Are you lacking killer testimonials from your best clients and customers? Not anymore! Read on for tips on how to get amazing praise from current and past clients, plus ideas for strategically using your testimonials to drive more business from your ideal customers.
How to Ask for Testimonials
Sure, you could wait for happy clients to send you their glowing words of praise, or you can simply ask for them. That said, asking busy clients to write a killer testimonial from scratch can bring on the pressure and create a bottleneck for getting the feedback you want.
Having satisfied clients is a great start to collecting your social proof. But before you rush out to gather up your testimonials, take a moment to think about the types of clients you’d like to work with in the future. Only seek out testimonials from happy clients who represent this ideal group.
Making the ask can be intimidating when you’re new to it. Here are some ways you can ask for testimonials without feeling sleazy:
- Create a system for getting feedback right away. Do you have a system for wrapping up client projects? Make sure to build in testimonial requests. Their impression of your time together is freshest when a project ends, and it’s a great opportunity to get valuable feedback you can use to drive even more business.
- Send out a survey to past clients. Email people you had great experience with and ask them to fill out a quick and easy survey about what it’s like to work with you. Be sure to ask questions that steer their responses in the direction you need them to go. As responses come pouring in, craft a testimonial out of each client’s answers and send it to them for approval.
- Write it for them. Has anyone ever asked you to write a recommendation for them, only to have your mind go totally blank? Chances are, this happens to your clients, too. So make the process totally painless by whipping up something short and sweet, and then include it in an email asking permission to use it.
- Leverage positive feedback from an email. When a client sends you glowing praise over a recently completed project, don’t delay! Respond immediately and ask if you can use their kind words as a testimonial. You can also check back through your email archives and grab something positive a client said, then ask if it would be alright to repurpose their feedback as a testimonial.
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Gathering Social Proof from Social Media
You’ve got a whole slew of fans and followers who love you and your brand. So why not enlist them to help you spread the word about your business? Leveraging social media isn’t hard. Here are a few ways you can collect social testimonials in style:
- Ask for a recommendation on LinkedIn. You may not be all that active on LinkedIn, but there’s a good chance your ideal clients are using the platform in search of entrepreneurs who offer the services they need.
- Embed a raving tweet or Facebook comment. Did someone give you spontaneous social praise? With options to easily embed posts or embed tweets, it’s a snap to capture these mini testimonials and add them to your website or blog.
- Encourage reviews on YouTube. Some people would rather talk than write – so let ‘em! Ask clients to share their video testimonials on YouTube, then show them off by creating a playlist for them on your channel. You can also embed these testimonials where it makes sense to on your website or blog posts.
Where to Use Your Client’s Praise
[ctt title=”It’s not enough to say you’re a good fit for your ideal clients or customers. Show them!” tweet=”It’s not enough to say you’re a good fit for your ideal clients or customers. Show them! ~ @fingerprint via http://m.arket.me/1AnC2E5″ coverup=”4ql2Y”]Now that you’ve pulled together your first round of awesome testimonials, let’s put them to work for you. Here’s a few strategic places to get you started:
- Create a praise page. Why not store all that client love in one place? Showcase what your best clients are saying on a single page that’s linked to your main navigation.
- Feature a few on your home page. Let website visitors know right away just how much others love working with you. Try adding a static testimonial or two to your home page, or use a plugin that pulls and rotates a handful of testimonials from your praise page.
- Give your sales or service page more oompf. The more your information product or service costs, the more proof you’ll need that it’s a viable solution to your ideal client’s needs. Just be sure your testimonials make sense for what you’re selling. For example, if you’re promoting a new course that doesn’t include any one-on-one coaching with you, try to avoid using testimonials that focus solely on your private coaching sessions.
- Pop them into your social feeds. Here’s an easy to do add a little something extra to your business social profiles. With your client’s permission, create an image quote and add it to your social media lineup. These work great for Facebook and Instagram posts. Plus, you can create a Pinterest board to house all these snippets of client love.
- Jazz up your email marketing. Are you prepping your autoresponder for your next big launch? Don’t ask customers to take your word for it. Support your launch by including testimonials from your sales page in your drip content. Another option: add client feedback to the bottom of regular newsletters to showcase social proof while increasing your client’s brand exposure.
Over to You
What are your go-to tips for getting better testimonials and adding more social proof to your marketing mix? Let us know how you make the ask in the comments!
