5 Ways to Get Testimonials
Over the years I've met a few clients that
people mail testimonials to. However, most people I know have to ask and sometimes be persistent
to get testimonials.
At House of Carpets in El Cerrito one employee
surveyed every customer at the end of every carpet or flooring
installation for a year. She gave each client a survey with about 10 questions about the
service, had the customer write comments and say how they found
the store. This one survey garnered lots of fabulous testimonials,
as well as other feedback about how they were doing and how their
advertising was pulling for them.
Tell clients up front at the beginning of
a job that you will be asking for a testimonial at the end. Work hard to earn the testimonial.
At the end, say “I hope I’ve earned a great testimonial
from you, how did I do?” Then hire a marketing or PR person
to interview the client about what was accomplished or what a difference
your work made. This approach is highly recommended for coaches
and consultants who work on a few large, long term projects
Send a customer survey to all your clients.
In the survey ask, “What
do you like? What do you dislike? Is there anything we can improve?” Ask
people to submit the survey with or without their name. This way
you get valuable feedback about your business, and the names of
people you can contact for a testimonial. You can also make this
an anonymous survey and have it sent to someone else.
This survey idea is from the book, Getting
Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got: 21 Ways to Out Think, Out Perform and Out
Earn the Competition by Jay Abraham.
Call your clients. Explain you are producing
a new brochure or updating your Web site. Then interview them about the results they
received from your service. Write it down, edit it and submit it
to them for approval. You can also buddy up with a colleague to
use this strategy: you call their clients, they call yours.
When a client starts to gush about something
you did, thank them and ask whether they would mind if you write
down their comment. Be sure to ask for their permission if you do use their testimonial
in your marketing.
So there you have it.
Almost Everything Communications
510-527-9920
627 Evelyn Avenue, Albany, CA 94706 |
