Testimonials are invaluable and should form part of your marketing repertoire for your business. Customers/clients will only offer a Testimonial if they believe the service provider truly warrants one and they’re happy, satisfied customers! Testimonials will act like gold for your business. Prospective customers/clients will want to know what others have experienced when dealing with you and your business. If you provide great service and/or products, your customers/clients will want to say so!

So here are some tips to make sure you gather those pots of ‘gold’ and include them in your business marketing:

1. Collect Testimonials sooner rather than later. Ask for them whilst the experience is still fresh in the customers/clients mind.

2. Make it as easy as possible for the customer/client to provide the Testimonial. Our virtual assistant business has incorporated Testimonial gathering very successfully. At the end of each project or after the first six months of servicing a new regular client, we send a simple email (from a Template) with a link to a Google Docs form titled ‘Customer Feedback Form’. We ask them about their experience, what they think we were great at and where improvements can be made, and of course, we ask them to provide a Testimonial if they would like to.

3. Asking for Testimonials as part of a customer/client satisfaction survey can serve two purposes. If a client makes us aware of something lacking in their experience, it can be addressed nice and early and improvements can be made.

4. Do remember to advise your customers/clients that you may use their Testimonial for marketing purposes and it’s important you get their permission should you wish to publish their name and business name on the web or within your marketing documents.

5. Now that you are starting to gather the Testimonials, as you have included this process in your business systems and procedures, don’t file them away nicely for your own safe-keeping! Share them with the world! Select some gems to have on your website but do update them regularly, people don’t want to read 5-10 year old Testimonials!

6. If those who have provided the Testimonial are connected with you on LinkedIn, ask if they wouldn’t mind adding it as a LinkedIn Recommendation.

7. If those who have provided the Testimonial are a member of your Facebook Business Page, ask if they wouldn’t mind adding it to your ‘Reviews’. This will result in some great exposure for your business!

8. There are many other ways you can include the gathered Testimonials in your marketing. We have also included some gems within our Engagement Letter to prospective clients, so potential new clients, who may not have taken the time to read the Testimonials on our website, can read them when deciding to engage our services and this may act as the final convincing point for them to sign on the dotted line!

9. Other than our Testimonial page on our website, we have included a small collection of Testimonials in the lower section of the Home page.

So, are you actively collecting Testimonials and using them within your marketing? If you need assistance to stream-line the process don’t hesitate to contact us to assist with such items as, suitable questions to include in your survey, setting up the Google Docs form for easy collection of Testimonials, etc.

You can read our Testimonials at the following locations:

• Website Testimonials
• LinkedIn Recommendations
• Facebook Reviews