Ultimate Showdown: Customer Testimonials vs. Customer Reviews
You might have heard people mention customer testimonials and customer reviews interchangeably. But are they the same? Definitely not!
But business owners and marketers tend to get confused with both of them. Let's put an end to that today!
As a business owner, you're likely familiar with the importance of customer feedback in the form of both customer testimonials and customer reviews. But what exactly are both of them & which one is better and why?
In this blog post, let's break down the differences and similarities between customer testimonials and customer reviews, and help you decide which one suits your business.
What are customer testimonials?
Customer testimonials are written or video statements from customers who have had a positive experience with your business. They can be used as a form of social proof to encourage potential customers to try your products and services.
Testimonials typically include a customer's name and business, and a few words about their experience using the product/service.
And note that testimonials usually come in the form of written statements or video statements. Written testimonials are often used on websites and marketing materials, while video testimonials can be shared on social media for a more pronounced effect.
Video testimonials win over text testimonials as it's pretty hard to fake our expressions in a video and people usually find that out as easy as applie-pie. Hence they bring in more social proof
The primary benefit of customer testimonials is that they provide an opportunity for customers to share their stories in their own words.
This helps potential customers to better connect with and understand your business. And since customers express their opinions about your product, they tend to highlight the positive aspects of your products and services.
Here's an example of a wall of testimonials
What are customer reviews?
Customer reviews are written statements from customers who have had a negative or positive experience with your business.
Reviews, too include a customer's name and business, along with their experience but it has an emphasis on star ratings to show the level of satisfaction they had while using your product/service. And it also highlights the pros and cons of your service.
Customer reviews typically come in the form of written statements than video as people wouldn't prefer to show their faces when they're writing something negative about a business.
Businesses are more selective about reviews. They prefer to showcase only the positive reviews on websites as they'd naturally want to increase sales.
But negative reviews can too be a good marketing tool if used correctly. You must be surprised. How's that possible?
Well, you can contact the customer who gave your business a negative review and learn how you could improve your service. In fact, you can offer perks/discounts for the inconvenience they faced & easily win their loyalty
The primary benefit of customer reviews is that they help potential customers to better understand how your products and services work or don't work as they mostly highlight the pros and cons of your products and services.
Reviews are aggregated on platforms like G2, Capterra, Google My Business etc. Here's a sample review
Deep Dive into Customer Testimonials
- Benefits of customer testimonials
Customer testimonials are a great way to showcase the positive aspects of your products and services.
They build trust and credibility with potential customers, as customers are more likely to trust the experiences of other customers than your own company's marketing messages.
Testimonials can also be used to highlight the unique features of your business, as customers may share experiences that you may not have thought to share yourself.
Additionally, testimonials can be used to highlight the customer service experience that your business stands for, which can serve as an indicator to potential customers that you are always there to help.
Finally, customer testimonials can be one good form of social proof, as there's a high likelihood that a customer would share their experiences with your business with friends and family, further increasing the visibility of your business.
And since testimonials can be both in the text & video form, let's have a quick look into it.
- Video testimonials vs. written testimonials
When it comes to customer testimonials, there are two main types: video testimonials and written testimonials.
Video testimonials are a gold mine for businesses, as they show customers in action and provide potential customers with a more personal experience when they get to see real faces talking about a business.
Written testimonials, on the other hand, are used to highlight the unique features of your business and provide potential customers with an overview of what others have said about your products and services
Ultimately, it's up to you to decide which type of testimonial is best for your business. Video testimonials can be more engaging and can help to create an emotional connection with potential customers, while written testimonials help potential customers connect with your brand at a quick glance
Here's a quick guide showing you how you can collect the best video testimonials from your clients
- Pros and cons of customer testimonials
There are both pros and cons to using customer testimonials.
On the one hand, customer testimonials can be a great way to build trust and credibility with potential customers. They also act as a guide to highlight the unique features of your business which may become a selling point.
But customer testimonials may not be as effective as customer reviews in terms of providing potential customers with an overview of what others have said about your products and services.
Also on the other hand, customer testimonials can be difficult to obtain, as they require customers to take the time to write or record a testimonial for which they'd have to get their phone, open up the camera, record a testimonial and then send the large file to you via email or cloud.
