Testimonials and Your Business: 4 Ways to Begin Using Them Today

Reviews and testimonials are vital to your business in the
digital age. Consumers have more information and resources at their fingertips,
and this data can help push a purchasing decision in your favor – or to a
competitor.

How many consumers read reviews online? A staggering 90%,
and 88% trust these reviews just as much as a personal recommendation.

People often think of reviews as product reviews we see on
Amazon.com, but they can also be testimonials, which are a very powerful
tool as well. Testimonials are a vote of confidence for a business, often a
professional service, and they can lead to higher conversion rates.

But a lot of businesses don’t know how to use their
testimonials. Some businesses don’t even know how to ask for testimonials.

How to Ask for Testimonials

You don’t want to be that
company that practically harasses their customers for a testimonial. It’s
better to be professional and integrate a testimonial process into the mix to
get the ball rolling.

A few ways to ask for testimonials without pushing your
customers away are:

1. End of Project Interviews When your project or service comes to an
   end, you can use this as a time to interview clients and ask for a testimonial.
   And you can use this time to fix anything that could have made your customer
   happier. Even a quick survey will do the trick for some businesses.
   1. Ask how you can improve
      your product or service
   1. Leave a box for a
      testimonial or comment
2. People Are Talking Already: If you’ve been in business for a while,
   chances are people are talking about
   your business. Nice emails that sing praise of your business or social media
   posts can be used as testimonials. You can even use product reviews as a
   testimonial. But, remember to ask
   permission to use the post, blog, comment or review as a testimonial. Never
   post a testimonial without someone’s consent.
3. Testimonial Swaps: Does your business deal with a lot of B2B
   companies? If so, tell the company that you would really like to leave a
   testimonial and ask if they would do the same for you. This is considered a
   swap, and it can be a very powerful way to start getting a few testimonials.

When asking for a testimonial, always make sure that you
compliment the person, too. Something as simple as saying, “I really
appreciated working with you. You’ve provided a project that really helped me
grow as a developer/plumber/etc,” before asking for a testimonial can go a long
way in helping you succeed.

4 Ways to Use Testimonials in Your Business

What do you do with all of those testimonials once you have
them? You need to display them for the world to see, so they can help boost
your reputation and trust. It’s important to actually use the testimonials you
receive and not just leave them collecting dust in some digital space for only
your eyes to see.

A few of the many ways to use testimonials in your business
are:

1. Case Studies: In some businesses, marketing for example, there will be data-driven metrics that can be used to prove your service’s worth. Asking clients, in any business, to be part of your case study is a very powerful tool. If a client gives you an amazing testimonial stating how your business helped them in some way, ask if you can use it in a case study.
2. Website Testimonials: Your website is your company’s portal to the world, and a client testimonials page is just one of the many ways you can use testimonials to your advantage. It’s also a good idea to include these testimonials on your main page or near a call to action to boost conversion rates.
3. Social Media: People spend a ton of time on social media. And whether it’s Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or one of the many other social media platforms, you need to showcase testimonials, comments and reviews. Retweet praises of your company, showcase testimonials on your Facebook page, and even screen capture a testimonial to post on Instagram. The more good exposure your business has, the better.
4. Testimonial Videos: Testimonial videos can be a very powerful tool to encourage others to use your products or services. You can also ask the person to make a brief video testimonial and send it to you. With smartphones being in everyone’s pocket, it is often faster and easier for a client to leave a testimonial via video.

You never want to neglect testimonials, or reviews, when
trying to boost your brand identity and trust. A few good testimonials may be
all that’s needed to help your business increase conversion rates, earn more
revenue and become an industry leader.

Whether for B2C or B2B, people are looking for testimonials
and reviews. If you can’t provide them, you’ll be missing out on leads,
business and higher earnings.