Table Of Contents

3 Why Collecting Testimonials Is Important

7 6 Steps To Collect Testimonials

That Attract New Leads and Sales

8 The Do’s of Collecting Testimonials.

16 The Don’ts of Collecting Testimonials

20 How To Write Testimonials

22 How to Use Testimonials in Marketing

28 Testimonial Examples

34 Wrap Up: Getting Started With Your Own

Testimonial Collection Campaign.

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Why Collecting Testimonials Is

Important

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Advocate Marketing Creates B2B Customer Relationships That Last A Lifetime

Word of mouth and peer testimony are powerful business-to-business (B2B) marketing tools, with social, mobile, and the steady move to subscription-based business models making advocacy all the more important.

Source: Forrester

Advocate Marketing

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Customer testimonials are a great marketing tool because they are a personal word of mouth reference. Testimonials give customers the power to publicly share positive experiences they have had with your company, product, or service.

Customers in the B2B marketplace prefer doing business with companies they know. Letting people know who else has done business with you is a powerful mechanism for generating new leads and sales, which leads to a profitable business.

Why do so many businesses fail to use any testimonials in their marketing? Testimonials are hard to collect. There are many ways to

ask for testimonials. Asking for testimonials the right way will give you powerful reviews that attract your ideal clients.

This guide teaches you the art of asking for testimonials so your next testimonial collection process is painless and productive. 5

If you’re currently asking for testimonials, or getting ready to, you probably already have an idea how you’ll get testimonials from customers and share that information. The most important thing is to not waste your or your clients’ precious time.

Having the process well thought out before contacting the first client will dramatically increase the number of testimonials you get and the positive impact they have on your target audience.

In the era of always-on, personalized information and trusted word of mouth (WOM) at scale, it is time to update our customer journey models to recognize how great customer experience drives WOM, and great WOM drives business outcomes. Marketers need a new and better framework–one that considers the entire virtuous circle from buy to own to advocate and back to buy, again.

- Gartner

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Ask for feedback to get a testimonial

Set up a questionnaire with no more than 5 specific questions

Send clients a link or form to post their comments (do this through email or use online tools for collecting testimonials such as Business Exchange)

Compile a testimonial from the feedback you receive

Ask for approval from a client to post compiled testimonial on the internet

Include the first and last name, job title and company name to any testimonial you post online

P.S. Make writing a testimonial easy for your customer.

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6 Steps To Collect Testimonials That

Attract New Leads and

Sales

The Do’s Of Collecting

Testimonials

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1. Set Yourself Up After Every Experience With A Client

If people don’t give you testimonials, it’s probably because you didn’t ask them.

Some feel uncomfortable requesting testimonials. They feel testimonials should just come naturally. While that might occasionally

happen, generally you need to ask clients to write out their thoughts.

“The best time to plant an oak tree was twenty-five years ago. The second best time is today.”

- James Carville

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The best time to ask for feedback is when your client's satisfaction level is at its highest. Here’s the best time to ask for testimonials:

Right after a project is successfully completed

(Request testimonials from your newest customers first)

When you have solved a problem for a customer

When a customer expresses she/he is happy with your work

When a customer says thank you for your work

Survey: 90% Of Customers Say Buying Decisions Are Influenced By Online Reviews

58 % of customers said they were more likely to share customer service experiences today than they were five years ago, with more and more people sharing experiences on social networking sites and writing online reviews.

- Dimensional Research

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2. Tell a Customer Why You Would Appreciate Feedback

Make sure to clearly communicate with your customer the reason you are asking for feedback, so she can identify with your purpose. Consider a short introduction, like:

“Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback for MyAwesomeCo. We appreciate doing business with your company. Your written testimonial will help MyAwesomeCo continue to improve our services. Here’s where I’d like you to post your comments to few simple questions.”

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Source: Gartner

3. Make it Easy for Your Customers to Write Testimonials

There is a moment of truth after you’ve fired off a large number of testimonial requests to loyal customers who love working with you and yet no one has responded.

Don’t panic. It’s not your fault. There are two main reasons people don’t respond as you would expect them to:

They don’t have time. Writing a rich testimonial is a time consuming process

They aren’t sure what to say. People are often afraid their writing isn’t good enough

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Source: Gartner

Ask specific questions about the feedback you need. Tailor the questions based on business categories.

Here are a few categories to consider:

BenefitsRelationshipCommunicationCustomer Service Delivery

Or can also combine questions from different categories in the same questionnaire.

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The rule of thumb is to keep your questions simple,

straightforward and concise. Keep it short!

People take more time to respond to each question when questionnaires are shorter. This means you’re more likely to collect accurate feedback.

Questions to ask when collecting feedback:

What did you find as a result of buying this product/service? What specific feature did you like most about this product? Describe the level of customer support our company provides? What do you like about our company’s overall communication efforts? Would you recommend this product/service? If so, why?

Even though we all recognize the role of word of mouth (WOM) in building brands and delivering marketing results, customer journey models routinely omit any consideration for the impact of brand advocacy. Many of the journey frameworks used today to guide customer experience (CX) initiatives fail to account for the ways happy customers champion the brands they love and how others value WOM as they discover, evaluate and select products and services.

Source: Gartner

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There’s an old saying: Fortune is in the Follow Up

4. Follow Up with Your Respondents

Now that you know what to do, let’s move on to what Not to Do.

By 2017, 89% of marketers expect customer experience to be their primary differentiator.

- Gartner

Following up with your customers signals that you care and are listening to them. It creates an opportunity for respondents to trouble shoot. The focus of your follow up conversation should be about continuous improvements.

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The Don’ts of Collecting

Testimonials

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1. Don’t be vaguewhen asking for feedback

Stay away from vague goals like, “measuring overall satisfaction”

Ask questions that measure specific things you care about. Have a clear sense of the feedback you need to reach your end goal so you know what to ask.

Put this process in place:

Send an email campaign with a well-thought-out customer feedback questionnaire Build a customized feedback/testimonials collecting campaign using a specialized B2B testimonial collection tool, such as Business Exchange

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2. Don’t Ask Leading Questions

Leading questions prompt or encourage the answer you want. While some sales people make good use of leading questions, those kind of questions are not appropriate for collecting feedback when the goal is accurate and honest customer feedback.

Bad Example: “Hi John! I just noticed you recently tried the new Business Exchange testimonial collection feature. It’s great, isn’t it?”

By indicating that Business Exchange has a new and great feature, you are encouraging John to respond positively to this new feature.

Instead, ask something like this:

Good Example: “Hi John! I noticed you’ve been using the new Business Exchange testimonial collection feature. What were your results of using our new feature?

A leading question can serve as a form of persuasion. Removing the bias allows respondents to answer more objectively. They get to focus on what they like or don’t like about the product without you steering them one way or another.

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Bear in mind the laws that govern the testimonials you showcase. Since you are going to use collected testimonials in advertising, such as social media, blogs, affiliates, etc., you should know the Federal Trade Commission endorsement guides.

There are 3 basic concepts to follow:

Endorsements must be truthful and not misleading

Do not make claims that require proof you don’t have

Clearly disclose any connection between an endorser and an advertiser

3. Don’t Break the Law For more information, please check these reference sources

[Video] FTC Endorsement Guides

Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising

3. Don’t Break The Law

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How To Write Testimonials

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You may feel you don’t have sufficient time to write a quality testimonial or aren’t sure how to get started. Instead of procrastinating, give the T.E.A.S.E formula a try. It will help you write an engaging testimonial just like a pro.

Tactful - Write a fitting and considerate testimonial. Keep in mind that the person who receives your testimonial would like to show it to others.

Emphasize - Highlight the strengths or positive experiences you’ve had using a specific service or product.

Authentic - Provide a way for people to contact you to verify that you are the one who provided the testimonial.

Short – Keep your testimonial short and sweet. Even if you like everything about a service or a product, just write about the most important aspects of the service or a product. Get straight to the point.

Engaging - Provide real life examples regarding how the service, product, or person helped you.

Writing a testimonial is harder when the person asking has offered no guidelines, questions to answer, or suggested a place to post your testimonial.

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How to Use Testimonials in

Marketing

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Use testimonials to demonstrate why customers love your products or services whenever you give a sales pitch or present your company to a broader audience.

Embed your testimonials into an email signature or into proposals going to potential customers. Either create a small button or hyperlink* a piece of text that connects to where you store testimonials from satisfied customers. This simple trick can be a deal maker.

The hyperlink should direct the reader from your document to:

Your corporate website’s testimonial page

A specialized online repository of B2B testimonials, such as Business Exchange, where your company has gathered testimonials.

*Hyperlink – A highlighted word or image that links to a hypertext document, file, or website connecting with another location.

1. Use Testimonials in Emails, Presentations and Proposals

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Dedicate a space or page on your company’s website specifically for testimonials.

Rotate the testimonials so those who visit your site often don’t see the same testimonials every time.

One trick to make the process of embedding testimonials to your website or blog easier and to keep testimonials updated at all times without constant interaction from you is to use dedicated social widgets like those found on Business Exchange. This allows you to share gathered testimonials from one central online repository.

2. Include Testimonials on Your Website and Social Media Pages

Source: Intacct.com

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<!-- copy this script inclusion tag just before the closing body tag (</body>) --><script type="text/javascript">

document.write("<script src=\"http://www.business-exchange.co/companies/widget/93801/"+(window.location.href.split("?")[1]!==undefined?"?"+window.location.href.split("?")[1]:"")+"\" type=\"text/javascript\"><\/script>");</script>

<!-- copy this div tag inside your page content, where you want the widget to appear --><div id="bex-widget-normal"></div> <!-- copy this script inclusion tag just before the closing body tag (</body>) --><script type="text/javascript">

document.write("<script src=\"http://www.business-exchange.co/companies/mini-widget/93801/"+(window.location.href.split("?")[1]!==undefined?"?"+window.location.href.split("?")[1]:"")+"\" type=\"text/javascript\"><\/script>");</script>

<!-- copy this div tag inside your page content, where you want the widget to appear --><div id="bex-widget-mini"></div>

Testimonial Widget Examples

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The data shows that vendors need to establish trust and credibility with buyers as soon as they arrive at the website.

- Huff/KoMarketing

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Whether Its flyers, brochures, or postcards, don’t forget to include a few glowing testimonials on any marketing material. It builds trust around your company and can be vital in convincing potential customers to make a purchasing decision.

Also use testimonials to add credibility to your media kits, press kits and other sales and PR materials.

3. Include Testimonials on Your Marketing Materials

Testimonial example:

“By using this solution we got better reporting so we could more easily evaluate and manage our fiscal processes and have better insight into our business.”

- Joe BlackCFO Business Exchange

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Testimonials Examples

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The Omaha Chamber of Commerce is one of those rare organizations where you get more out of it

than you put in. Members can see it operating successfully on 2 levels. Obviously it exists to positively

impact our Community on important issues that affect our economy - and it truly does. Probably

Omaha's Chamber is far more effective in this regard than most. So if you believe a 'rising tide lifts

all boats', and you want to see Omaha's thriving economy keep chugging along, support the

Chamber's efforts, they really do matter. But it is also worth joining even if you're only looking for

what it can do for you. A membership in Omaha's Chamber of Commerce brings numerous benefits

to your business. Relevant information to managing your business; access to key information about

our community; contacts to network and expand your business. And if you really want to make a

difference in your community, get involved in leadership at the Chamber . There are numerous

committees, and a very active and impactful Board. The Chamber dues are reasonable and one of

the better 'buys' out there. So whether you're in it for your City's economic improvement, or to

contribute personally, or just to better position your own business, the Omaha Chamber is a must-

join membership.

TROY F. MEYERSON

Attorney

Fraser & Stryker29

I- Go Van and Storage Co. has been a customer and partner to Movers Specialty Service, Inc. for

many years. The level of service and expertise provided by I-Go Van and Storage is always rated a 5

out 5, and their customers let us know every opportunity they can. A member of the United Van

Lines family, I Go Van and Storage never disappoints and consistently exceeds their customer’s

expectations.

MIKE CORDARO

Corporate Sales Manager

Movers Specialty Service, Inc.

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I had an experience the other day where a local plumbing company called to follow up on our

review I posted for our accounting software vendor. I realized the impact Business Exchange makes

as far as inspiring someone to call a fellow businessman to get more details on a vendor. Without

Business Exchange, that information is not readily available.

BRIAN NOGG

CFO

I-go Van And Storage Co.

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We've enjoyed working with InTouch on many projects. Communication solutions-things such as

telephones, phone service and internet service-are really not about technology. They're about enabling

people and businesses to complete vital communication. InTouch understands that what they do has

a dramatic impact on their customer's ability to do business and delivers solutions that provide a

great balance of cost and value matched with outstanding customer service.

GARY BREN

Managing Partner

Turner & Associates Corp.

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Business Exchange helps us recruit new members to the Chamber, while building stronger

relationships with our current members: with over 3,100 members and counting, it can be challenging

to keep in continuous communication and personal outreach. Business Exchange lowers the hurdles

for us and opens the doors for those companies without breaking a sweat.

DIANE POOTS

Director Member Services

Greater Omaha Chamber

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Wrap Up: Getting Started with

Your Own Testimonial

Collection Campaign

34

Wrap up!

Collecting testimonials isn’t hard if you’re prepared and make writing them easy for your respondents. By following our guidelines, you’ll be amazed with the response rate and quality of feedback/testimonials your customers provide.

Remember: Bad data can be worse than no data at all. Bad data leads to bad decisions, which can end up costing your company lots of money.

The testimonial collection experts at Business Exchange have created a process and developed a tool that gives you guidance to build your own customized feedback collection campaign. We will save you time and yield effective results.

Our customers currently see a 72% average response rate. That’s right, 7 out of 10 people respond with rich data to questionnaires coming from Business Exchange.

Now that we’ve given you some our best secrets to creating a quality feedback collection questionnaire from scratch, take a stab and start collecting testimonials like a pro.

Please get in touch if you have any questions, or even just to say hello!

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