Use Testimonials to Build Stronger Brand Stories

If you want to build your brand, try testimonials. Customer stories or testimonials will establish an emotional connection to your brand.  They are immediate word-of-mouth marketing and strong ambassadors to your brand.  Testimonials also demonstrates how your brand helps people and adds value to their lives and have a significant effect on how the broader audience perceives your brand.

Testimonials should be incorporated into your marketing collaterals, web site or speaking engagements. These will enhance your brand.  Here are a few reasons to use customer stories to build a stronger brand presence.

Testimonials are true storytellers.  Satisfied and happy customers love to share their positive experience with others, so use this opportunity to capture them. Get permission from your customers to tell their stories on your web site, social media (Facebook & blogs), marketing collaterals such as a company brochure or annual report.  Never take for granted that a happy customer will want to be a storyteller, so always ask before publishing.

Testimonials are memorable.  Even the best advertisements are easily forgotten within a few minutes, but a testimonial resonates longer because it is telling a story. People remember stories, not marketing messages.

Testimonials overcome objections. They overcome objections where new customers can be skeptical. These are the most powerful storytelling because it simply endorses your brand through a third party.

Testimonials are believable. Research has proven that people trust other people more than ads and marketing messages.  They have an emotional connection. Let your customer stories build that trust in your brand.

Don’t forget that once you have a testimonial that fits the appropriate point you are trying to make, get the most out of it.  If it was used on the web site, use it in presentations, ads, videos, brochures and so forth. Use it multiple times and different places and get more mileage out of it.