But Famewall has got a solution exactly for this problem. You can send out a custom testimonial collection page like this to your customers with just a link via email/chat/social media. Customers can directly record video testimonials or send you a text testimonial which you can view on your dashboard
We take care of the entire hosting and make it simple for you to build social proof. No need to worry about going back and forth :)
Deep dive into Customer Reviews
- Benefits of customer reviews
Customer reviews are a great way to showcase the pros and cons of your products and services.
Customers always have a tendency to see reviews for any big purchase they make for the very same reason as they'll be aware of both the positives and negatives of using a product
Reviews can be used to highlight the points of improvement a business needs to work on along with the positive points. Additionally, if a brand replies to negative reviews apologizing for the inconvenience and tries to work on that, then this would boost the social proof
- Pros and cons of customer reviews
Like customer testimonials, customer reviews have both pros and cons.
On the one hand, customer reviews give an overview of all aspects of a product/service. They can also be used to highlight the pros and cons of your products and services, and customers are more likely to trust the experiences of other customers than your own marketing messages.
On the other hand, customer reviews can be hard on businesses especially when there are negative reviews. Sometimes spammers spam a review platform and post negative reviews just to hurt a brand's image. And, customer reviews may not be as effective as customer testimonials in terms of providing potential customers with an emotional connection to your business as it would highlight negative parts as well
Collecting customer reviews & customer testimonials
Collecting customer reviews and customer testimonials can be a daunting task, but there are a few strategies you can use to make the process easier. One strategy is to use a customer feedback platform, such as Famewall, which allows you to collect customer testimonials in the form of video and written testimonials and reviews using a custom collection page.
This can help to streamline the process and make it easier to collect customer feedback in a timely manner.
Another strategy is to reach out to customers directly. You can do this by sending out email surveys or by asking customers to leave feedback on your website or social media. This can help to ensure that you are getting feedback from customers who are actually using your products and services and some of them might turn out to be good testimonials.
To collect reviews, you can prompt a user to rate your product/service on platforms like the app stores or review platforms.
You can also import reviews from different social platforms all in a single place using Famewall
Should you use customer testimonials or customer reviews?
The answer to this question depends on your business and your goals. Customer testimonials can be a great way to showcase the positive aspects of your products and services, while customer reviews can be used to highlight the pros and cons of your products and services.
If you're selling consumer goods, then customers will definitely look up the reviews given by other customers. But if it's a digital product like online course, then testimonials perform really well.
Ultimately, it's up to you to decide which type of feedback is best for your business.
Using customer testimonials and reviews as social proof
Customer testimonials and reviews can be used as a form of social proof, as they reinforce the positive word of mouth which customers may get to share about your business with friends and family, further increasing the visibility of your business.
You can use customer feedback to boost your SEO rankings, as customer reviews and testimonials are often seen as more trustworthy than other types of content.
Additionally, customer feedback can be used to create targeted ads and campaigns. For example, if you have a customer who left a positive review of your product, you can use that review to create an ad targeted at potential customers who may be interested in similar products.
You can also include testimonials to increase sales from many of your marketing campaigns
Analyzing the Results of Customer Testimonials vs. Reviews
Once you have collected customer feedback, it's important to analyze the results.
You can use customer feedback to identify potential areas of improvement and to gain insights into what customers think of your products and services.
And you can analyze the customer persona of those who leave a positive testimonial about your business. You can try to double down on this persona to easily increase sales & conversions
Additionally, you can use customer feedback to develop strategies for improving customer satisfaction and increasing customer retention.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, customer testimonials and customer reviews are both valuable tools for businesses. They can be used to build trust and credibility with potential customers, as customers are more likely to trust the experiences of other customers than your own marketing messages.
Additionally, customer feedback can be used as a form of social proof, as customers may share their experiences with your business with friends and family, further increasing the visibility of your business.
Ultimately, it's up to you to decide which type of feedback is best for your business. If you're looking for an easy way to collect customer feedback, then you may want to consider trying Famewall for free.
Famewall is a free tool that allows you to collect customer feedback in the form of video and written testimonials and reviews, so you can easily get the feedback you need to make informed decisions.
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