Do you even like me? How to ask the awkward questions
When was the last time you asked a customer or client to give you a testimonial or google review?
I know, I know. I can almost hear the squirming...For many small biz owners — especially us Aussies who have a severe issue with seeking out praise — asking someone to tell you what they liked about working with / buying from you is akin to pushing peanut butter through a sieve. A task we would rather bypass.
But, as I am always telling my clients and students word of mouth marketing is the BEST kind. We are social beings and social proof - ie testimonials, reviews and even the use of a biz branded hashtag by everyday people - is often the biggest influencer for someone lurking between the evaluation and purchase stages of The Buyer Cycle.
In my own business I include testimonials in every pitch deck, on social media and all over my website including on every service page, the homepage and on a dedicated “testimonials” page.
As I’ve said many times, marketing is about three things: people knowing about you, people liking you and people trusting you. It’s this last stage where testimonials shine.
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So how do you go about asking for these? When should you do it and which clients or customers should you approach first?
Well , here are four things I tell clients when it comes to testimonials & reviews:
Consider first who you’re trying to target in the future. What sorts of people or businesses would they want to see testimonials from? i.e. are they a health coach who wants to know you have worked with other health coaches? Are they a buyer for a hotel who wants to know you have worked with large wholesale accounts? For my biz I have a mix of consulting clients, coaching clients and people who may by my online products (i.e., my eBook or online course). For that reason, I seek testimonials from a mix of small solo operators, large corporate companies and creative small businesses with 5+ staff. If you have them, you also want some of the most well known companies / people you have worked with / sold to in there. For me, this means getting testimonials from clients I’ve had like Etsy, Aus Post, Cool Hunting and The Design Files.
Next, consider what you most want to be known for. What traits do you want presented in these testimonials? This may be things like “friendly” or “reliable” or “high quality”, “original” or “results-driven”. Knowing these makes it easier to frame the questions you’ll ask people in your testimonial request, which brings to me to...
Send the request. Think of this like ripping a band-aid off. Yes, it may be #awks but only for a second. If you sell products you may want to ask people to leave a review on Google or any other platform in their status/ order details email (as this often has one of the highest open and click-through rates of all emails). You might then follow up in a week or so, depending on how long the product takes to be used. If you're a service based business you may wish to automate this process at the end of your time with a client. In either case using tools like Google Forms, Survey Monkey or Typeform makes this super simple to collate data and for anyone, on any device, to fill in. If you make it anonymous it’s even more likely people will follow through. Another option is to send a personal email, which is what I do a lot and this is where the questions from step #3 come into play.
An example personal email may look like:
Dear Noah,
I hope you're well! I'm wondering if it would be possible to get a testimonial from you on the consulting I did for you in 2018. I'd be using this on my My Daily Business Coach website and on other marketing materials for that business (i.e. proposal documents, social media, presentations etc.)
It can be brief, even just a few lines. What I'd most like to get across is:
How we connected (i.e. referral, via being on my email, social media etc)
What your need was at the time (i.e. "to help us with X")?
How you found me / my work?
Two things specifically that stood out (i.e. efficient, proactive, professional, friendly)?
If you would recommend me / utilise my services again
I've included some examples below to give you an idea.
And if you don't feel comfortable, that's fine!
4. Lastly, gather the data and use the information you’ve been granted. This may be by showing the testimonial / feedback on your marketing channels, using stats on product detail or service pages (i.e., 98% of buyers would recommend this to a friend) and, most importantly, by taking the feedback on to improve what your business does. Are there traits you'd like to be known for that no one is talking about? How can you become more known for those things? What's not working? Also, look at how you're marketing your products and services. What are the common benefits people say about your product or service in their review / testimonial? Are you selling with these benefits or just stating the features all the time? This feedback can be an incredible way to market your business,
I get it .
Anytime you have to ask people for a review or testimonial you are forced to be vulnerable. For some of you it’s an easy task. For others it can conjure up thoughts of not being good enough or even of being an imposter in your industry. Hopefully the steps above will help ease the awkwardness and have you well on the way to utilising word of mouth marketing for your small biz.