Using Customer Testimonials to Communicate Brand Values

How do you get away from generic testimonials that say things like, "She's great! I loved working with her!"? The best testimonials address real objections and speak to the transformation your clients experience. I send a questionnaire to every client at the end of each project, and it's completely changed the quality of testimonials I receive. Two real testimonials from recent clients show exactly what I mean: Testimonial #1: "Before working with Caitlin, we wondered whether we NEEDED to hire someone. Being on the other side, I can say with 100% confidence that it was a great investment of time and money! If I had tried to write the copy and create the design myself, there is no way it would look half as professional. The logo and designs she created are professional and distinctive and really help us stand out." Why this works: → It addresses the biggest objection I hear—"Can't I just do this myself?" This client literally wondered the same thing, then explains why hiring a pro made all the difference. Testimonial #2: "Hiring Caitlin is truly the best investment in my own company to date. Caitlin is an incredible listener, and I was astounded at how much she gleaned in such a short time, requiring very little lift on my part. She gently nudged where I needed it and left me with something that feels far more polished and much more reflective of my personality than what I was ever able to do on my own. I’m so proud of the result and can’t wait to see how it helps evolve my company in the future." Why this works: → It speaks to my unique process (deep listening, minimal time commitment) and the emotional outcome (pride in the result, true reflection of personality). She also references trying DIY in the past and being glad she chose to get help with the rebrand. Here's the questionnaire I send every client to capture testimonials like these: 👉 What hesitations did you have before hiring me? 👉 What made you decide to work with me? 👉 What did you like most about working with me? 👉 How do you think your new branding and website will impact your business? 👉 What would you say to someone who is thinking about working with me? BONUS question: 👉 Is there anyone you know who might benefit from my services? Would you be willing to refer them to me? I know it's easier to draft testimonials for clients and get their sign-off. But I'm genuinely curious how my clients would describe the experience without any prompting from me. In addition to getting a strong testimonial, it’s also an opportunity for real feedback I can learn from. What's your best tip for getting testimonials that actually sell for you?

Customer stories are one of the most powerful vehicles for creating compelling narratives. When I worked at PandaDoc, I partnered with customer marketing extraordinaire Nicolas Szenberg and the talented crew at FAILURE ISLAND to produce a mini-series that shined light on the remarkable people who used the product. The format for those stories deviated from a traditional case study structure: problem -> solution -> results. The stories captured the hero (which was the customer and NOT the product) in a conflict and examined what they thought, felt, and how they acted. These positioned the product as an enabler on their journey to resolve conflict and do meaningful work. My favorite question to ask at the end of each interview was how they defined their success. The reason being success can mean different things to different people: - The founder would tell me about the genuine pride they felt in up-leveling their business - The operator would tell me about the time and headaches they saved chasing down people and documents - The administrator would tell me about the sense of accomplishment and positive affirmation's they received from their peers When we only focus on showcasing an arbitrary ROI stat (which most buyer's won't believe anyways) we miss the opportunity to share the remarkable victories of the customers. Decisions to buy products aren't solely based on logic. There's emotion wrapped in these decisions that heavily influence buyers. Unpack those stories to create memorable moments for your customers and inspiring moments for future buyers.

A customer leaves a glowing review - unsolicited, unpaid. It’s gold. Yet, most brands do… nothing? Daniel Cmejla asked a client: “Are people leaving reviews?” “Yeah.” “What happens after?” “…Nothing.” That’s a problem. When someone takes the time to leave a glowing review—𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘥—they’re signaling something important: 👉 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵. And that’s the perfect moment to act - turn that review into so much more. Here’s the 5-step play Daniel and Taylor shared: 𝟭. 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹 Not all reviews are created equal. Unprompted praise = high intent. That person’s in an advocacy mindset. Treat it like a lead, because it is. 𝟮. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 Timing matters. Right after the review is when they’re most excited. That’s when you make the ask—before the momentum fades. 𝟯. 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗿 Start with a thank-you, then invite them to share more. → A social post → A 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹 → A seat on your 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 Each step builds trust with future buyers—and deepens the relationship with the customer. 𝟰. 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 Ask yourself: 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦? Use that insight to identify other customers with the same role, use case, or product journey. Advocacy can scale if you know what you're looking for. 𝟱. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 What moment in your product leads to high retention? That “Aha!” moment is also when they’re emotionally primed to say yes to sharing their story. Beautiful advocacy roadmap to use... and just a taste of the tactics they shared - link to the full interview in the comments 👇 Now I of course personally got really excited when Taylor Bogar said: “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳.” ...because it’s so actionable! If you're getting customer reviews, don't let them sit. Ask them to upgrade it to a video. Time to turn your reviews into assets!