Testimonials In Marketing

The Paradox of Growth: The Bigger You Get, the Less You Know I came across something that stuck with me: When companies scale, they gain users — but lose understanding. Not because they stop caring, but because their customer feedback starts living everywhere — support tickets, sales calls, forums, surveys, social media, and app store reviews. That thought really made me pause. I’ve seen this firsthand. When a company is small, every piece of feedback feels personal — every bug report or review has a face behind it. But as you grow, those voices scatter across platforms and departments. Support sees the frustration, sales hears the hesitation, leadership sees the numbers — and somehow, everyone’s looking at the same customers, but no one’s hearing them anymore. That, in my opinion, is the quiet cost of growth. This is the problem Enterpret is solving — by helping teams stay in tune with their customers even as they scale. Here’s how it works: → It collects real-time customer feedback from 55+ channels — support tickets, sales calls, social media (X, Reddit, Instagram, Facebook), app store reviews, community forums, surveys, Slack, and more. → It analyzes all that feedback using AI and tells you exactly what to fix or build next. → It maps everything through a customer knowledge graph that connects feedback, complaints, and requests by channel, user, and payment data. → It even provides a chat interface where you can directly ask questions, and AI agents that flag bugs or issues automatically. That’s why teams like Notion, Perplexity, Canva, Chipotle, and The Farmer’s Dog use it — to make sure customer voices never get lost in the noise. In my view, the real lesson here isn’t about using more tools — it’s about staying close to the people you build for. Here’s how I’d approach it: ✅ Centralize every piece of feedback — even if it’s messy. ✅ Look for patterns instead of isolated complaints. ✅ Use AI systems like Enterpret to uncover the “why” behind what customers say. Because in the end, growth shouldn’t make you deaf. It should make you listen better — just faster. How does your team make sure you’re hearing what customers really mean, not just what they say? #CustomerFeedback #AIProducts #ProductStrategy #VoiceOfCustomer #Enterpret #Leadership

You’ve heard the advice, “Use stories in your presentations because people respond to stories!” Great advice. BUT… Your story won’t grab your audience’s attention and communicate your message unless it has these 6 elements. In fact, it could even have the opposite effect! Every story you use as the foundation of your high-stakes presentations needs to have: 1. A logical structure. A story needs a beginning, middle, and end with clear turning points between each section. Don't just jump between ideas randomly. Map your presentation flow on paper first so you can physically move sections around. The most persuasive structure builds toward your most important point. 2. An Emotional structure. In the middle of your story, create a rise of conflict where tension builds. This might be when your audience realizes their current approach isn't working or market conditions are changing rapidly. Plan moments where this tension rises before providing a cathartic resolve. Your audience will stay engaged through this emotional journey from tension to resolution. 3. A clear goal. The protagonist in your story must have something they're seeking–an objective that drives the narrative forward. In your presentation, position your audience as the hero pursuing something important. Whether it's reconciliation of different viewpoints or finding the solution to a pressing problem, make sure this goal is crystal clear. 4. Meaningful conflict. Every story needs the hero to face obstacles. This conflict might be with themselves, with others, with technology, or even with nature.  When preparing your presentation, identify what's standing in the way of progress. Is it internal resistance? Market challenges? Technical limitations? Acknowledging these conflicts shows you understand the real situation. 5. A resolution. Every narrative needs to resolve the conflict, though resolution doesn't always mean a happy ending. It could end positively (comedy), negatively (tragedy), or be inconclusive, requiring your audience to take action to determine the outcome. For business presentations, this inconclusive ending can be particularly effective as it prompts decision and action. 6. A lesson worth learning. While rarely stated explicitly (except in fairy tales), every story teaches something. Your presentation should leave your audience with a clear takeaway about what approaches to emulate or avoid. The quality of your story often determines the quality of your high-stakes presentations. Take time to really think through the stories you’re using. Hand-selecting the best ones will help you leave a lasting impact on your audience. #Presentation #StorytellingInBusiness #PresentationSkills

