To earn the trust of prospective customers, you need to add social proof to your business’s website — this could include reviews, testimonials, and industry awards that show you’re great at what you do. When website visitors see these, they’ll become more confident about your abilities and more likely to make a purchase!
In this article, we’re going to discuss five different ways you can add social proof to your website in order to earn your customers’ trust.
Let’s get started.
Add Social Proof to Your Website to Earn your Customers' Trust
Star ratings that show you’re great at a glance
While a lot of your prospective customers will want to be reassured that you’re going to provide them with great products or services, they might not want to read long reviews or watch lengthy video testimonials. So, to show you’re great at a glance, show off an average star rating that past customers have given you!
These types of reviews are particularly helpful if you provide multiple products or services that are similar — this will make it easier for your website visitors to compare your products and services.
To collect these reviews, you just need to ask! Reach out to your past customers with post-purchase emails that ask them to leave you a star rating. To incentivize them, you could even offer a small discount. When displaying them on your website, be sure to put your relevant star reviews on your service or category pages alongside what you’re selling. You can also display star reviews on your homepage to give people a great impression straight away.
Let’s take a look at a few examples of businesses that use star reviews on their websites for inspiration.
For instance, iCASH, a financial services provider in Canada, use star reviews on their service page for loans in British Columbia. Similarly, Lendio also incorporates star reviews on their service pages.
As you can see in the image above, iCASH has an average 5-star rating, which is certainly something to brag about! iCASH also notes that they have had more than 500,000 members and 4.9 out of 5 customers would recommend them to friends. All of this information together serves itself well to build trust with iCASH’s target audience.
On your website, consider showing off an average star rating in order to build trust with your customers. You can place an average somewhere like your service pages or on your homepage so it’s one of the first things they see — this strategy will help you earn more sales.
Felix Health, an online prescription, and medication delivery service, use star reviews in a slightly different way. On their homepage, you can see a rolling carousel of five-star reviews from past customers, praising their experiences with Felix Health. This is a great way for them to build trust with customers — website visitors can see that a lot of people have had a positive experience and will be more likely to spend their money as a result. These star ratings are also accompanied by short written reviews so if someone wants to learn more, they can. But the star ratings also provide a lot of reassurance on their own.
On your website, give your customers the option to provide you with a star rating attached to their review. They’re more powerful in conjunction with one another, and doing so can help you build customers’ trust.
Written testimonials that will provide more context
Depending on what field you work in, some of your prospective customers might want to do a lot of research before investing in your products or services. Website visitors will likely want to know who you’ve helped before, what problems they were having, and how you helped solve them.
Written testimonials are great for this, and can help you generate more leads! They can show the range of people you’ve been able to help and provide more context about your products or services.
To collect longer written testimonials, reach out to your past clients to see if they would be willing to chat with you about their experience with your company. You can also send out surveys to these people if they don’t have time for a call.
When displaying testimonials on your site, be sure to include the name of the person who has left you feedback, as well as their job title, company, and a headshot if they’re comfortable with it. This will add legitimacy to your testimonials and build trust with your website visitors.
Let’s take a quick look at a few examples of businesses that use longer-form testimonials on their websites for inspiration.
Quadrant, a healthcare and IT staffing agency in Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, showcases long-form testimonials on their “Request Talent” page aimed at companies that are hiring. As you can see in the image above, there are three testimonials from past clients praising Quadrant’s work. Think about how important this is for a staffing agency — people who come to their website want to know that they can trust Quadrant to find them the right workers. So, these testimonials are great for quelling any concerns they might have and proving the company consistently does great work for similar businesses.
On your website, show off long-form testimonials where you think it’s appropriate. If you run a service-based business like Quadrant, this is particularly helpful — past clients can give your prospective customers more information about your services and build trust.
iFlooded Restoration also uses long-form testimonials on their fire damage restoration page. As you can see in the image above, the reviewer notes that iFlooded Restoration is reliable and quick to respond. This will be very reassuring for a prospective customer who needs urgent help with their home, so it could generate a lot more sales for the company.
When selecting reviews to highlight on your website, choose those that give specific details about how you were able to help your past customers. This will help build trust with website visitors and hopefully secure you more leads.
Awards or qualifications that are relevant to your area of expertise
If you work in certain fields like law, healthcare, or finance, prospective customers will want to know that you’re well-qualified and known for doing great work. Awards and qualifications are perfect for demonstrating this!
If you haven’t yet won any awards for your work, now is a fantastic time to apply for some! One great way to find awards in your industry is to use Awards Finder. They can help you find hundreds of awards based on your industry! And, if you’re nominated or even lucky enough to win any, make sure you display them on your website’s homepage, and alongside your products or services, to ensure people see them.
Let’s take a look at a few examples of businesses that implement this strategy well.
