# Student testimonial above brochure form: +50% submissions

- Outcome: Won
- Page type: Lead form (Lead-gen)
- Elements: Testimonials, Social proof, authority & press
- Test run by: [The Reference](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/the-reference/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://wingify.com/success-stories/hotel-institute-montreux/
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/hotel-institute-montreux-brochure-form-testimonial/

Placing a student testimonial directly above a brochure request form increased form submissions by 50%. The Reference, a digital agency, ran this split URL test for Hotel Institute Montreux, a Swiss hospitality management school, and it was published as a VWO case study. The higher conversion rate cut the school's AdWords cost per lead by 54%.

## Result

**+50% submissions**

- Brochure form submissions: +50%.
- AdWords cost per lead: down 54%, a knock-on effect of more leads from the same paid traffic.
- Sample size, duration and confidence level were not shared.

## Control

The free brochure request page had a form and no testimonials. The school's testimonials sat on a separate page.

## Variant

A student testimonial was added right above the brochure form, so prospects saw it at the moment of signing up.

## Why it likely won (our reading)

- Choosing a school is a big decision. A real student's words give prospects a reason to trust the program.
- The testimonial sat next to the form, where doubt about giving contact details is highest.
- Good proof already existed but was hidden on another page, so the change just moved it to where it mattered.

## Caveats

Sample size, duration and statistical confidence were not shared. The test date is also unknown.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we place a customer testimonial directly above our lead form, then more visitors will submit because they get social proof at the moment they decide.
- Primary metric: Lead form submissions
- Guardrail: Lead quality (enrolment or sales-qualified rate)
- Guardrail: Cost per lead
- Guardrail: Form start rate
- Who should test it: Lead-gen businesses with considered purchases, such as schools, courses or professional services, that already have strong testimonials. It may do little where the form is a trivial, low-risk ask or the testimonial is generic.

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Credit: The Reference ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/hotel-institute-montreux-brochure-form-testimonial/).
Usage: Free to use, quote and build on, with credit and a link: name the practitioner or organization that ran the test and link to its LiftArchive page. The results belong to the practitioners who ran and shared them; the summaries and commentary are LiftArchive's.