How to Ask for Testimonials
We decided to talk business this week and share simple ideas on how to utilize simple tools to help grow your brand awareness and business services. We chose to build a simple guide for how to ask for a review from customers in an effort to help generate even more happy clients!
We get it, we've been there, asking people to speak up about their individual stories and your role in it can be awkward. Below we will help you make that conversation as comfortable and fun as possible while completing the end goal - getting a clean, crisp, and useful testimonial!
First things first:
What is a testimonial? We answer that as a statement that testifies to someone's character, skill set, or qualifications.
It is typically a public tribute to someone and to their skills, achievements, or services as it relates to the person giving the statement. We always encourage service providers to consider three things when choosing clients for testimonials:
- Clients who have had a unique challenge solved,
- Clients that have had repeated success with your services over a long period of time,
- Customers that have already told you about how they brag you up to their friends.
The right client will help make the testimonial more authentic and the client will more likely be willing to share their positive experience because they have trusted you and your skillset for a longer period of time than other clients.
How to ask for testimonials:
Keep it natural! Make it fun!
Share these three concepts with the client from whom you are asking for the testimonial:
- Remind them that they’re helping other people find you and your services. This translates to the opportunity for more people to experience a similar relief or positive experience that they have experienced while working with you (because it really does make us feel safer when we can read other testimonials!)
- That giving the testimonial will be quick and painless, remind them that it can be freeing to tell their story! Especially when the impact of your service has helped them achieve their goals, or given them a sense of relief and release of pain!
- Give them an estimate of how long it will take them to do this favor for you (remember that they may not have a ton of time, so the shorter, the better!). It truly should only take the customer a few minutes for them to reflect and then share their testimonial.
What to ask?
It is easier to write when you have a prompt, so ask them 3-5 questions! There can be a couple of serious questions and then a couple of fun, simple ones to keep things light! Try the examples below:
- How has this service helped you?
- What goals were you able to achieve after seeing me for this service?
- What made you originally seek my services?
- What is another benefits of this service?
- Would you recommend this service? If so, why?
- What is your favorite muscle for me to work on? What is your least favorite?
- Is there anything you’d like to add?
- Want other ideas for questions? Try these!
Ways to record the information that they give you:
- Give them a sheet of paper with a couple of questions on it so that they can write in their own words
- Ask to take a voice recording so that you can write it out later - tell them that you can send them the rough draft for them to take a look at and to approve before publishing.
- Ask to take it via video recording! Video is currently an incredible marketing tool that you might as well take advantage of if they are willing! You can take these videos with your smartphone and even do edits with free apps to keep things simple! Try these by clicking here!
- Have them answer questions while your type or write out their answers!