How to Get Testimonials From Customers (With 7 Examples)

The Shortest Guide to Collecting Testimonials

If you want to start collecting testimonials right now, do this:

1. Register to Trustmary.
2. Use the ready-made testimonial template.
3. Send to your customers via email.

That’s three minutes and done. Do it now or read the rest of the guide.

Why You Should Start Collecting Customer Testimonials

Why should you start gathering customer testimonials?

Glad you asked. There are lots of benefits to having customer testimonials on your website.

1. People Trust Other Ordinary People

The power of testimonials is based on a psychological phenomenon called social proof. Social proof makes people act like their peers.

Prospective customers are more likely to believe authentic endorsements from current customers rather than a company spokesperson or paid advertisements.

If YOU claim that you provide “stellar customer service” and “lots of happy customers”, even when you are being completely honest, people are unfortunately not going to believe it.

But if they see positive online reviews and personal recommendations from actual existing customers who show their name and face, they will be much more convinced.

2. You Can Boost Your Website Conversions

Featuring testimonials on your website is better than just relying on reviews on external review websites. 

Why?

If someone visits your website, they are probably looking for more information about you and trying to decide whether they should trust you or not. 

When you combine website testimonials with CTAs, you are already closer to getting a lead than if the potential customer had to search for your website after reading an online review somewhere else.

Additionally, you get to control the narrative. The thing is, prospective customers will read third-party reviews or find other customer stories even if you don’t provide them.

When you display client testimonials on your website, the customers’ curiosity gets satisfied and you get to choose which testimonials they see.

3. More Sales

A written or video testimonial can be the factor that makes or breaks a deal.

For example, see this case example that found a 32% increase in sales after adding video testimonials to their check-out page, or this case that saw a 62% increase in contact requests by implementing a testimonial popup.

Check out also these statistics about the power of testimonials:

The Perfect Testimonial Request

The key component of all testimonial requests is: DO IT!

After that is sorted, here are some further tips for gathering testimonials:

Timing	Ask at a time when your customer feels generous and good about your collaboration. It could be after a successful meeting or after viewing positive results in performance metrics.
Platform	Which platforms do your customers use often? Some businesses might spend time on social media, some might visit your website, and some might receive your newsletter. Choose your platforms wisely, and don’t put all eggs in one basket.
Highlight positive vibes	When you make a testimonial request, formulate it in a way that reminds the customer of the good times you have had together. This should help them feel motivated to give a positive testimonial. “We are glad you have enjoyed our software! Seems like you have been able to benefit from it. Would you like to say a few words about our journey together?”

Check out also specific tips to getting video testimonials from B2B customers.

Now that you know these three basic components of a successful testimonial request, you can collect testimonials like a pro.

Let’s review some methods that you can use to gather testimonials.

How to Request Testimonials – 7 Examples

I have listed 7 tips and strategies that should help you with asking for glowing testimonials. Make your own mix!

1. Ask Multiple Times

You might not get an answer when you ask for the first time. Maybe the situation is not ripe enough yet – ask later.

It is also important to offer multiple chances to give testimonials during a single website visit, for example. If the only way to provide feedback is hidden somewhere in the navigation, it might go unnoticed. 

Add CTAs to several different spots on your landing page, blog, social media, newsletter, etc.

2. Testimonial Request Email

Especially small business owners might not spend a lot of time online browsing your website and social media. They might, however, be subscribing to your newsletter where you can highlight content and request testimonials.

Even better would be sending a personal testimonial request email, especially if you regularly interact with the client.

You can also send an automated email after a significant event, such as closing a second deal with the client:

“We are so glad to keep doing business with you! Would you like to give a public comment about your customer journey with us this far?”

Check out these 3 best examples of testimonial request letters.

Testimonial request email might not provoke an instant response, which is why you might need to follow up with another request later.

3. Testimonial Form

Collect testimonials easily by implementing a testimonial form on your website.

The testimonial form can be embedded in many different locations on your website. You can modify and personalize your testimonial forms as much as you like.

Make sure that the customer testimonial form is easy to use and has clear instructions, so that all customers are able and motivated to use it.

You can combine the form with customer feedback and calculating Net Promoter Score. Make a survey where you ask for feedback about how likely the customer is to recommend you. 

If they give a high rating, take the chance to ask for a testimonial. You are likely to get a glowing testimonial from someone who already stated that they are happy with you!

See these 15 important questions to ask for a testimonial for further inspiration.

4. Text Messages

It might be an old-fashioned thing to send text messages, but some people are old-fashioned. 

It is not unusual for companies to ask for feedback via text messages, so you could as well include a testimonial request in a text message.

People are probably not very likely to write a lengthy text via text message, but they could give a short positive review or click on a rating.

You can follow up and send multiple messages to remind the customer about the review, but do not overdo it, otherwise you come across as annoying.

5. Social Media Request

Your social media channels might already have some positive testimonials from your happy customers. 

If someone has written positive comments about your business on your Facebook page, why not use that in marketing as well? Just remember to ask for permission before you feature anyone’s personal information in your marketing material.

