Testimonials for Your Small Business: You Have to Ask

Chances are, if you look at a small business’s website, brochures or other marketing literature, you will run across at least one or two testimonials. But if you’re newly in business, what you might not realize is that clients and customers – unless they’ve been given once in a lifetime service – usually don’t spontaneously offer up these sparkling endorsements of your company. It isn’t that they don’t like you, or didn’t enjoy working with you – it’s that you didn’t ask.

The best time to ask for a testimonial is after the work or the order is completed. One great way to ask for a testimonial is to simply send a request for one along with your invoice. And even better than simply requesting a general testimonial is to ask a set of specific questions. Not only will you likely get a great testimonial to add to your marketing collateral, you will simultaneously get some useful feedback that you can use to tailor your services to that client and subsequent clients.

So what kinds of questions should you ask? First, keep it simple and only ask a few general questions. Though most clients are happy to give testimonials, they might get overwhelmed filling out a questionnaire. Some people use customer satisfaction surveys, but be advised that the rate of return on impersonal surveys is quite a bit smaller than rate of return feedback that you ask for personally, but if you run an ecommerce store or other business with a large customer volume, they may be ultimately easier for you to aggregate.

The next step in getting great testimonials that will ultimately add to your credibility is to ask the right questions. The following, or some version of them worded to your particular needs, should do the trick:

1.) What factors made you pick Company X for your project? What made Company X stand out from the crowd?
2.) How was Company X able to help you accomplish your goal?
3.) What was the process of working with Company X like?
4.) Did you have any questions or concerns before working with Company X? How did we put those fears to rest?
5.) What specific results did you attain from using Company X?
6.) What aspects of working with Company X satisfied you?
7.) What aspects of working with Company X dissatisfied you?

Avoid leading questions (i.e. “Would you hire Company X again or do you have horrible taste?”) because the person giving you the testimonial will see right through them. Also, be sure to give your client or customer a chance to tell you what made the dissatisfied or frustrated with your work just as you ask for a good testimonial. Your clients may have been enamored with your service except for one factor, and they may not think to mention this, especially if they were satisfied overall. Take any criticism as constructive criticism, and use it to improve your business for your next client or customer.

Similar Topics:

• Discover What Your Small Business is Doing Wrong (and Right) By Conducting Customer Satisfaction Surveys, Part 1
• Discover What Your Small Business is Doing Wrong (and Right) By Conducting Customer Satisfaction Surveys, Part 2: Writing the Survey
• Discover What Your Small Business is Doing Wrong (and Right) By Conducting Customer Satisfaction Surveys, Part 3: Delivering the Survey
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