Most of us are using testimonials from happy clients in our marketing. If you’re not – you absolutely should be. Implement a system to ask customers for a few words about you and your business – as soon as possible after you’ve provided the service. You want to ask when you’re still fresh in their mind. Make it as easy as possible for them to give the testimonial by sending a link to places they can post for you. Don’t forget to thank them!
I was wondering, as well as ASKING for testimonials, does it come as easy to you to OFFER one? When was the last time you helped a fellow small business owner by offering them a testimonial to use in their marketing?
Whenever I get great service from a local provider, I always offer to give them a testimonial. For example, we recently had our home inspected. At the conclusion of the inspection, I thanked our inspector, Matt, for a job well done and told him I’d be happy to send him a testimonial to use in his marketing if he thought it would be useful.
Then, while it was fresh in my mind, I took 5 minutes out of my day to write a few lines on his Google places listing praising his great service. I immediately followed up with an email to him with the text I’d written, with my permission to take that and use it in other areas as he saw fit – on his website, etc. Needless to say, he was very appreciative and I hope that perhaps my actions may contribute to his gaining a new client or two in the future. I figure the guy with 12 testimonials has a better shot at work than the guy with 0 testimonials. “Social proof” – we’re all looking for it now.
On a side note, Matt actually referred me to a colleague of his for my services. This was NOT the point of my giving him a testimonial, nor did it enter my mind as I was writing for him, but it was a very nice gesture on his behalf to return the favor to me.
Next time someone does a great job for you, find a few minutes in your day to offer them a written testimonial. You may just help that person land their next client!
