The Next Evolution of Testimonials

Testimonials are often the first choice if you’re looking to win over potential clients, and it’s easy to see why. By providing feedback and accolades from previous customers, they can be more believable and more persuasive than other types of marketing. People naturally search for the opinions of their peers when making decisions as a way of gauging whether their choice is the “correct” one. This phenomenon is known as social proof, and testimonials take advantage of this by providing all the social proof about your business potential clients need straight from your website, social media, or e-mail. Generally, they’re an excellent tool for swaying opinions in your favor.

Yet, the great results of testimonials are countered by how difficult it can be to actually acquire them. For many clients, to take time out of their busy day to sit and write a blurb or blog post about your company is a big ask, regardless of how much they love your service or product. Moreover, a dissatisfied customer is always more likely to provide feedback than a satisfied customer. Factors such as these can seriously hinder your ability to collect a strong set of testimonials for your business.

If you’re looking for opportunities to educate, motivate, and compel your potential clients while still taking advantage of social proof, a contentimonial can help you achieve this. Rather than a single blurb or quote written about your business, a contentimonial is a series of content in which you walk through the process of working with a client step-by-step and invite prospects to join you on that journey. This content can be videos, podcast episodes, or even social media posts. As you work with your client to solve their problems and achieve their desired results, your audience of potential clients can follow your progress and become educated on every aspect of the service you provide. The client need not be asked to spend their time writing a testimonial because their testimonial is being created in real time; it requires no extra effort. 

More importantly, these prospects will relate to your client and their struggle. Looking at great outcomes can be inspiring, but it can often be discouraging to think about all the steps it takes to achieve those outcomes. With a contentimonial, prospects can watch as you take a client through these steps and assist them with any roadblocks they meet along the way. As your client begins to make progress in real time, prospects will realize their own potential to reach their goals and begin thinking of how they can do that. And because they are watching your contentimonial, the answer is right in front of them.