The following is a list of guidelines and rules that can be used to help entrepreneurs collect, develop and use customer testimonials in their small business marketing. It’s important to use testimonials the right way because it’s definitely frowned upon to use a testimonial in a misleading way.
Ask for testimonials: Don’t be shy about asking for a good testimonial to be used in your small business marketing. You never know unless you ask and if you’ve done your job as a company, odds are you know what the answer will be before you even ask.
Make sure the testimonials are real: There’s nothing worse than getting called out for having a fake testimonial either on your Web site, blog, printed marketing materials or online marketing information. This is a quick way to drop your credibility in the eyes of your customers.
Like-minded audience: People want to hear good things from other people they can relate to. If your target audience is of a certain demographic, make sure your testimonials are from people in the same demographic.
Constructive criticism: Understand the difference between constructive criticism and negative feedback. Constructive criticism, when done the right way, can rally people around your company and make you look real.
Get a photo: When possible have photos next to the people giving the testimonial.
Offer your own testimonial to a complimentary company: Sometimes the best way to receive is to give. Ask other complimentary small business owners if they’ll swap testimonials with you.
Have sales staff encourage testimonials for small business marketing: Your sales staff most likely has developed a close relationship with your customers. Teach them how to ask for a good testimonial and make sure they do it on a regular basis.
Have testimonials on lots of different pages: If you’re going to place testimonials on a Web site or blog (and we advise you do this), try to spread out testimonials on multiple pages so that the good vibes can be reinforced wherever visitors click.
Focus on success stories: Encourage your customers to use their testimonials as a way to showcase how your product, service, employees or cause helped make their life easier.
Be careful with competitors: This is one area you want to walk a fine line because it can easily backfire on you. Avoid saying bad things about your competitor in your marketing, but if a customer is going to call attention to a positive difference between the two companies you may benefit from it.
Strike when the customer is happiest: This one goes without saying. Don’t ask a customer for a glowing testimonial if you’ve just bungled their order.
Create a process for collecting testimonials: Employees work more efficiently when they work within a system of procedures. If others are in charge of collecting testimonials work out a system with them so that it’s automatically collected upon working with every happy customer.
Get information on the person leaving testimonial: Try to collect information like name, phone, address and email address from everyone offering a nice testimonial. You never know when you’ll want to reach out to them in the future either for a public relations story or email marketing initiative.
Use testimonials as a sales tool: Especially when you’re selling to a specific customer set, merchandise specific testimonials for other prospects that fall into the same category.
Use specific testimonials that speak to certain customers: For example, if someone wrote a nice testimonial about your windows, don’t use them to sell a customer looking for new plumbing.
Use video testimonials where possible in small business marketing: We now live in a YouTube
Offer constructive ideas on a good testimonial: Some people want to leave a nice testimonial but they just don’t know what to say. This is your chance to help them by making some suggestions of a good testimonial. Some tips include having the customer talk about the quality service they received; how easy it was to work with the company; getting product on time and how it saved them money in the long run. No doubt they’d love to work with you again in the future.
Create a testimonials page on your Web site or blog: It’s nice to have testimonials on many pages, but you also want to have one place where you can direct people when you really want them to see the power of great testimonials about your company.
If possible, consider SEO in your testimonials: What keywords do you use to promote your company in search engine rankings? If possible, encourage your customers to use those phrases in their testimonials.
Ask if your testimonials will also speak to the media on your behalf: A great way to achieve good small business public relations is to offer up some happy customers whenever you’re working with a reporter on a story. Keep a list of happy customers willing to speak with the media and always have it ready when reporters come calling. Your ability to respond in a timely manner may land you another story in the near future.
Use social media as a way to get testimonials and create interaction: Spread your testimonials around on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Get written permission to use testimonials: Especially for video, always try to get written permission from the customer if you’re planning on using the testimonials in other marketing literature.
Offer up rewards or freebies on glowing testimonials: Customers give you testimonials because you did a good job taking care of them. Reward them and take care of them even more so that they rave about you. It’s not about buying them off, it’s about creating a relationship based on value.
What other tips or rules would you add to this list of testimonials for small business marketing? Please leave a comment here.
{ 10 trackbacks }
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Great, comprehensive collection of “rules”! Even though testimonials are show to raise conversion rates by up to 30%, we’ve found one of the biggest challenges is just simply finding the time to collect, manage and publish them. There are tools to help automate the process - like ours
Chris
Let me add one thing about photos for testimonials: be very careful if you want to use stock photos to represent your customers.
