Key ingredients of a strong customer testimonial.
A strong testimonial tells a story. It’s clear and specific and speaks directly to a benefit. The best ones are short but packed with impact. Although testimonials like “Great product!” or “Would recommend” can be powerful, it’s better to say what worked and why. Start with the customer’s challenge, then what your product or service did, and end with the outcome. These kinds of before-and-after stories resonate because they feel authentic and relatable. For example, a customer’s testimonial for an oven cleaning service could say, “My filthy oven is now spotless. Excellent service. Quick, friendly, low cost. 100% recommend.” For a company selling products, like hoodies, a good testimonial could say, “Love my new hoodie! Excellent quality, gorgeous colours, good fit, great customer service and reasonable price. Will be getting more.”
It also helps if the testimonial sounds natural. Let customers use their own voice, and don’t over-edit or make it too polished. Sometimes typos or conversational speak are best left in: “Absolutely fab product, only took 2 washes to get rid of bad stains. “For business-facing companies, a good testimonial might include a name, job title, or even a photo to add authenticity and authority. For customer-facing products, a name and possibly a photo could help build trust, but be careful that the reviews don’t look too engineered. If you’re designing printed materials like banners, flyers, or menus, consider how the layout supports the quote and use legible fonts and good contrast. Adobe Express helps with this by offering easy-to-customise templates where you can drop in quotes, logos, and colours that match your brand perfectly.