Here's 2 testimonial formats that don't sound like bullsh*t: It’s tempting to showcase your most effusive reviews, but that’s a missed opportunity. We got this one last week: "I've been an entrepreneur for almost 30 years and this is the best thing I've ever done. Wish I did it 30 years ago.” I love reading testimonials like that! But I don't post them on our site. Why? Because they sound like bullsh*t. Think about it from your prospect’s perspective: If they read a review that says “This product is awesome!” will they think “Wow, this product must be awesome. Lemme grab my credit card…” (No. No, they will not.) Effective testimonials don’t just say “It's awesome,” they break through by addressing prospect’s specific goals and fears. Like this... 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝟮 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟭: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿? Share quotes from people describing that exact outcome. For example: • “We cut production times by 30% while lowering defect rates, I didn’t think that was possible.” • “We quadrupled the engagement rates of our outreach campaigns, now we actually need to hire more salespeople.” • “We were able to achieve 100% FCA compliance without hiring additional people." 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟮: 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽? Call it out and knock it down. Examples: • “Normally my sales reps hate new software and refuse to use it, but they love [product] and they’re 24% more productive after the first week.” • “I thought migration would be a huge hassle, but we were up and running in 2 hours, no engineering required.” • “Our CEO was watching this project closely, so I was nervous about working with software from a startup. But [product] not only did the job, it made my whole team look like rockstars." For both options, the key is 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺. The more directly you can address the reader’s exact desire or blocker, the more the quote will resonate with them – and the less it will sound like bullsh*t. 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗽: What if your customers don’t give you the right words for your ideal testimonial? You can always reply to a happy customer and ask “Would you mind if we phrased your testimonial this way instead?” They’ll usually say yes. Who else needs to read this? Tag them 👇🏼 Are you a little smarter than you were 2 minutes ago? Follow me: Matt Lerner so you don't miss my future posts.

There’s a big difference between a good testimonial and a useful one. ☺️ “We love the team” is good. 💸 “This helped us launch twice as fast as our last vendor” is useful. One makes you feel warm. The other moves a deal forward. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, especially because I spend a lot of time on 45–60 minute customer interviews, mostly for case studies. But those calls often serve a second purpose: they’re the source of testimonials, ROI proof points, and other enablement assets for sales. And when a customer is generously giving you an hour of their time, you want to make sure you’re capturing how they feel and also what changed. That’s the difference between a surface-level quote and one that becomes a shortcut in a sales conversation. The trick is in how you listen. It’s not enough to ask, “Did you feel supported?” or “How’s the experience been?” Most customers don’t show up to the call thinking in ROI terms. They talk in feelings. - “It just works.” - “The experience was so smooth.” - “We feel really supported.” And those are great — they tell you something. But they don’t always give sales what they need. So part of the work is learning how to go deeper without making the customer feel interrogated. If someone says, “We feel supported,” I might gently ask: - “What’s an example of a moment where you felt that support really came through?” - “Was there a time something went wrong, and you were surprised by how it was handled?” If they say, “The platform’s really intuitive,” I’ll try: - “Can you remember how long it took your team to get comfortable using it?” - “Were there specific features that made that experience smoother than what you used before?” Sometimes the most powerful quotes come from these follow-ups. The first answer is what they remember. The second is what they realized. And that’s where the insight lives.

Having processed 100,000+ customer feedbacks with AI, I can confidently say: Customer feedback analysis is one of the best use cases for AI. And it’s also one of the worst. Let me explain: I’ve worked a lot lately on use cases that deal with analyzing customer feedback with AI: → Comments → Surveys → Reviews Thanks to Large Language Models, it’s never been easier to process this stuff at scale. Where you previously had to build complex topic models, you can now simply paste text into ChatGPT and get an interesting-sounding answer. Which is exactly the problem. Because dumping customer feedback into an LLM doesn’t actually give you any insight. It gives you a summary. Like: “Users want better usability.” “They’re confused by onboarding.” (You didn’t need AI to tell you that.) LLMs rarely generate true novelty. They compress to the mean. Which means they’ll repeat what you already suspect – just faster and fancier. If you want actual insight, you need structure. Here’s the 5-step method I use with clients: 1. Start with a problem hypothesis. Don’t ask: “What are they saying?” Ask: “Are they struggling with X?” 2. Build a taxonomy that maps to action. “Didn’t get login email” → “Email deliverability issue” “Too expensive” → “Pricing objection” 3. Count what matters. Still the most underrated skill in analytics: frequency by category. 4. Analyze temporal trends. *When* people say something often matters more than *what* they say. 5. Look for what’s missing. No positive feedback in 1,000 comments? That’s a signal too. I’m sharing the exact approach I use to turn raw customer comments into real buyer insight – using AI the right way. If you work with feedback, you’ll want this breakdown. Sign up before Friday 12pm CET → https://lnkd.in/eFzzQrMJ

