When it comes to your company’s online reputation, it’s important to choose the right trust point for the information you want to publish. You need to provide your audience with reliable information about your company, in the best way possible.
2019 research found 93% of consumers said online reviews impact their purchasing decisions, and 91% trust online reviews just as much as personal recommendations from their close friends. 73% said written reviews make more of an impression than statistical or star ratings.
This research also discovered that displaying reviews and feedback can increase your company’s conversion rates by a huge 270%.
The above statistics prove that trust points can help to build the confidence of your audience and the reliability of your business. There are many significant trust points that can be valuable for your business, in particular, testimonials and case studies.
First of all, what’s the difference?
Testimonials are simply described as recommendations or positive declarations from a satisfied client. They come in a variety of forms, including social, video and interview testimonials. Although often forgotten by many businesses, they’re essential for building your trust and online credibility – they’ll show your client expressing their appreciation of your company and provide positive feedback and recommendations of your product or service.
Differing from testimonials, case studies are lengthier and more detailed. They explain and examine a particular project or client, describing how you understood and solved a particular problem or issue to achieve your client’s goals, step by step. Like testimonials, case studies can also contain quotes from your client, but they often take more of a ‘storytelling’ approach to analyse a client’s experience.
So, which do you need?
The answer to this question will depend on the information you’re planning to present. Although both testimonials and case studies contain valuable information about your company, consider how much detail you’ll need to go into.
Remember, testimonials are brief, short statements written by you. They come from your satisfied client who volunteered to review your company and promote your product or service. Case studies come from your company itself, thoroughly describing how you solved a specific problem.
So, if your aim is to present the expression of a satisfied client, then a testimonial may be more suitable. However, if you’re planning to present an example of how you overcame a challenge for your client, then a case study could be ideal.
To sum up all of the above, it is often best to use a testimonial to demonstrate a client’s overall satisfaction and a case study to describe the solution to a problem. Both portray your clients’ perspectives and can build trust and influence new prospects, but testimonials present client feedback, whereas case studies help potential clients who may have a similar problem that they need support with.
How can you use testimonials and case studies to your company’s advantage? For advice, book your free communications review here, or call us on 0121 212 6250.
Alternatively, fill out the form below to speak with a member of the Kinetic team.
