These slides cover how to apply testimonials to a SaaS product. Read the full blog post here: https://www.maerketing.com/saas-testimonials/

1. SaaS
Testimonials
Tips & Tricks

2. A/B test all changes to
see if they are not
backfiring!
Warning

3. Why Testimonials
Work
1

4. Social Proof
All of us look to others to help us decide how to act, to guide our behavior, to
determine whether something is right or wrong. The more people doing it, the
more correct it seems.
Dean Rieck on social proof

5. Must be from people similar to the visitor
● They work best if the testimonial giver has the same status, industry, and
struggles.
● People follow the herd. But they need to see that it’s their herd first.

6. Describe a transformation
Ideally, testimonials describe the path from problem to solution:
The most difficult part about getting great testimonials is finding people who are
willing to talk about their challenges before they used your solution.
It’s important to have this information because it allows you to show the full
transformation people go through. It makes their results seem more believable.
Pamela Wilson from bigbrandsystem.com

7. What to do If I have more than 1 ideal customer?
Group them like Hubspot. They have a searchable case study section.

8. Plan
Testimonials
1

9. Use the right context
Testimonials must be appropriate to the display location.
“The same testimonial might look believable on a well written professionally
designed page but fake on a scammy looking long form sales page”
Bryn Hopewell from London Business Coaching

10. Ideally you want to get this:
“I am a real estate broker in Denver. In our company
of 6 the biggest problem was the administration of
online offers. We had to copy-paste them to multiple
sites, which cost us several hours each week.
With software X we found a solution and now only
update it at one place”.
Similarity of people
Same problem
Solution

11. Even better: reverse them
We say things like: “You know that seedy-looking restaurant, and how you don’t
really feel like going inside? They’ve actually got the most amazing food.”
Source Sean D'Souza

12. The six questions you need to ask to get a powerful testimonial are:
1. What was the obstacle that would have prevented you from buying this
product?
2. What did you find as a result of buying this product?
3. What specific feature did you like most about this product?
4. What would be three other benefits about this product?
5. Would you recommend this product? If so, why?
6. Is there anything you’d like to add?

13. You don’t need testimonials for everything
To increase trust you can also use things that do not involve customer approval:
● Show pictures of people using your product or service.
● Mention how long you’ve been in business.
● Cite mentions in the media.
● (more on this list)

14. Avoid
This
2

15. Anonymous testimonials
Alex Turnbull, Groove
Is much better than
Alan S, Denver, CO

16. Simple praises
“I love it, and use it every day”.
→ Believability is low. This phrase could have been given for any other product.
Plus: the person is not caring enough to give a thorough testimonial

17. How to get
Testimonials
2

18. Ask the “secret question”
“what’s your experience with [our product] been like so far?”
1. Give customers an easy entry to answer the question
2. Engage a conversation
3. Ask for testimonial later
Source sixteenventures.com

19. SPURF Systems
1. Schedule
2. Phone
3. Release
4. File
Treat getting testimonials like any other systematic outreach.

20. Pre-write them
“Sometimes, if we just want a quote (as opposed to enough information to write
a mini case study), we write a sample testimonial for someone, and ask them to
review and change it as they wish. This usually results in us getting exactly the
quote we want, and the turn-around time is fast.”
Larry Levenson (@sensiblemktg) from sensiblemarketing.com

21. Where to
Put them
3

22. General guidelines
● A company logo makes a testimonial look more legitimate (see examples
on londonbusinesscoaching.com)
● As does a photograph (the larger and more professional looking the better)
● You might consider including a url to the company's website
● Professionally shot video is always going to be believable (who's
realistically going to hire actors in order to fake a video testimonial?)
Thanks to Bryn Hopewell from London Business Coaching

23. On the home page
Getdrip.com uses a big
testimonial right above the
fold.

24. Landing pages
● Place testimonials throughout your copy
● Whenever it makes sense
● The text still needs to be readable

25. In an own page
● Name it “customers” or “case studies” and list testimonials there
● Even more powerful: combine it with a few extended case studies /
testimonials.
● Whenever state a testimonial on your page, link to this testimonial page.

26. ● Try this if conversion is low on the form itself
● We could not find any example of someone doing it, do you know a site
where this is practiced?
On the signup page

28. Interview testimonials
Don’t be afraid of long testimonials.
Long-form interviews can be a powerful format, and easy for the customer - they
only need to contribute time.

29. What is your experience with testimonials?
Leave a comment on the blog post!