using Customer Testimonials

Most people intuitively know that using customer testimonials is a good idea. Think back to the last time you bought something, like shoes or a shirt, or went out to eat somewhere, or maybe invested in some home gym equipment or maybe a car.

If you’re like most people, you probably started out by reading reviews. You wanted to know what other people thought, what their experience was. Why do you want to read reviews? Because you don’t completely trust what the company says about its own stuff. That’s “marketing fluff.” You want to know what real people think – what they have to say after they’ve bought and used the company’s products or services.

B2B customers are the same. They want to know that the products and services they’re thinking about buying are legit and that they’re not wasting money on your company. Reviews and testimonials give them that assurance.

Here’s how to use them:

First, talk to your existing clients about participating in a case study. A case study shows your prospective customers exactly how other people are using your company’s products or services. And, if the case studies are done with client approval, then they carry a lot more weight than pretty much any marketing copy you could ever come up with.

Showcase positive tweets on your website. While social media isn’t a great way for you to advertise your brand directly, it is great for unsolicited testimonials and reviews. Social media is inherently trustworthy. It’s real. It’s “raw.” People believe it.

But, because tweets and Facebook status updates fade away into the ether rather quickly, it’s important to embed them on your site so that prospective buyers see them.

Next, create customer testimonial videos. This is even more powerful than text-based testimonials. Why? Because, a video testimonial displays the image of your customer – it’s literally from your customer’s own mouth.

Finally, encourage your customers to write reviews. If you’re at all confident about what you’re offering, then your customers should be too. If they write it, you can publish those testimonials on your site and display them for everyone to see. Add a photo of their face, and possibly their location (if you get permission), and you’ve got a “home run.”

Just make sure that you do not run afoul of FTC rules concerning testimonials. For example your testimonials must represent typical results, not extraordinary ones. Your testimonials must also be of real people. You cannot post fake testimonials or reviews claiming that they used your product or service and achieved some result.

Niamh Schofield has been working in the world of advertising for several years, since leaving university. She enjoys helping businesses harness overlooked marketing opportunities, and blogs about these methods on various business sites.