What is one way to increase customer testimonials for your website or favorite review site?
To help you increase customer testimonials on your website or favorite review site, we asked marketing professionals and business leaders this question for their best insights. From incorporating a call to action to creating an automated email, there are several ways to increase customer testimonials.
Here are eleven tips and strategies to increase customer testimonials:
- Incorporate a Call-To-Action
- Document or Record Your Customer’s Experience
- Ask for Online Reviews
- Follow Up
- Get Approval and Share Reviews that Already Exist
- Educate Customers on the Importance of Testimonials
- Add an Incentive
- Reach Out and Ask
- Use Surveys & Email Campaigns
- Apply the Law of Reciprocation
- Create an Automated Email
Incorporate a Call-To-Action
Simply sending out an email or posting content on social media isn’t enough. Share an example of a recent customer testimonial in an email or social media post and add a relevant call-to-action such as “Write a Review”. You can sweeten the deal with a discount code or free product in exchange for their time. By highlighting previous reviews and adding a CTA, it is much easier for customers to want to take action on it.
Randall Smalley, Cruise America
Document or Record Your Customer’s Experience
When it comes to interior design, it’s all about the big reveal. Visual testimonials are much more valuable and are often more related for prospective clients. This is why it is important to document and record a client’s reaction on camera. Reach out and ask your customers ahead of time if it’s ok to record and post their reveal and reaction online. It won’t take much time out of their day since we’re doing all the work to ensure their happiness. Most clients are more than willing to oblige.
Alisha Taylor, Alisha Taylor Interiors
Ask for Online Reviews
The best way to do it is to ask your clients to leave a review online. Privately, people are more than happy to share their opinion and praise, but they can be shy about doing it publicly. Assuming that you’ve given them praiseworthy service, they should have no problem helping you out.
Allan J. Switalski, AVANA Capital
Follow Up
Follow up with customers whenever you can. When you reach out to clients or patients after a visit, it adds a special touch to the customer service experience. Follow up to make sure that they were happy with their visit. Also, follow up to make sure that there were no post view issues. Then at the patient or client’s approval, you should take notes on the experience and create a draft review that they can share online. This way you remove the additional work or hassle in writing the review.
There’s no overstating the importance of testimonials, so don’t be shy about it. With our products and clientele, it’s in our interest to seek out testimonials as often as we can. For customers who are on the fence about going with you, reviews can make a huge impact on their decision-making process.
Henry Babichenko, European Denture Center
Get Approval and Share Reviews that Already Exist
You can increase the number of testimonials on your website without having to ask any customers to write anything new. Set up Google alerts or check out your social media comments, for some of your best reviews. Scour your Amazon product pages or Yelp. Chances are, many people have already shared their opinion about your company or your products, and you can use these to your advantage.
Vanessa Molica, The Lash Professional
Educate Customers on the Importance of Testimonials
When asking for a review, explain to your customers how sharing their positive experiences can help them find the best product or service. Ask them meaningful questions about their pain points and what made them choose your company. Satisfied customers will be happy to support your business when they understand that their input makes an impact. That way, they can also realize the benefits of using your service they previously did not think of.
Rebeca Sena, GetSpace
Add an Incentive
The easiest way to increase customer testimonials on your website or another popular review site is to implement an incentive. Depending on your business, this could be something like 10% off their next purchase or a free gift with purchase. Just be sure to ask them to show you their review post to verify! People are more likely to leave a positive review if they receive something in return.
Sophia Orlando, Markitors
Reach Out and Ask
There’s no harm or shame in mining your customer base for testimonials. For many satisfied clients, leaving a review is an afterthought. They’ll only feel the need to write reviews if there’s a problem with a service, or if they want to vent about a company.
But if you know a client was satisfied, and you see that they didn’t leave any review, reach out to them. They may be more than happy to pen a testimonial. We do this at our independent life insurance agency and have earned genuinely appreciative feedback.
Chris Abrams, Abrams Insurance Solutions
Use Surveys & Email Campaigns
If you are attempting to increase the number of positive testimonials or reviews of your business, try reaching out to customers with surveys and an email campaign. Determine which customers have had a good experience by designing your own survey that asks for a description of the customer’s experience as well as their email address. Once you have gauged which customers have had the most positive experiences, you can email them and ask that they leave feedback on your website or business’ page on a review site. These customers are more than likely to leave positive reviews and boost your public reputation. Take this strategy one step further by reaching out directly to customers who provide negative feedback on your survey. This way, you not only provide excellent customer service by remedying customers’ complaints, but you also decrease the likelihood that these customers will leave a negative review of your business.
Than Merrill, FortuneBuilders
Apply the Law of Reciprocation
Robert Cialdini’s book “Influence” talks about the Law of Reciprocation. When you give someone a gift, they feel strongly obligated to return the favor.
I send a little thank you package to every customer, with a handwritten card and a gift basket. Two weeks later, I called the client and asked if they would be open to reviewing me, as it helps my business. Without fail, customers are more than happy to give me a review to return the favour.
Liz Hutz, Cash Home Buyers North Carolina
Create an Automated Email
You have processes and systems set up to help you work with your clients, gather information, submit paperwork, and more. Making sure you have a project close process will help with gathering testimonials. Once everything is complete (and before too much time has lapsed) send out an email asking your client for a testimonial. You can link directly to the social platform review areas where they can post or just ask them to reply with their thoughts. You can create an email template and personalize it slightly each time.
Tanya Gagnon, Miss Details
