Customer testimonials, or word-of-mouth referrals, are very powerful marketing tools. Just think of mobile apps and websites like Yelp and Trip Advisor, whose content is reliant on customer testimonials-both good and bad.

Are you making the most of your brand testimonials? Where and how do positive customer testimonials play an important role in your marketing effectiveness? In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we share these insights on how customer testimonials can impact your business.

1. Identify your customer segments. One of the critical questions for any marketer is to identify who is buying your product or service. Certainly, you can define this in your messaging through promotional content, but to really drive the point home, a testimonial from someone a customer can relate to is much more convincing. Show your customers that people just like them are finding answers to their problems. Testimonials can also be useful in communicating new or different markets you service that people may be unaware of.

2. Highlight a key benefit. A bullet point list of benefits is informative, but dry. It's one thing to be told about a benefit and entirely another to hear about how that benefit solved a problem in a context you can relate to. Testimonials can be used to support and elaborate on the real value of the benefits you're trying to sell to the customer.

3. Overcome objections. As your customers debate a purchase, they will inevitably come up with rational objections to buying. This is where a well-placed testimonial can be persuasive in overcoming an objection. Testimonials that transparently voice that same concern or reaffirm the end value of the product can reassure a prospect that they'll get the outcome they're looking for and persuade them that their objection is unfounded.

4. Create social pressure. A strong testimonial can create a sense that the prospect will miss out if they don't make the purchase. It's creating a desire to emulate the actions and outcomes of those we respect and relate to.

5. Tell your brand story. You can tell people you are "X, Y and Z" until you're blue in the face, making claims and promises surrounding your product—but if you want to tell an authentic brand story, you need to tell the story of your customers. These stories substantiate your claims; they give your story life. Seeing photos and hearing from satisfied customers adds an emotional, human appeal.

6. Compare and contrast with competitors. A testimonial can simultaneously make the case for your product or service while dismantling the credibility of another. It's not that you want to go out of your way to be put your competitors down, but testimonials are a chance for people who have tried it all to discredit your competition while giving you credit.

So, take the time to identify those customers who can provide you with testimonials and make it an easy process for them to share. These brand advocates could be the most powerful arsenal in your marketing toolkit.

Read the next issue of PCT for tips on cultivating testimonials that work.

Source: Joel Klettke is a copywriter for hire and a former agency-side SEO. He works with agencies and brands to create content that won't get tuned out.