Every company says they listen to customers. But most just hear them. There's a difference. After spending years building feedback loops, here's what I've learned: Feedback isn't about collecting data. It's about creating change. Most companies fail at feedback because: - They send random surveys - They collect scattered feedback - They store insights in silos - They never close the loop The result? Frustrated customers. Missed opportunities. Lost revenue. Here's how to build real feedback loops: 1. Gather feedback intelligently - NPS isn't enough - CSAT tells half the story - One channel never works Instead: - Run targeted post-interaction surveys - Conduct deep-dive customer interviews - Analyze product usage patterns - Monitor support conversations - Build customer advisory boards - Track social mentions 2. Create a single source of truth - Consolidate feedback from everywhere - Tag and categorize insights - Track trends over time - Make it accessible to everyone 3. Turn feedback into action - Prioritize based on impact - Align with business goals - Create clear ownership - Set implementation timelines But here's the most important part: Close the loop. When customers give feedback: - Acknowledge it immediately - Update them on progress - Show them implemented changes - Demonstrate their impact The biggest mistakes I see: Feedback Overload: - Collecting too much data - No clear action plan - Analysis paralysis Biased Collection: - Listening to the loudest voices - Ignoring silent majority - Over-indexing on complaints Slow Response: - Taking months to act - No progress updates - Lost customer trust Remember: Good feedback loops aren't about tools. They're about trust. Every piece of feedback is a customer saying: "I care enough to help you improve." Don't waste that trust. The best companies don't just collect feedback. They turn it into visible change. They show customers their voice matters. They build trust through action. Start small: 1. Pick one feedback channel 2. Create a clear process 3. Act quickly on insights 4. Show results 5. Scale what works Your customers are talking. Are you really listening? More importantly, are you acting? What's your approach to customer feedback? How do you close the loop? ------------------ ▶️ Want to see more content like this and also connect with other CS & SaaS enthusiasts? You should join Tidbits. We do short round-ups a few times a week to help you learn what it takes to be a top-notch customer success professional. Join 1999+ community members! 💥 [link in the comments section]

Surveys can serve an important purpose. We should use them to fill holes in our understanding of the customer experience or build better models with the customer data we have. As surveys tell you what customers explicitly choose to share, you should not be using them to measure the experience. Surveys are also inherently reactive, surface level, and increasingly ignored by customers who are overwhelmed by feedback requests. This is fact. There’s a different way. Some CX leaders understand that the most critical insights come from sources customers don’t even realize they’re providing from the “exhaust” of every day life with your brand. Real-time digital behavior, social listening, conversational analytics, and predictive modeling deliver insights that surveys alone never will. Voice and sentiment analytics, for example, go beyond simply reading customer comments. They reveal how customers genuinely feel by analyzing tone, frustration, or intent embedded within interactions. Behavioral analytics, meanwhile, uncover friction points by tracking real customer actions across websites or apps, highlighting issues users might never explicitly complain about. Predictive analytics are also becoming essential for modern CX strategies. They anticipate customer needs, allowing businesses to proactively address potential churn, rather than merely reacting after the fact. The capability can also help you maximize revenue in the experiences you are delivering (a use case not discussed often enough). The most forward-looking CX teams today are blending traditional feedback with these deeper, proactive techniques, creating a comprehensive view of their customers. If you’re just beginning to move beyond a survey-only approach, prioritizing these more advanced methods will help ensure your insights are not only deeper but actionable in real time. Surveys aren’t dead (much to my chagrin), but relying solely on them means leaving crucial insights behind. While many enterprises have moved beyond surveys, the majority are still overly reliant on them. And when you get to mid-market or small businesses? The survey slapping gets exponentially worse. Now is the time to start looking beyond the questionnaire and your Likert scales. The email survey is slowly becoming digital dust. And the capabilities to get you there are readily available. How are you evolving your customer listening strategy beyond traditional surveys? #customerexperience #cxstrategy #customerinsights #surveys

