How do you get testimonials?
I have been asked this many times. There are some business columnists that believe you should never ask for them. Others recommend asking every person you deal with. Somewhere in the middle is where you should be.
Testimonials play an important part in advertising – especially for small businesses. Yeah, big businesses with well-known names don’t have to worry about it, but small companies can use testimonials as marketing tools to build credibility.
Think about it…how else can we gain credibility than by creating a group of satisfied customers and shouting what they have to say?
There are some occasions that you don’t need to ask but remember that testimonials allow you to spread the message instead of waiting for your customer to do it (shouting). It is easy to get them and if you have earned it, your customer will be glad to give it.
Here are some ideas of how to get testimonials:
If someone sends you a letter as a testimonial, make a copy and put it up on your wall. Use it when you can. These customers were impressed by you enough to take time to send you a letter. That is impressive. Make sure to use it.
When someone says something to you that would be considered a testimonial, ask to quote them on that. Then write it down right in front of them and then repeat it back to them. If you can’t do that, write it up and get it to them (email is great for this) to approve. I got this testimonial that way:
“When the other newspapers run something about us, we get several people that will comment on it. When it is in one of the Valley Journals, it seems like everyone has seen it and is mentioning it. You really get read. That’s the bottom line!”
Travis Bonino – Salsa Leedos Mexican Restaurant
Ask for testimonials if they don’t volunteer.
One of my customers asks everyone as they leave “Did we meet your expectations today?” Another uses “How did we do for you today?” Both of these work and there are others that can be used.
Another way of getting a testimonial is to do a survey with the last question being open-ended. Be sure to check them while they are still there and ask questions if they use platitudes. Here is an example that one of my dentists uses:
Please rate from one to five – five being the best and one not good at all. We aim for all fives so let us know if we didn’t do something that we should have today.
- Rate today’s experience:
- Your wait time today
- The doctors help today
- The nurse’s help today
- The receptionist help today
- Please tell us how we really did today: (this is the open ended question that many people will give a testimonial)
There are many other ways to ask. Want more ideas? Call me and I’ll help you come up with the right way to ask for you and your business.