Almost every accountancy firm has testimonials on their website. You know that, for your website visitors, when they hear directly from your clients that is extremely influential in helping them make a decision about whether to get in touch with you. It’s as important (if not more so) than hearing from you directly.
I’m sure you’ll have experienced this yourself. Spotted a great holiday deal but wondered what the hotel is really like? You then jumped on Tripadvisor to check out the reviews. Or posted on Twitter to see what others thought. Or watched a video and checked out other people’s photographs to see if the place is legit. When the reviews are good, and the photographs appear genuine, you have a lot more faith in booking the deal.
The same applies for other businesses, especially service based industries like accounting.
It’s the next best thing to word of mouth: letting people see how you’ve helped others succeed. Super powerful.
But how do you develop a testimonial that really makes the difference? The kind that will turn a prospect into a client?
Here are a few things to think about as you consider testimonials and case studies.
Choose a powerful focus for your testimonial
When writing a testimonial, remember that it’s not about you. It’s about your reader, and their concerns and issues. Have a think about the type of thing your clients may worry about so you can put them at ease.
Receive targeted testimonials by guiding clients on the areas to focus on: one specific project that was amazing, how you helped solve a particular problem or how your firm really understood them and satisfied their needs. These are the details and insight that will sway your prospects and help them relate to your existing clients.
This will also make it easier and quicker for clients to draft up their points. Increasing the chance of them helping you.
Keep in mind this should be in their own words, so it’s obvious it’s genuine.
Including things like the person’s full name, job title and company will give the testimonial added credibility. You’ll also get an added boost if you include their picture (or company logo) next to the testimonial.
If you can’t get some of these points, share what you can and build on your library of testimonials in time.
Where’s the best place to use the testimonials?
Placing your client testimonials throughout your website, on the relevant pages or areas can help people absorb that information a lot easier than reading it on a general testimonials page.
So if you’re based in the north of Scotland, deal with clients all over the country try adding a testimonial on your ‘about us’ page which shows location is no issue. Technology lets you provide the same amazing service they’d experience even if they were next door.
Having a page purely for testimonials is still useful (and something people may looks for): but an even better option is a case study page which uses testimonials to highlight some of the more in-depth content.
Design of the client testimonial
When adding the testimonial to your website pages (or any of your marketing) make sure you make them stand out. If your brand has some sub colours or fonts try these!
Treat the testimonial like an image. It doesn’t need to fit in a standard paragraph, same size, colour or font as the rest of the page.
Tools like Canva are useful to quick and basic design. Pop your text into one of the drag and drop templates, change the background, colours and font to complement your main design (while still staying on brand).
Or if you’re a PF client on a website package we’ll take care of this, always nice to have your input.
Do written or video testimonials work best?
Testimonials in all formats work well and the format choice depend on your audience. Written is more flexible and easier for people to glance at without having to take action. In general people are used to writing something up, and it doesn’t take much time so you’re likely to get these easily from clients.
However video is more engaging, when people click to watch – but you need to get them to that stage. These are also fantastic for social media.
A combination of both work really well.
Social testimonials
Your prospective clients will have checked you out on social media, as well as your website before contacting you.
Most social media channels including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn (personal account) will let people leave reviews about your services. Remember to build up the reviews on the channels your firm uses. You can also take some of these and add to your website!
Where else will I use the testimonial?
Use them throughout your marketing:
- Blog posts
- Social media
- PDF guides
- Newsletters
- Proposals
- Webinars
- Everywhere, basically! But make sure you’re always adding to them so they are relevant and current.
One of the huge benefits of content marketing is the drip feed of content, where you can continually use your testimonials to influence prospects and build their confidence over time.
View the creating compelling case studies and testimonials for accountancy firms webinar recording here.