Video Testimonials Create +200% Conversion Rate

As a follow up to my post last week about using video testimonials, I discovered this July 2008 report on the Marketing Experiments site that claims an increase in conversion rate of +200% from using video testimonials at critical high anxiety points in your site.

Their conclusions:

Testimonials played a significant part in increasing the conversions in this radical redesign test. The size of the conversion lifts correspond to the different treatments (smaller gain from the text testimonials, larger gain from the video clip).

What factors made these testimonials more effective?

* Their proximity to aspects of the process that created anxiety — the last two pages of the registration process and submission of personal information.
* Their authenticity, particularly the video clip, helped prospects relate to real customers and see their own problems being solved.
* Their tone helped lend a more personal feel to the registration process; this tone was also reflected in changes to the copy and calls-to-action.