Brand Reputation Management: How to Reach Out for Testimonials

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Testimonials and case studies are two of the most effective marketing tools to manage your brand’s reputation. As potential clients read through a testimonial, they can picture themselves in that person’s shoes and see how they can solve their problems with the solutions that you provide. They help you communicate one of the most important marketing messages, described by marketing guru Seth Godin as, “People like me do things like this.” 

While businesses recognize the importance of testimonials, many struggle to find effective ways to capture them and integrate them into their marketing efforts. Over the years, our team has worked with clients in various industries capitalizing on the power of testimonials for brand reputation management. Here are a few things we’ve learned about how to manage your reputation.

The Power of Testimonials to Manage Your Reputation

Brand reputation is essential for building relationships with customers – both existing and potential. Testimonials play an important role by enlisting your most enthusiastic brand advocates to deliver some reputational equity on your behalf.

Here are just a few statistics that speak to the importance of testimonials and customer reviews:

  • 72% of consumers say positive reviews and testimonials make them trust a business more. (Source)
  • 95% of people say that reviews – whether positive or negative – influence their purchasing decisions. (Source)

Acquiring more customer reviews also has a significant impact on the ROIs of your marketing efforts. According to Bazaarvoice’s Conversation Index Volume 8, when users engage with reviews on your site, three things are sure to occur.

  • Consumers are 58% likely to convert.
  • Your chances to generate more revenue per visitor increases by 62%.
  • Users are likely to increase purchasing by 3%.

How to Get More Testimonials & Customer Reviews

Now you know why testimonials are important, here are our tips on how to get them:

1. Use Customer Survey Platforms and Tools 

In today’s digital world, there are a variety of tools you can use to easily capture customer testimonials and feedback. While we’ve used several survey platforms to capture customer responses for our clients, Green Apple recently began using the Delighted survey platform to capture feedback on behalf of our clients. 

2. Monitor Your Google Reviews

Google is also an important source for customer testimonials, especially as people use the platform to search for your brand. Maximizing the potential of Google reviews starts by setting up a Google Business Profile page and then finding creative ways to generate more Google reviews from happy customers. 

3. Check Out Your Facebook and LinkedIn Reviews 

Your Facebook and LinkedIn pages are also great places to generate reviews. If you don’t have any testimonials, consider asking your followers to leave reviews and incentivize them for sharing their feedback.

How to Use Testimonials to Generate New Business

Once you’ve curated a library of testimonials and customer reviews, how do you maximize their potential? Here are a few ways to turn customer testimonials into solid content marketing that improves how you manage your brand reputation and generates new business: 

1. Strategically integrate testimonials throughout your website.

Testimonials are a great way to support the claims you’re making on your website. That’s why it’s important to include them throughout your website — on your home page, specific products/services, or even your contact page.

2. Create social media graphics with testimonials.

Social media is an excellent platform to promote reviews because it also gives you the ability to tag the reviewer and generate even more reach. Because social media is a more visual platform, it’s a good idea to spend some time making your customer testimonial look sharp and catch the eye of your audience. 

3. Produce video testimonials.

Creating a video testimonial is another way to provide visually-engaging content for potential customers! A video testimonial can be used on several different platforms, including your website, social media, email campaigns, and in sales meetings.

Want to Capture and Leverage More Customer Testimonials?

Green Apple Strategy uses a variety of tactics to help our clients gather, analyze, and leverage essential customer feedback. From content development to PR and social media management, Green Apple Strategy can craft a marketing approach to help you attract and retain qualified leads. Reach out to us today for a consultation.

How Your Sales and Marketing Teams Can Support Each Other

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How are you setting your sales team up for success?  In an ideal world, your sales and marketing team would be perfectly aligned, working together to increase revenue. Your sales team would have a set of marketing assets that they could use to support their process. And, your marketing team would fully understand the sales strategy.  The good news is that this scenario is entirely possible. Here are a few ways you can implement a marketing support system to increase sales. 

Have a Cross-Training Session

When sales and marketing understand each other, your team is running more smoothly and working toward the same vision. They can use this information to align their goals, see where they can help each other, and build a sense of teamwork that will open up future collaboration.  Encourage these teams to work together to build revenue-generating opportunities. You can accomplish this by holding regular cross-training sessions, during which marketing is trained on the sales process and vice versa. You may also try implementing team-building exercises between the two teams as well, strengthening their communication. 

Ask The Sales Team What They Need

“If I could provide you with one thing to make your job easier, what would it be?” This question can spark conversations within your sales team about what they feel they’re missing and how you could help them fill a gap in their process. You might be surprised what they ask for. As a bonus, it will open an opportunity to brainstorm creative ways that you could solve their issues.

Build Marketing Pieces with The Sales Team in Mind

In your marketing strategy meetings, bring in a sales team member to discuss their goals for that year. As you’re building your newest plan, consider sales at every step of the process. Are there any pieces that you could build that might improve the sales strategy?  A few examples of marketing collateral pieces that could support your sales team are: 
  • Whitepapers
  • Infographics
  • Videos
  • Case studies
  • Customer interviews
  • Testimonials
  • Brochures 
  • Business cards
  • Branded customer gifts 

Attend a Sales Team Meeting

The more you know about what’s going on on the inside of your company’s sales team, the better you can support their efforts. Try attending sales meetings, and likewise, offer for a member of the sales team to attend your marketing meetings as well. You’ll be surprised what you can learn from each other.  Not only should these teams observe each others’ meetings, but they should also provide insight as they see fit. The more opportunities you take to be collaborative, the more aligned your sales and marketing teams will be. 

Adopt An Open Door Policy

By opening communication in the previous methods we discussed, you let the teams know that they can communicate with each other to improve their processes. However, it is essential to make it clear to these teams that an open-door policy is encouraged. Though you may feel like the teams feel comfortable coming to each other, some may still be reluctant. Make it abundantly clear that collaboration is the key to success. Are you looking to align and boost your sales and marketing efforts? Contact Green Apple Strategy today to schedule a consultation.