Lead Generation Conversion Techniques

The relentless pursuit of conversion is the preoccupation of missionaries, direct marketers and lead generation professionals. This article looks at two related techniques that help boost conversions. They are...

Customer reviews
Testimonials

These techniques are related, so I'm going to deal with them together. Let's take a look at what's required to have them support lead generation.

Implementation

The way you implement customers reviews and testimonials on your site matters. Most business websites publish testimonials, some of which may take the form of a review. It's rare to find a sophisticated web 2 style of review system on small business sites. This presents you with an opportunity to get in first and reap the rewards.

The two main approaches when it comes to testimonials, are to have either a stand-alone testimonials page or to tie relevant testimonials to a sub-section of the site. For example, I have wedding entertainment client that ties its wedding testimonials to its wedding sub-site.

I think a mix of the two is ideal. If your testimonials are kept in a back-end database, or part of a web 2 style system, it ought to be possible to have the best of both worlds. In other words, to have a specific testimonials page that displays everything. And then display specific testimonials alongside the content they reference.

Reviews should always be associated with the thing being reviewed. If it's a product review, display the review with that product. If it's a review of your service, display it alongside information about your service guarantee.

Web 2 - Interactive

Publishing static reviews and testimonials is all well and good. But why not take it interactive, and allow customers to submit directly to your site? This will improve the number of testimonials and reviews you get, and give you greater control over the type you receive.

For example, if you only want product reviews, an interactive review system can specify this.

Accepting testimonials in this way can also help improve their credibility. If people see they can submit a testimonial too, it carries the implication that all your testimonials were submitted in this way.

Trust

No surprises there, and it's not the first time I've raised the issue of trust (see lead conversion for example).

Testimonials can only improve conversions if they're credible. There are several ways to boost their credibility...

If you receive a written testimonial on letterhead, scan it and publish the scan
Include contact details for the person who wrote the review/testimonial
Include video reviews and testimonials. People are more likely to believe somebody they can see and hear
The more testimonials and reviews you can publish, the more credibility they convey

Testimonials and reviews boost lead generation conversion rates when they reduce doubt, and increase trust. You can further enhance this effect by properly integrating them into your sales copy.