How to win over last-minute holiday shoppers with testimonials
Holiday gifters are in game-time decision mode this December. You’ll be competing with plenty of online stores, not to mention the default gift of patterned socks. So how can your online store win over new shoppers?
The key: give your customers the reins. Use real customer experiences with your products to stand out from the competition.
Follow this guide to best use your customer testimonials during the holidays:
Why Testimonials Work
Find Enthusiastic Customers
Choose Testimonials to Feature
Showcase Your Best Testimonials
01. Why testimonials work
Testimonials are the feedback customers give about your brand. Often, marketing comes with a business bias, prioritizing selling above all else. Testimonials spotlight relatable shopper experiences instead.
By nature, people trust real people. That’s why social proof is such a powerful part of your marketing plan. In fact, 93% of shoppers use reviews to make purchase decisions. By showcasing your positive testimonials, you can build trust and bring in new holiday shoppers.
02. Find enthusiastic customers
So, how do you get customer testimonials for the holiday sale season?
Read through reviews on your site and product pages. If you haven’t started, now is a great time to collect customer reviews.
Reach out to your most engaged and loyal customers. Ask them for a quote about why they love your products. If they have photos using your product, request to use them.
Harness the power of user-generated content. Comb through social media posts that tagged your business and use the most beautiful pictures. Make sure to get your customers’ permission to repost their images on your social.
Consider giving free samples to promoters, influencers or even micro-influencers. See if you can get the products to them quickly enough to get their reviews before the holidays. If you ask the influencer to do a product unboxing or a similar type of post, make sure they tag your business.
03. Choose testimonials to feature
Take a look at your pool of testimonials and pick the right ones to spotlight. The more authentic your reviews, the better. Choose quotes that sound natural and resonate with your customer base.
Here are some qualities to look for in great testimonials:
Spark shoppers’ imaginations. Find reviews with specific gift ideas, like “perfect gift for mom”. That way shoppers can get inspired for everyone on their lists.
Keep it simple. Choose quotes that sound relatable and human. Prioritize shorter reviews to work with your shoppers’ attention spans.
Or ... go all-in with helpful details. You can also opt for longer reviews. Just make sure they’re filled with relevant product descriptions and limited fluff.
Highlight your biggest selling point. Let’s say you sell wireless headphones with long-lasting battery life—use reviews that mention how easy they are to use on the go.
Address shoppers’ concerns. Work on improving your brand perception. If you know that your products seem tailored to older audiences, for example, choose social proof from younger customers.
Use images and videos. Shoppers are more likely to engage with visual testimonials. Find beautiful user-generated content to repost on social and feature on your site.
Get permissions. Before you use your customers’ info, make sure you have their permission. Get a quick okay to use social content by using an approval hashtag.
04. Showcase your best testimonials
After collecting your favorite customer reviews and images, figure out where to use them on your social or site. Considering the quick turnaround of the holiday sale season, prioritize short-term results.
Social media
Include customer and images into your holiday marketing calendar. Incorporate them in your feed and make sure to tag the customers so shoppers can click through and relate.
Use customer reviews and quotes in your captions. You can also design a post with words on a holiday-themed background. Keep in mind that Facebook and Instagram favor images with less text.
Paid ads
Include customer quotes in your paid Facebook and Instagram ad captions. Choose reviews that refer to holiday season gifting so they feel relevant on shoppers’ feeds.
You’re running on a last-minute shopper schedule, which makes paid ads useful. Instead of hoping shoppers will land on your social or website, reach them with your ads. Still, you’ll have limited time to find your targeted audience. Make sure to keep your ads running after the holidays to focus in on your most relevant customers.
Ecommerce website
Social media can bring customers to your online store. Then, it’s up to your site to convince them to make a purchase. Show testimonials on your site to convince last-minute gifters to commit to their decision. You can feature reviews and quotes on your homepage, product pages or a dedicated testimonial page.
Bonus: amazing social proof examples
This holiday season, get testimonial inspiration from successful Wix merchants:
The Chef & the Dish
The holiday gift pitch: The Chef & the Dish sells Skype cooking classes with chefs around the world. They offer a unique night in for families, friends and couples.
The strength of the testimonial: Using screenshots from video chats, the Chef & the Dish helps shoppers imagine how their own class would look.
FW Beauty
The holiday gift pitch: FW Beauty products nourish every type of skin. Their lotions are personalized, luxurious and organic—plus, both the gifter and the recipient can feel good supporting a mission-driven company.
The strength of the testimonial: FW Beauty uses a customer quote that hits on the emotions behind the brand: gratitude and confidence. It inspires shoppers to go to their online store and buy for a friend (or themselves).
Plex Audio
The holiday gift pitch: Plex Audio sells speaker systems built to fit motorbikes. It’s the perfect niche gift for someone who loves both their bike and their music.
The strength of the testimonial: With a video, Plex Audio brings the customer experience to life. Shoppers can hear the sound quality and see for themselves how the soundsystem fits on a bike. This testimonial also comes from a passionate biker, so shoppers are more likely to trust his endorsement.
Brielle Gordon
Marketing Writer, Wix eCommerce
Brielle is a Colorado native with a passion for innovation and helping to mobilize entrepreneurs. Brielle is a marketing writer for Wix eCommerce, which powers over 700k online stores worldwide.
