How to get great testimonials….Testimonials and reviews are important to every business for two main reasons: they create social proof and instill trust in you and your business. Social proof just means that when people see others patronizing a business or using a service, they feel more comfortable doing so themselves. It’s akin to appealing to a herd mentality but the truth is that most people do not want to take a chance on having a bad experience or wasting their money on a bad product or service. Beyond providing social proof, testimonials also build trust by providing reviews from people with no vested interest. It’s one thing for your salesperson or ad to tout your product’s benefits and quite another to have a happy customer explain how your product or service changed their life. So, testimonials are important, now how can you ensure that you get great ones?
Asking At The Right Time
Whether it’s a testimonial about a car purchase or a review of your restaurant, part of how to get great testimonials is you need to know when it is the right time to ask. When is the right time to ask? Immediately after your interaction with your customer. Perhaps, they’ve finished dining and are enjoying their after dinner drink or coffee. Maybe they’ve just purchased a new car and are ready to drive off the lot. They are excited and their positive feelings are at their peak. At this point, you are front of mind but once they leave your odds of getting that testimonial diminish substantially.
Make It Easy For Customers to Sing Your Praises
One of the biggest obstacles to getting testimonials from customers is that they simply don’t know what to say. There are a couple of ways to help them get past this and the first is simply to offer a template for them to follow. You should customize the template to reflect your particular type of business but here are some general questions to include:
- Why did you choose our business or service? This gets the story flowing and can also provide helpful feedback regarding your customer’s decision-making
- What did you most like/enjoy/appreciate? You are helping your customer relive the experience which will translate into a positive review.
- Would you recommend us to your family and friends? And why? People like to be thought of as experts or knowledgeable and helpful. They want to be the go-to person and this question does exactly that. If they can articulate why they would recommend your business it will come across as genuine and they’ll feel even better about the experience.
How To Get Great Testimonials Conclusion
It isn’t difficult to make acquiring testimonials a part of the post-sale process in your business. Training your employees in how to get great testimonials will help your sales and marketing efforts and build customer goodwill. It also provides important feedback on your products and services which will assist you in improving your customer experience. This is not an area which any business can afford to ignore and following these simple steps will ensure your success.
