Sincere and genuine testimonials are strong social proof, and they can be extremely effective depending on various factors. Nobody wants to get ripped off, and most people wonder if the product is worth it which is why social proof is important. However - the constant challenge for all product creators is producing all that social proof even when the product is terrific. The following article addresses this problem and shows you how to combat it.
You must have a solid product or service, and with that in mind you will want to pursue studying some customers. You want to track and study as much as possible, and then make a fair presentation out of it. In the end, these documents will have much the same effect as testimonials, but people will not see that word. When you think about it, all visitors want to know as much as possible about user experiences. Leveling the playing field is what this is all about, and your results may be dramatic. Your site visitors will be able to read all the in-depth information and draw their own conclusions. Your aim should be to make your request for testimonials that is less intimidating to your customers so that don't hesitate in giving it away. Have you ever thought about a survey? The can work wonders and serve to help you in this process. You do want to keep it very short and to the point, and you can do that with two or three well-worded questions. One thing you should always do, though, is be upfront and query them about product satisfaction. This is how you can find out what they are thinking without requesting a testimonial. Just make sure you get a written approval from your customer so that you can use their feedback on your website.
Keep in mind that just about any little thing can make the difference between success and failure. It all depends on your approach, with most people, and you will find that many like talking about themselves. You need to talk to people candidly but also in a way that will not make them nervous.
So instead of asking for a "testimonial", ask for their story and how your product helped them out and what kind of feedback they'd like to give about it. This is why you find a lot of sites putting up "Success Stories" instead of "Testimonials", because it just makes it sound less intimidating.
The bottom line is your testimonials must be real, true and accurate for many reasons.