Testimonials page versus blog comments
Depending on who you talk to, you’ll get a different opinion every time when it comes to the effectiveness of testimonials pages. Some say they are indispensable when it comes to gaining customer confidence, others say they are a complete waste of time.
Personally, I don’t put much stock in testimonial pages or quotes. I’ve been in business a long time, and I work with other companies on a daily basis. Of course, they are going to do whatever they need to do to put their best foot forward on these ‘testimonials’…
Even if it comes down to writing them themselves.
But blog comments can paint a different picture than regular testimonial pages. They can show just how satisfied, or unsatisfied, your customers are. They can portray a much more real looking scene that potential clients can relate to. If you use your blog for customer service issues, you can definitely make this work much better than a regular, old testimonial page.
The trick is to give your customers the service they need, right there in public, in the comments on your blog. If you provide good service for all to see, and your customers respond favorably, this is going to have a ton more weight than a common testimonials page. Even more, if they post a link to their website or other contact info, other potential customers can contact them directly, allowing them to get ‘the real scoop’ on your business, it’s products, and your service.
Taking it a step further, you could then use any of a number of different cool blog widgets to post user commentary on the front page of your business or corporate site. On the main pages that is. Rather than just the same old testimonials, your new site visitors can see dated, recent comments from your existing users. One cool widget source I like to use is Spring Widgets. Punch in an RSS link and get the code for a widget you can post anywhere. Really neat.
So the bottom line for me is that blog comments are much more valuable. They are real, dated, and give your new readers more to work with when making the decisions on whether or not to do business with you. If you manage your comments correctly, they will become a much greater resource.