How To: Ask For Testimonials for your Website

Are you using testimonials in your marketing? If not, you are missing out on a powerful tool that could boost your income by converting your browsers into buyers. Posting Testimonials on your website and social media can be an important part of your visibility strategy.

One reason people buy your products and/or services is that they know other people have used them and liked them. That is called “social proof”. As well as including personal recommendations and the use of influencers it also includes the use of testimonials.

You can use testimonials on various pages on your website including your sales pages and landing pages. You can also use testimonials as part of your email marketing. Simply put Testimonials should be designed to help convert visitors (or subscribers) into your customers.

Convinced? Well, here is how to ask someone to write a testimonal for you.

01. Ask Immediately

The key to getting good customer testimonials (and any feedback) is to ask immediately. Deliver a strong service or product and then ask them for a testimonial.

02. Follow your Customer’s Journey

Map out your customer’s buying journey. As part of this identify any points in the journey that you can ask for testimonials. E.g. immediately following a purchase/delivery of a purchase or 30 days after a purchase. Send them a message/email and ask them for feedback.

If you are looking for a full written testimonial why not offer them an additional incentive for doing so.

If you didn’t quite deliver, why not also ask for feedback once you have resolved their issue. This can be an opportunity to receive positive feedback on your customer service.

03. Make It Easy for the Customer

Make it as easy as possible for your customer to give a testimonial. Start with statements/options that your customer can click to get an idea of there general feelings about your service or product.

Then check-in with them and ask them an open question about your product or service. When they rely you can then ask for more information and expand on what they have provided you with and/or summarise what they have provided for them and ask if you can use it as a testimonial.

04. Follow Up

As with any request you should always follow up. If you haven’t heard back from them after your initial email, why not follow up with a reminder, an example, or an incentive. However, don’t pester them, if you don’t hear back after following up. Move on.

05. Ask the Right Questions and ensure that the message is correct

A testimonial is only useful if it is going to help you sell and promote your product or service (or you). Therefore when asking questions as a prompt for your testimonial make sure that you are asking the right questions, to get the responses you need. If what you are getting back from customers is not hitting the mark, look again at what you are asking them and adjust accordingly.