I've spent 1000s of hours listing, observing and studying the top 0.1 % tech candidates who have mastered storytelling. People who came from big tech companies like Google, Microsoft, Atlassian, Okta you name it. Here is what I've learned: // Start with the end in mind. Decide what you want the listener to do or feel. • Recruiter: “Shortlist them.” • Panel: “Safe hands under pressure.” • Hiring manager: “I can picture week-4 impact.” →When the outcome is clear, your opening and middle funnel toward it. // Shape your story. Use a simple frame so your skill shines through. • STARL (Situation, Task, Action, Result, Learning) • SOARL (Situation, Objective, Action, Result, Learning) • CARL (Context, Action, Result, Learning) →Pick one and stick to it. Consistency beats flair. You see there is always a lesson at the end. // Lead with action. Skip the origin story. Start at the point of risk. “Prod outage hit Friday 4:12 pm. I led the incident bridge…” → Then add only the backstory needed to make the result land. // Make it emotional (the professional kind). You don’t need drama. You need stakes. Choose 1–2 feelings to anchor: relief, safety, momentum, trust. → Aim your story at them. // Build the world (fast) Let us “see” the constraints in two lines: - Team and scope: “8 engineers across Sydney/Welly.” - Rules: “Change freeze; 2-hour SLA.” - Shared language: “P1 incident, 99.95% target.” →Constraints make your result believable and tangible. // Sell the transformation Great stories show change. Use the delta: “From 83% to 99.97% uptime in 6 weeks, while cutting cloud spend 22%.” → Formula: From X → Y, because Z (your actions) + proof (metric). // Slow down before the close After you land the result, pause. Let it breathe. →Count to three. Then add the lesson that makes you memorable. // Build to one moment Design every line to amplify your headline win. “I once handled incidents. Now I run the playbook others follow.” // Develop your process Top candidates don’t wing it; they bank stories. All Careersy Coaching client have one. Keep a “Story Bank” of 12 wins and a few fails with a strong lesson gained. - Tag each by competency (leadership, ambiguity, stakeholder mgmt). - Prepare 90-sec, 3-min, and 6-min versions. - Rehearse out loud; trim fillers. - Refresh with fresh numbers before each interview. // Mini-example (how this sounds) “Traffic spiked 3× during a release. Error rate hit 12%. I led the incident bridge, rolled back within 8 minutes, added circuit breakers, and tuned connection pools. By Monday we cut peak errors to 0.4% and raised weekly uptime from 99.6% to 99.96%. The change was adding autoscaling rules tied to queue depth, not CPU. Lesson: measure the real bottleneck, not the noisy one.”

Great experience, but nothing to show for it? As a recruiter specialising in design and creative roles, I often find myself in the middle of a really tricky dilemma: brilliant candidates with amazing experience, but no work they can actually show. I’ve been recruiting for an Art Director role recently, and I’ve spoken to so many talented people whose portfolios just don’t reflect the depth of their experience. Usually because the work is confidential or under NDA. Totally understandable, but from a hiring perspective, it can be a real challenge. In this case, my client was specifically looking for examples of retail campaigns that had been art directed and rolled out across a range of digital platforms. And honestly? It was a real struggle to find work that could be shared. From a freelance perspective, this becomes even more crucial. When you're brought in as a freelancer, you’re expected to hit the ground running. That’s why even if your CV and experience look amazing, clients need to see that you’ve done the kind of work they need. If you can’t showcase it somehow, chances are you won’t even get an interview. So I wanted to share a few practical tips for how to present your work when you're not sure what’s safe to include: If it’s live, it’s fair game – If the campaign has launched and is publicly available online, you can usually include it in your portfolio. Just be clear about your role in the project. Use screenshots wisely – Link to the live campaign if possible, or use screenshots with proper context to showcase your contribution. Strip out sensitive details – If something is still under wraps, anonymise the work. Blur logos, change names, or generalise the client. Focus on your creative approach and the outcomes. Get permission – When in doubt, ask. Sometimes companies are happy for you to include certain pieces, especially if you present them professionally and respectfully. Keep a “private” version – If you're applying for roles directly, have a password-protected or offline version of your portfolio that you can walk through during interviews. Just make sure it's clear it’s for their eyes only. This kind of thing can really make or break your chances, especially in senior or freelance roles. A little extra effort to present your work in the right way can make all the difference. I’d love to hear from others. How do you handle this in your portfolio? #portfoliotips #recruitment

After working with 100+ early-stage SaaS companies I've seen how testimonials really drive inbound. One of my portfolio company nailed a 110% CTR on LinkedIn InMail with a testimonial ad. Why? Because people trust real stories. In a sea of generic product ads, a solid testimonial stands out and builds instant credibility. Get your customers talking. Encourage reviews, and if it fits your vibe, offer small incentives. It’s simple: happy customers share, and their stories convert. But keep it real. Paid review services with cookie-cutter testimonials? Don’t even go there. They’re obvious, they destroy trust, and they’ll hurt your brand. Genuine feedback wins every time. Use it, amplify it, and let your customers tell the story for you.