Testimonials can be a powerful marketing tool for any business. If you've ever been asked to write a testimonial, or if you want to write one voluntarily, you'll want to write a helpful and persuasive testimonial. To write an effective testimonial, start by describing the problem you're having and then explain how the product or service you're writing about can solve your problem. Close by recommending the product or service to others.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Describing Your Problem
Step 1. Write an introduction
Start the testimonial by giving a little information about yourself. Include details that can give your testimonial more weight or make your opinion more useful.
- The amount and type of information you should provide about yourself depends on the product or service. Testimonials should be relatively short. So, make sure you only include information that can make the testimonial more meaningful or useful.
- For example, if you are writing a testimonial about a herbal shampoo for dogs, it is important to detail that you are a certified dog capter. However, if you are writing a testimonial for a personal trainer, that information is irrelevant.
Step 2. Tell us about your situation
Open the testimonial by describing the problem you had before you tried the product or service that was the subject of the testimonial. Keep it short, but include as many specific facts as possible.
- Facts will allow testimonial readers to compare the situation before and after you use the product or service. If you show this evidence yourself, your testimonial will be more useful.
- To keep testimonials short, you should only include facts that are directly impacted by the product or service. For example, if your business has problems managing social media accounts, you might say, “My business Facebook page only has 10 followers and is viewed on average less than once a day.”
Step 3. List the alternatives you have tried
If relevant, you can write a line or two about another product or service that you have tried to solve your problem. Describe specifically how the product or service failed to help you.
- Writing alternatives is especially useful if you have tried a competitor's product or service and the product or service did not solve your problem. Using the social media example, you might say, “We hired Company X to manage our account, but after 30 days, they failed to encourage people to view or follow our page.”
- Write a personal note about how it felt to try another product or service and not get results. Readers will empathize and be interested in your story.
Step 4. Write down the challenges you faced
Every product or service has its drawbacks. If there's a reason why you initially rejected the product or service you're reviewing, write down how you resolved this issue. After that, start talking about the solution to the problem.
Cost is usually a potential challenge. For example, you might say, “At first we were hesitant to use Company Y because it was twice as expensive as Company X. However, when Company X failed, we decided to try Company Y – and it was the best decision we ever made.”
Part 2 of 3: Demonstrating Profits
Step 1. Describe how the product or service managed to solve your problem
Create a new paragraph and shift your focus to the product or service. Write down two or three important facts about the product or service.
- Give yourself some time to introduce the product or service and talk about what it really is or what it does. Write specifically what the service provides and how it has helped you.
- For example, you might say, “Company Y concentrates on social media outreach through informative and entertaining publications. Since hiring Company Y, our follower count has grown by 237 people and our sales have increased by almost a third.”
- Highlight a unique or creative approach. If there's something about your business or product that sets it apart from your competitors, write about it specifically. Mention if they offer a tailor-made solution to your problem.
- Try to describe your expectations if this explanation can give you perspective on the creativity of the service provider. For example, you might write, "I don't expect Company Y to bring in more than 20 or 30 followers, but they can bring in ten times as many followers."
Step 2. Enter personal notes
If a company contact is a pleasure to work with, or the company provides service beyond standards, write an enthusiastic post about this. If you work closely with a particular employee, state their name.
- Personal records are also useful for those you name and help companies identify and reward their best employees. If a specific person impressed you, talk about that person in your testimonial.
- For example, you might write, “The entire team provided an excellent service, but it was Sari who spent the most time getting to know the company and our needs. We might not have been able to achieve this kind of success without Sari's hard work and care.”
Step 3. Use specific numbers to show the effect
Go back to the description of the project you are dealing with. The numbers you use to show the results should match the numbers you used when describing the problem so that readers can easily compare.
For example, if you hire a social media management company for your business and you concentrate on the number of followers on your social media accounts, state specifically how many followers you have after hiring the company
Step 4. Describe how you overcame the challenge
If you mentioned the challenges you faced in the first part of the testimonial, tell the reader how you feel right now. Maybe in the end, you feel that the challenges are not as difficult as you think or the value of the success you get is greater than the challenge.
For example, if you were previously skeptical of a product or service because of the price, you might say, “Before, I felt Company Y's price was too high, but after experiencing the success they have brought, I believe the price is worth it!”
Part 3 of 3: Closing the Testimonials
Step 1. Summarize your experience
Use the third paragraph to briefly summarize how the product or service has helped you. You can also add posts about why you decided to write a testimonial.
For example, if a company providing a product or service asks for a testimonial, you might say, “When Sari from Company Y asked me to write a testimonial about their work for our business, I didn't hesitate to give it. They helped us increase our social media follower count by 300% and increase the prestige of this business in our community.”
Step 2. State whether you would recommend the product or service to others
This is one thing that seems obvious, but the best testimonials should include specific words that indicate that you want to encourage others to use the product or service.
Depending on your product or service, you may want to aim for a specific target. For example, you might write, “I highly recommend Company Y, especially to businesses looking to establish roots in their community.”
Step 3. Write down an impulse to action
You can close the testimonial with a recommendation. However, if you're confident enough, encourage your readers to contact the company that offers the product or service you're recommending.
