Absolutely, testimonials from customers who’ve already upgraded can significantly improve your upselling conversion rates. We’ve seen this consistently with our SME clients across a range of industries. The key is leveraging ‘social proof’ – people are far more likely to follow the lead of others, especially when it comes to making purchasing decisions. It’s a powerful psychological principle at play.
However, simply *having* testimonials isn’t enough. They need to be strategically deployed and focused on the specific upgrade you’re promoting. Here’s what we’ve found matters most:
- Specificity is crucial: General praise like “great service” is nice, but doesn’t address upgrade benefits. Testimonials should explicitly mention the feature or benefit they gained from the upgrade. For example, “Switching to the Pro plan gave us the reporting tools we needed to identify our most profitable customers.”
- Relatability matters: Ideally, the testimonial should come from a customer similar to the prospect you’re targeting. A small business owner praising an upgrade is more impactful for another small business owner than a large enterprise’s experience.
- Focus on the ‘before & after’: The most compelling testimonials highlight the pain point the upgrade solved. What was the customer struggling with *before*? How did the upgrade alleviate that struggle? This demonstrates tangible value.
- Visual reinforcement: Whenever possible, include a photo of the customer alongside their testimonial. This adds authenticity and builds trust. Video testimonials are even more effective, if feasible.
Where to use these testimonials? We recommend incorporating them directly into your upsell funnels – on landing pages, within email sequences, and even during in-app prompts. A/B testing different testimonial variations is also a smart move. For example, test a testimonial focused on time savings against one focused on cost reduction to see which resonates better with your audience.
Don’t underestimate the power of proactively requesting these testimonials. Reach out to customers who’ve recently upgraded and ask if they’d be willing to share their experience. Make it easy for them – provide a template or offer to conduct a short interview. By actively gathering and strategically using upgraded customer testimonials, you’ll see a noticeable lift in your upselling performance and set yourself up for continued growth into 2026 and beyond.
Your next step? Identify five recently upgraded customers and draft a request for a specific, benefit-focused testimonial.