If you want to receive testimonials on social media, launch a hashtag campaign, organize a competition or start a conversation where you ask for customer’s experiences.

6. Ask In Person

Do you have meetings with your customers? If so, ask for their customer testimonial in one of the meetings, at the end of a project or when you are discussing further deals. 

You can even show examples of how previous clients have done their testimonials.

Of course, the problem is how to make sure the client does not procrastinate with the task, as they probably don’t want to write their testimonial on the spot while you are watching. Send a reminder via email or text message later.

7. Offer A Gratification

Sometimes your customer might need some extra motivation. Offering some kind of gratification in exchange for a testimonial could help you collect more testimonials in a short period of time. 

You can provide a testimonial swap where you exchange positive customer testimonials. This of course only works if you are using each other’s products or services.

Offer a gift card to each person who gives a testimonial, or if you have a tighter budget, organize a lottery in which one can win a gift card or some other compelling prize.

In case you decide to go for a lottery, don’t forget to ask for each customer’s contact information so that you are able to get back to them.

How to Use Gathered Testimonials

Now that you have gathered testimonials from your loyal customers, you can display customer testimonials on your website, such as Squarespace or WordPress website, or use them in printer marketing materials.

Testimonial Page

A quite traditional way of featuring testimonials is to set up a testimonials page. 

You can feature as many testimonials from your customers as you would like, as the testimonial page is dedicated to reviews and does not need to have room for other information.

Make sure to include calls to action, though. This way the new potential customers can simply click on a button after they have been dazzled by the glowing reviews from other customers.

Landing Page

Placing customer testimonials on your landing pages makes it easy for the new customers to spot the testimonials. They don’t have to look for a separate testimonial page, since the testimonials are already visible when they first land on your website.

But how to make sure that the testimonials do not take up too much space on your landing pages?

You can create a testimonial pop-up or a testimonial slider. They allow you to feature multiple testimonials while saving space for other important content.

See for example the example picture of a testimonial slider (or Testimonial Wall, as we call it) below. The testimonials slide in and out, but the actual element on the page is not too large.

If this testimonial widget is not to your taste, don’t worry! You can find lots of widgets in Trustmary’s extensive widget library.

Marketing Materials

You can incorporate testimonials basically anywhere: sales pages, email marketing, social media, in a blog post, flyers, pamphlets, slide shows, presentations…

The possibilities are endless. If you end up using video testimonials, you can even make a Youtube channel or use them as commercial materials.

Import from External Pages

If you already have a few testimonials on an external review page, such as Google, why not make use of them as well and import them to your own website?

With Trustmary, you can easily embed testimonials and reviews from your customers to your WordPress website or other platforms.

Whether you decide to call them testimonials or something else, is dependent on the context and the content itself.

Helpful Tips For Getting Started

These easy steps can help you get started with collecting testimonials from your customers.

1. Identify Your Target Audience

This means two things: 

• identify the clients who you should be asking for the testimonials, and 
• identify the potential new clients and who they would like to hear reviews from.

Why is that? 

Not every customer is willing to give testimonials. Maybe they have not had the best experience with your business, or maybe they just are not that type of person.

If you are aiming to get more clients from a specific industry, you should try to acquire testimonials from previous customers who work in the same industry.

2. Decide How You Are Going to Ask for Testimonials

How much time, effort and money will you expect to have for gathering testimonials? You should consider that when choosing the strategies.

With a tool like Trustmary, you can automate the process to a large extent. With the software, you can save time and money.

All you have to do is formulate the testimonial forms and put them on your website. After that, the program will allow your customers to submit a written or video testimonial and feature it automatically on your website.

3. Create the Perfect Request

Review the previous sections to find more tips about formulating your request.

If you have decided to go for a testimonial form as your chosen strategy for testimonial request, let us help you.

With our tools, you can personalize your forms and surveys as much as you like. Let your character shine through!

Conclusion

Now you know that testimonials are an effective way to leverage social proof and make your potential customers instantly trust you.

When you ask for a testimonial, make sure that your timing, platform and discourse style are on point. This increases your chances of getting customer testimonials.

We reviewed 7 methods of getting testimonials from your business customers, and discussed what you can do with the gathered testimonials.

Finally, I gave you some helpful tips for getting started with requesting testimonials.

Next Steps

The most effective, time-saving, and inexpensive solution to collect testimonials is Trustmary’s software. You can ask for testimonials and video testimonials through a testimonial form and easily embed them on your website.

Start your free 14-day trial to begin your customer testimonial journey right away!

Further Reading

Trustmary Blog

• The Ultimate Guide for Collecting and Using Testimonials
• Video Testimonial Tips on Getting Them from B2B Customers
• How To Use Testimonials in Marketing
• Case Kattotutka: Over 60% Increase in Contact Requests
• Ruokaboksi: 37% More Sales with A Pop-Up

Other Reading

• Company spokesperson vs. customer testimonial: Investigating quoted spokesperson credibility and impact in business-to-business communication, Howes & Sallot, 2017.

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