ReThink180™ Testimonials: 5 steps to a scalable recommendation engine

SUMMARY:
Social media testimonials are an extremely quick-to-implement, highly scalable form of content that immediately generates trust and product interest.

Personal recommendations are the best source of hot leads. Scaling these testimonials can be a decisive game changer for B2B companies. Read this article to find out how you can generate compelling customer statements with real added value, share them with tens of thousands of decision-makers in your specific target group, and turn them directly into sales appointments. Ready to activate untapped potential? Then read the article below or contact us directly.

About Leadvolution

About Leadvolution: with over 160 advertising setups for fast-growing startups, exciting medium-sized companies, and over 35 global market leaders, Leadvolution is one of the most experienced social media B2B marketing consultancies in Europe. Within 4-8 weeks, we build a globally scalable social media lead generation system for very specific and complex B2B target groups, generating up to 500 leads per month.

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The opportunity: Recommendations generate the hottest leads

When a potential customer contacts you with the request “XY recommended you to me,” you know right away that you have a good chance of actually closing the deal. Authentic experiences and recommendations from other customers strongly influence your target group’s purchasing decisions or even give them the idea to consider your company as a possible solution provider in the first place.
If your customers are enthusiastic about your product and can describe what you have achieved for them in quantifiable and therefore comprehensible terms, this will inevitably have a positive effect on decision-makers in your target group. This means that you enjoy a high level of trust. Your sales team therefore has less work to do to convince customers. You close deals quickly and increase your closing rate.

The problem: Testimonials are difficult to scale

For direct recommendations, your customer has to take action every time. This means repeated effort, and as a rule, they don’t directly benefit from it. The number of personal recommendations and thus the scalability therefore tends to remain rather low.

Written testimonials can make these recommendations more independent of the customer. However, generating them requires cooperation between several departments, such as account management, marketing, and sales.

The process therefore often gets stuck somewhere or petered out completely. In addition, case studies involve a huge amount of effort on the part of the customer, as your contact person for the testimonial must in turn ask various stakeholders within their company for approval. As a result, significantly fewer testimonials are usually created than could be.

Last but not least, these written statements must be brought to the attention of your target group. This often results in insufficient reach, meaning that the few testimonials that are available are only seen by a small number of potential new customers.

Due to these difficulties, only a few B2B companies can claim to have efficient testimonial processes in place and to have scaled up the number of their advocates – and thus also the number of new hot leads – accordingly. We can show you how your B2B company can join them. (If you don’t have time right now but would like to know more, you can contact us quickly here.)

How to build a “viral circle” in 5 steps that will keep providing you with new customers and testimonials

Five clear steps are required to systematically generate testimonials and ensure that as many decision-makers from your target group as possible see these advocates.

  1. Clarify internal responsibilities and set up a streamlined testimonial process so that testimonials are requested from existing satisfied customers and nothing is lost.
  2. Develop the appropriate messaging. The clearer you formulate how you solve your customers’ pain points and what added value your core products deliver, the easier it will be to suggest testimonials to your customers that will immediately generate interest among third parties. Please also read the article on our ReThink180™ methodology.
  3. Create reusable templates for attractive social media posts and ads
  4. Use target group templates and systematic processes to ensure the right reach on LinkedIn, Google Display, Meta, etc., so that your testimonials are seen by as many decision-makers as possible.
  5. Get more out of the likes, comments, and shares you receive on your testimonial posts. By tracking them promptly and systematically, you can significantly increase the number of leads.

We will go through these steps in detail below. We would also be happy to discuss the best approach for your individual situation in a free expert consultation.

Step 1: First, make sure that you don't miss any more testimonials.

Scaling testimonials can be a real game changer for your B2B company. It therefore makes sense to have a process owner who drives the topic forward across departments. Make it clear to the departments involved what they have to gain—testimonials attract new customers, which means more revenue and increases the chance of bonuses. Create a matrix of your customers and the products they are currently using. Also record the progress of the project there. This will give you a quick overview of when it’s time to request a testimonial.
Write down every positive comment from your customers—even a few words can form the basis for a testimonial later on. Prepare statements in advance. Offer incentives to employees who are particularly involved in this area.

Step 2: Develop messaging that immediately resonates with decision-makers

Testimonials must be concise and explain in a single sentence why the customer in question enjoys working with you. To achieve this, it makes sense to develop clear and versatile messaging and suggest this to your customers as a possible quote. How do you go about this?

  1. Identify all relevant pain points for your target group that you can solve with your product.
  2. Identify the causes of the pain points and their consequences – for specific job profiles that you would like to reach within your specific target group.
  3. Quantify the results your target group can achieve with your product.