San Antonio Injury Lawyers, The Law Offices of George Salinas, show off their industry awards right on their homepage. As you can see in the image above, they’ve been ranked in the top 25 motor vehicle law firms, the top 100 national trial lawyers, and more. This is going to be very reassuring to website visitors seeking legal assistance from the firm, as it shows they are highly regarded in their field.
On your website, don’t be afraid to place your awards and certifications front and center. Doing so will show your potential clients that you know what you’re doing, building trust with them and potentially getting you more sales.
Cardinal Recovery, a substance abuse recovery center in Indiana, shows off their qualifications on their meet the team page. As you can see in the image above, each of their employees has their own qualifications, highlighted after each of their names. This is a very good way for a rehab facility to build trust with new clients or their families, as it shows everyone they employ knows exactly what they’re doing. Website visitors can browse this page and see that the people at Cardinal Recovery are experts, which will reassure them.
On your website, be sure to show your staff is qualified to do their jobs well. Doing so will help you build trust with your website visitors and show them that you have a high-quality team.
Similarly, JoomDev highlights its certifications on its About Us page. As you can see, they have certifications from Bing Ads, Google, Moodle, and more. Showing off these certifications demonstrates that JoomDev has put in the work to learn about their field and stay up to date on industry trends!
Show off your certifications on your website! If you don’t have any yet, they’re worth investing in. You’ll learn more about your business and build trust with your customers while doing it.
Video testimonials that put a face to your reviews
Some of your prospective customers might be skeptical about your reviews, so you’ll want to do everything you can to show that they’re legitimate. Showing the faces of the people giving your testimonials can be very effective, and video is the perfect medium for this!
Make sure that your video testimonials make it very clear what the benefits of your products or services are. It might help to work with your client to make a script so they know what they want to say, but you shouldn’t steer the testimonial in any particular direction.
Let’s take a look at a few examples of businesses that use video testimonials on their websites for inspiration.
Florin Roebig, a trial attorney law firm, uses video testimonials on their homepage. In the image above, you can see that there are four different videos, all of which include testimonials from their past clients. The videos discuss how easy to work with and responsive Florin Roebig was. This is very reassuring for people looking for personal injury lawyers — when people are dealing with stress from something like a car accident, they don’t want their lawyer to cause them any additional problems. These testimonials are great for building trust with their target audience.
On your website, feel free to mimic Florin Roebig’s strategy. Using a series of videos highlighting past client experiences will build trust with your customers and help you earn more sales.
Southern Cross University, a higher education institution in Australia, also uses video testimonials on the SCU Online Graduate Certificate in Education page. In this video, they show a few students discussing their experiences of taking these online classes and how supported they felt at SCU. These videos are great for building trust with prospective students!
On your website, don’t be afraid to get creative with your video testimonials. Weaving customer reviews into a video that tells a story will help engage your website visitors and build trust with them.
Mentions of well-known clients you’ve helped
If your products or services have helped well-known companies or individuals in the past, shout about this on your website! Just be sure to ask for permission first.
People will be more likely to trust you and spend money with your business if they know that someone they have heard of uses your services. After all, if it’s good enough for a celebrity or a well-known company, why shouldn’t it be good enough for them?
Let’s take a look at a few examples of businesses that show off their well-known clients on their homepages for inspiration.
GSD Painting Contractors highlight their well-known clients on their homepage. In the image above, you can see that they mention some of their more recent interior design projects, including those for a high-end residential locations, luxury hotels, and more. Getting a glimpse of the work that GSD Painting & Decorating has been able to do for their high-profile clients helps website visitors trust them more. Additionally, these images give the viewer an idea of what their design style is, which should help them to secure more clients.
On your website, display images that show off the work you’ve done for high-profile clients. Doing so will serve as social proof, building trust with your customers and helping ensure more sales down the line.
Bizango, a digital design and marketing agency in Seattle, also shows off their work for well-known clients on their homepage. In the image above, you can see that they highlight their work for Keller Rohrback, a highly regarded law firm in Seattle, and OceanGate Expeditions – the world’s leader in private submersibles. These are high-profile clients that would have looked for the best when it comes to their web design and marketing. It’s a great way for Bizango to build trust with new website visitors and ensure more sales.
On your website, show off the fantastic work you’ve been able to do for high-profile clients. Doing so will impress your website visitors and help convince them to spend money with you!
Summary
Before they’re willing to spend their hard-earned money, people will want to know that you can provide them with high-quality products or services. Social proof offers a great way to prove this! In this article, we outlined how you can use testimonials, awards, and reviews to prove to your customers that you’re worth doing business with.
Need more help improving your website? Check out the JoomDev blog. we have articles on lead generation, making high-quality video content, and more.
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