How to Get Tons of Testimonials

Author: Rick Gee, July 16th, 2009

In my last post, I shared with you the importance of using customer testimonials in your marketing.

Today I will share with you some great ways to get them.

The first and best way, of course is simple: ask for them! Most satisfied clients are glad to share their positive experiences.

The best time to get a testimonial is soon after you have made the sale or implemented your solution. This is when your customer is happy and eager to tout the benefits you have provided.

Another easy way to get testimonials is when your client thanks you for something or says something positive about your service. When that happens, say this: “Thank you! I appreciate your mentioning that. Can I ask you something?” (Pause and wait for a positive response). “Will you put that in writing for me?”

Ideally you will want your customer to write the testimonial himself. It’s more genuine that way. In some cases you will have to offer to write the testimonial yourself and have your customer approve it.

One of the best ways to get genuine, powerful testimonials that takes less than five minutes of your client’s time is to use video. I use a Flip Video camera and conduct a brief interview, asking questions that will give me answers that turn into strong testimonials.

Once you have the video footage, you can transcribe the good parts and put them in written form. You can also go back and edit out your questions, leaving only your client singing your praises. Then put a bunch of them together on a DVD or your website.

If you have clients who you haven’t worked with recently but are thrilled with what you’ve done for them in the past, ask them for a favor: “John, I’ve been studying ways to improve my marketing so I can help more clients like I’ve helped you in the past. And I’ve learned how important it is to use testimonials from my existing clients. What I’d like to do is briefly summarize the benefits of what we accomplished together. You can read it, make changes, add or subract anything you want.”

Here are some other creative ways to generate tons of testimonials:

• Have a testimonial contest. Send a letter or email to all your clients and promote a contest for “Best Customer Testimonial.” Offer a prize or to promote the client’s business or website.
• Print testimonials in your monthly newsletter with an appeal for more: “Would you like to see your name in my next newsletter? Send me a quick email telling me how I’ve helped you in the past.”
• If your product or service is new, give it away to some friends and associates in exchange for their feedback.
• One hand washes the other. If you have vendors that are also your clients, send them an unsolicited testimonial and you’ll probably get one back

If you use all these techniques, you’ll have loads of testimonials in no time!

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