Based on these facts, you can create a wide variety of the above-mentioned quote suggestions for your customers, thus ensuring maximum persuasiveness of the statements. By combining the authenticity of your customers with the very high reach of paid advertising, you can create a real game changer for your lead generation.

Would you like to build up a pool of messaging approaches for scaling your testimonials in just a few weeks? We would be happy to accompany you through this process with our proprietary ReThink180™ methodology. In interview sessions, we generate a variety of compelling messaging approaches and efficiently prepare them as part of a structured process.

Step 3: Develop design templates for efficient scaling

To efficiently produce the additional content required to promote the testimonials, you should create templates: a basic structure for the social media post text for LinkedIn (including headline), a template for the corresponding visual, and an adaptation for Google Display Ads.

Video testimonials are particularly effective – because what could be more convincing than a satisfied customer enthusiastically talking in front of the camera about what they have achieved thanks to your company? What’s more, they require significantly less coordination than a written case study and are a win-win situation: your customer can present themselves as an innovative “thought leader” (read more in our Viral Circle video article).

Step 4: Create target group and campaign templates and a transparent process for ad creation

In LinkedIn Campaign Manager, as well as in the corresponding counterparts in Google and Meta, you should create appropriate campaign and target group templates so that, in order to promote a new testimonial, you only need to create a new ad with a few clicks using the text and visuals generated from the above-mentioned template. Ideally, you should have clustered the target groups by industry so that you can show each recipient as many of their competitors as possible, thereby creating a “FOMO” (fear of missing out) effect.

To maximize the targeted reach of testimonial posts and “viral circle” videos across all channels, you should define a systematic process so you don’t lose track:

  • For organic reach, post testimonial statements in predefined social media groups and systematically notify employees and external multipliers such as influencers and partners.
  • With paid measures on LinkedIn, Google Display, and Meta, you can ensure that your content is read by as many people as possible. Retargeting is particularly recommended for the latter two.
  • Finally, social selling offers you the opportunity to address individuals personally. This can also be (partially) automated without appearing impersonal.

Would you like to learn more about the reach concept? Feel free to contact us for a free consultation with an expert if you need an assessment of your individual digital reach.

Step 5: Automatically capture all social touchpoints such as likes, etc., and convert them into sales appointments.

Social media testimonials can quickly generate trust and traffic on landing pages. If a user then contacts you via a web form, you can assume that they are highly interested. In addition, you can generate significantly more sales appointments by tracking all likes, profile visits, etc. Because when someone responds to your testimonial post on social media, the ball is already in your court. This is your chance: every like and every comment is a good opportunity to send a personal LinkedIn connection request offering further information. This will accelerate the growth of your network exponentially and generate 50 to 100 percent more leads.
The reason why most companies still don’t take advantage of this huge potential is usually due to limited sales resources. Systematic, (partially) automated processes can help here, which we create for customers with Teamfluence, a software that automatically collects all social touchpoints.

Figure: Qualification of recorded social touchpoints in Teamfluence

Leads can now be qualified either manually, with AI support, or fully automatically—not by your sales team, but by a separate team, which can also be provided by us if desired. Once a lead has been marked as positive, it is pushed to your CRM. We have also developed a standardized process with an interface and automation templates for different CRMs, which makes it very easy to transfer them to the CRM and create the corresponding contacts, companies, deals, and tasks.

The leads can now be contacted by the separate team (“I saw that you liked our customer XY’s testimonial post – what was it that interested you? Would you be interested in a quick chat about it?”). Direct calendar access allows you to schedule an appointment with the responsible sales representative and, of course, document it in the CRM with the relevant background information.

If you don’t have dedicated internal resources for lead qualification, we can offer to take over the entire process of contacting and scheduling appointments completely externally.

With Leadvolution, you can implement a testimonial pilot in 4-6 weeks.

We support you every step of the way, from conceptualization, including topic and project planning, to content creation and publication, to promoting your content and scheduling appointments based on the leads generated.
Upon request, we can take care of the setup, including setting up social media accounts, detailed KPI reporting, channel and target group analysis, and ongoing support.

Request a free consultation with an expert now:


“Viral Circle”: How to produce B2B video testimonials 100% remotely

SUMMARY:
Satisfied customers are the best recommendation, and one video says more than a thousand words. We offer an approach that requires minimal effort on your part and benefits both you and your customers.

For many B2B companies, case studies are the most obvious solution for referral marketing. But there is an efficient approach that generates even more trust: Read this article to find out how you can create a win-win situation for yourself and your enthusiastic customers with 100% remotely produced video testimonials and achieve maximum persuasiveness with just a few sentences. Ready to activate untapped potential? Then read the article below or contact us directly.