That’s been really common in the past. I know that would bother some people as being dishonest. But the fact is it’s been done for ages.
However, there’s been a change in how most of the stock photo places deal with that situation now. (I wrote about that recently on my own blog.)
Many stock photo services have specific rules against using people photos in testimonials. (Not all of them had that just a few years ago.)
The good news is, times have changed… it’s very easy for your customers to take their own photo with their cell-phone or webcam. In addition, the stock photos look too professional anyway, so that’s just another reason to get a less-professional version from your actual client.
It just looks more real… because it is.
I’ve been suggesting to businesses that used to depend on stock photos for testimonials to simply make the request for a photo go hand-in-hand with the request for the testimonial. And there’s no need to get picky with instructions on how to take the photo… just let them do it however they want so they don’t feel any pressure.
Hmmm interesting. I’d probably recommend to use the actual photos, though.
Ideally, everyone would use actual photos. But that wasn’t always so easy to obtain and not always thought of as something to ask for. And even today, experience tells me that some companies will take the quick stock route rather than track down actual photos if they haven’t already been doing it.
While getting real photos is now much easier, some companies are still in “stock photo” mode. And that’s the point… to break them out of that mode and educate them as to how things have changed.
In some quarters of direct marketing, speed is one of the highest priorities. Having testimonials on file (or even getting one over the phone) was pretty simple in “the old days.” But getting someone to take their picture and send it in (pre-Internet) was a pain and took time.
Good follow up. We’re on the same page.
Not only to they use stock photographs, but some of tese testimonials are of people they know rather than satisfied customers, which discredits a testimonial altogether. That is why I agree with point #2 of this blog. Make sure they are real ans legitimate or eslse your credibility will so through the wayside.
Thanks for the thoughts, Teresa. And good point, too.
I’m in sales, and I probably use them in a bit different way than the article implies. I have a book full of both client and employer reference letters that I treasure. When meeting with prospective customers I use the client references to establish the same level of trust with me that he/she wants from my company. There are few situations where someone wants to be an experiment - either with you or your company. When changing jobs I use the employer testimonials to validate the fact that I am what I say I am. It’s sad that there’s so little trust in the world, but that reality is there for a reason - a small percentage of people will lie, cheat, and steal.
Excellent advice John. As with anything in long term strategic marketing - authenticity is key. Along with the point about real photos being more trustworthy because they “look” real, a genuine quote often has the type of verbiage and enthusiasm that people can believe. My company is in the landing page business and as part of my research I see hundreds of real and fake testimonials.
While it’s true that there are 2 fools born a minute - and there’s always someone willing to believe the hype, authentic marketing seeks to speak to real people in an ethical and trustworthy way.
Advice like yours John will hopefully help more people to get it right.
Love your advice! Check our VideoBloom’s Video Testimonial Widget - The easiest way to solicit video testimonials and generate leads in an embeddable and customizable video player and recorder: http://www.videobloom.com/products/video-testimonial-widget
If a client wants to state a list of current customers on a direct mail flyer, is there any legal concerns surrounding this practice? I understand the testimonials aspect but what about just stating you preform work for so-and-so? Thoughts?
Michael, you absolutely must get their permission to list them in any form of marketing.
Right now it sounds like Expression Engine is the best blogging platform out there right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you’re using on your blog?
Wordpress.
What is the best way to get customers to leave testimonials on citations sites like Yelp and others like them? I understand they are important for local search listings. Thanks
Just ask!
For in-person customer experiences, train your staff to ask them to stop by Yelp.com and leave a remark. Many people, myself included, are more than happy to reward a great customer experience.
For online transactions, include a link to your Yelp.com customer page and ask them to leave remarks. Make it easy for them to do so. Include the link in all online communications (website, email marketing, landing pages, follow up emails, etc.).
Remember, this all means nothing without that great customer experience. So always focus on that.
I really enjoyed your article entitled “24 New Rules Of Testimonials In Small Business Marketing”
and would like your permission to use it on my website. If you could email me permission I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Veronica
Another good technique for generating testimonials is to ask customers to fill out a short survey about your service. Make the last question something like, “what do you like most about our website/service/product?” or “how has our website/service/product helped you to…?”
Thanks for a very insightful article. Your ideas will certainly be of value in my piano teaching business, especially on my website.