Why
It's evidence that your delivery works, which reduces scepticism and makes your audiences start to consider meeting their needs with the solutions you provide.
When we hear a person talking about something they have consumed, we usually project ourselves into the situation, even unconsciously, and somehow live the same experience.
Imagine when someone praises a trip, a school or a restaurant. You, even if you don't want to, imagine yourself in the same experience. The opposite is also true. When someone speaks badly of something, we also somehow feel the same repulsion.
How to collect
Asking for their opinion about the experience, right after it has been consummated. A template for requesting a testimonial for you to use is this:
Hi [Client], how are you?
We are working on our new website and I wondered if it would be a good idea to collect testimonials from our clients.
So I would have two questions for you:
Would you give us a testimonial regarding our company and the service we have just provided for you?
Would you authorise us to disclose your testimonial, name and company?
I know your life is busy and my request may seem a little out of hand, but it would be greatly appreciated if you could help us with your testimonial.
If so, simply reply to this email with a sentence or two about [service/product/person], why you decided to hire us and/or what results you have achieved.
I'll understand if it's not possible, okay?
Thank you very much,
Stavros
How to use the testimonials
Use on your website, in some pieces of communication, usually in the footer or even in the middle, to illustrate positive points of your company and in specific product campaigns to reinforce credibility.
What not to do: Use testimonials as the flagship of any campaign and focus value creation based on testimonials. They do not create value in themselves, but help with credibility.
I see a lot of companies using testimonials as the main hook to sell. This is a mistake, as testimonials alone do not pass on any benefit to prospects.
A step further is, from a testimonial, to think about creating a case, where you and your client will show to the general public the results achieved through the proposed challenge.
Cases contain the name of the company (client), challenges, procedures adopted and results achieved, all led by your company (solution provider).
Cases can be used as the subject of follow ups to keep the value you generate in the minds of your prospects.
Well, that's it with regard to the testimonials.