About Leadvolution

About Leadvolution: with over 160 advertising setups for fast-growing startups, exciting medium-sized companies, and over 35 global market leaders, Leadvolution is one of the most experienced social media B2B marketing consultancies in Europe. Within 4-8 weeks, we build a globally scalable social media lead generation system for very specific and complex B2B target groups, generating up to 500 leads per month.

Our servicesOur references

The problem: Recommendations are the very best leads – but difficult to scale

Nothing is more powerful in marketing and sales than an active recommendation from a satisfied or even enthusiastic customer. This is often recorded in a case study. However, the path to getting there is usually complicated: it means a lot of work for the customer (and for you), and the approval of many stakeholders is required before it can be released. This means that case study projects often drag on forever, fail, or are not even started in the first place. We have thought about how you can make better use of the positive statements of enthusiastic customers with less work and in a win-win situation with advantages for you and your customers.

The solution: 100% remotely produced video testimonials

The testimonial process should require minimal effort on the part of your customers. We produce a one-minute video from material that only takes your customer about 90 minutes to provide. Here’s how it works:

  • We send your customer a hardware box with a camera and high-quality microphone and give them a brief briefing to ensure the best possible result.
  • In a remote interview, we coach your customer through a prepared set of questions.
  • We produce an authentic short video from this raw material that encourages your target audience to follow in the footsteps of your satisfied customer.
  • The approval process is much simpler than for a case study, as only a few sentences need to be checked. This usually takes just a few days, and the approval rate is significantly higher than for complex case studies.
  • Translation into other languages is quick and easy.

And the best thing about it is that everyone involved enjoys it – precisely because it is such an efficient and entertaining format.

With the right reach, this creates a “viral circle.”

We help you deliver your videos digitally to tens of thousands of decision-makers in your target group worldwide. You will be surprised at how accurately you can reach your target group – and how large it actually is. You can find more details about our B2B reach process in the article about our “Content Booster” process.

This immense, predictable reach creates a scalable process known as the “Viral Circle”:

  1. Your enthusiastic customers authentically demonstrate the added value of your solutions on camera and communicate the results they have achieved.
  2. Your target groups learn about these results via digital channels – and if they have a similar challenge, they will understand after the third video at the latest that they should take a closer look at your solution.
  3. This way, you generate more satisfied customers who are in turn available for videos – the “Viral Circle” is created.
  4. As a side effect, you get an extremely convincing, authentic, and lasting positive branding and awareness effect.

Important before you start: Use ReThink180™ to develop a structure that maximizes your persuasiveness.

Only those who ask the right questions get the most useful answers. If your customer just tells you anything, it is unlikely that you will get the best results. That is why you should first get an overview of the customer’s problems and how they can be solved and with what results. From this, you develop a fixed list of questions and prepare the answer structure, including results for the customer.
Sound complicated? Not with our ReThink180™ methodology: it uses customer-centric questions to create texts and visuals that quickly make it clear to the user that they should request more information. This has been proven to achieve click and conversion rates that are 50 to 200 percent higher than previous campaigns.
The “viral circle” is just one example of what you can achieve with the results of a ReThink180 audit. The lines of argumentation also provide you with the basis for ongoing “always on” communication with your target groups and form the foundation for “video content in 1 day” – i.e., producing raw material in just one day of shooting that you can use on social media for up to six months.

Why customers like to participate in the “Viral Circle”

It is usually very difficult to convince customers to participate in case studies. Reasons: a lot of work, tedious approval processes, and the responsible manager on the customer side has little personal benefit. With the Viral Circle, you create a win-win situation: there is hardly any effort involved, the approval process is much simpler, and best of all, there is a personal benefit for your contact person at the customer.
This video will make them known as a successful manager within their industry, which is extremely beneficial for their career. Once your customers understand this, you will have gained a valuable supporter for the project on the customer side, and the probability of success will increase many times over.
If you still don’t get the go-ahead from your customer, no problem. We are also happy to interview your employees for anonymous cases.

How to start your viral circle

Enthusiastic customers in front of the camera are your biggest advocates – use this effect now to generate more leads and sales. We will implement a “viral circle” project for you from start to finish. The total effort for you and your team will be less than two man-days. Here’s how it works:

  1. Focus on a product or service for which you can imagine testimonials.
  2. In a concept phase, we work with you to develop questions and lines of argumentation as a basis for customer statements (and other exciting approaches such as “always on” communication, webinars, white papers, etc.).
  3. We create a video template that can be used for all videos.
  4. Potential customers are selected and a repeatable production and reach process is defined.

Try out our approach with a pilot project that will deliver measurable results after just four to six weeks.

Do you find these approaches exciting and want to generate sustainable awareness, positive branding, and genuine customer inquiries at the same time?

Simply request a free consultation with an expert: