12 Ways to Put Your Testimonials to Work

6 Min Read

How can you get the most mileage out of a glowing business testimonial?

These answers are provided by Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. YEC has also launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

1.Get It on Video 

Video testimonials are powerful. Ask your client to create a short 45- to 120-second video about their experience.- Jean Ginzburg, JeanGinzburg.com

 

2. Brag About It 

When someone says something positive about your company, that’s cause for celebration. Spread the word. Post it, tweet it, Instagram it and frame it. Be proud, and make it known. – Colbey Pfund, LFNT Distribution

 

3. Encourage Sharing

I love asking my contacts to share testimonials on LinkedIn. Then my whole network sees them.- Jessica Gonzalez, InCharge

 

4. Create a Case Study

If your business receives a great testimonial, make the most of it by creating a case study page dedicated to that client’s project on your site. Showcase the client’s objective, your execution strategy and the project’s results that warranted the glowing review.  – Duran Inci, Optimum7

 

5. Share It Strategically 

When you receive a glowing review, the first thing you’ll want to do is share it everywhere, but don’t do that. That will immediately make the testimonial stale. Instead, use it strategically: Share it on one platform, and then later embed it in a press release. Use the testimonial as supporting evidence but not as the main attraction. This allows for multiple-use and won’t cause fatigue.  – Nick Friedman, College Hunks Hauling Junk and Moving

 

6. Place the Testimonial Up Front

First impressions matter. If you run a website, add testimonials on your homepage where they’ll stand out. If you run a brick and mortar business, consider building a wall of testimonials with picture and frames. Whether you have a website, a shop or an office, you want your visitors to get that glowing first impression from all your recommendations. – Nicolas Gremion, Free-eBooks.net

 

7. Make It More Specific

Anyone can say something generic like “Your business is great.” But that doesn’t mean much. Tangible results are what’s really important. So whenever you’re working to get testimonials, do what you can to try and make them as specific as possible. Ask your customers to share the metrics or results that you helped them get, as this will resonate much more with potential customers or clients. – Sean Ogle, Location Rebel

 

8. Ask for More Referrals

A testimonial is great to publish on your site, but if someone really feels that strongly about your business, ask them for referrals, and give them a reward to make it worth their while. Testimonials are good for marketing, but referrals are real sales opportunities. Turn the enthusiasm of that testimonial into a real opportunity. – Dan Golden, BFO (Be Found Online)

 

9. Ask for Reviews

If a customer is willing to take the time to write a glowing testimonial of your product or service, they may also be willing to write a positive review on a site like Yelp. I recommend suggesting that these people share their thoughts on review aggregators to help increase your presence and average ratings on these sites and apps. – Bryce Welker, Crush The PM Exam

 

10. Ask for a Photo to Accompany It

Ask the person giving you a testimonial if you have permission to use a picture alongside their quote. Almost everyone has a LinkedIn photo, so this should be an easy request. A photo of a real person will give your quote a lot more reusability and serve as the true social proof people are looking for when it gets used in sales collateral, on landing pages, in brochures, etc.  – Roger Lee, Human Interest

 

11. Take It to Heart

A glowing testimonial is priceless. If you just slap it onto your site or testimonial page, you aren’t gaining all of its benefits. Read over all your testimonials and see if you find a common thread among the customers. If they say they really like a particular product, service or feature, that’s your gold. Whatever customers really like is where you need to focus your energy and invest. If they already like a feature, make it even better. Your customers will know you were paying attention, and they will appreciate that feature even more if it provides them with more value, convenience or greater opportunities. This helps you keep a loyal customer base, and it will encourage existing customers to refer others. – Blair Thomas, eMerchantBroker

 

12. Show Gratitude 

Show gratitude and be humble whenever sharing the testimonials on your website, social media or other advertising channels. This will help make your brand shine.- Liam Martin, Time Doctor

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Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs. YEC members represent nearly every industry, generate billions of dollars in revenue each year, and have created tens of thousands of jobs.