Most recently, I’ve been working with a client to interview their customers and collect information to create testimonial articles. Given my love for communications, I was intrigued by the project, but I had no idea just how much it would teach me about client relations.
In the process of collecting 30 testimonials from clients who have invested, on average, $50,000 with this business, I was inspired by each and every story of how this product was drastically changing the way they do business. Depending upon their business model and the region they served, each story was different. Each client saw the value of the product differently and each had a unique angle that has now given my client a pretty cool archive of stories they can share with prospective clients who can relate to any one of these businesses.
What I want to share with you now is four key benefits of collecting testimonials from your clients on a regular basis. A quote is good, but if you can dedicate little more time to dig deeper and develop a full article (or hire a communications professional to do this for you), you’ll reap far more benefits from these testimonials. Here’s why:
Create a valuable database of promotional content
By creating short articles from your testimonials, you not only paint a brighter picture of the full benefits you have provided clients, you also give yourself a far more useable database of promotional content. These articles can be used as blog posts on your website and shared on social media. They can be shared with prospective clients as a “case study” and can be used in e-newsletters that then drive content back to your website. As your business progressed and list of clients grow, you’ll be grateful to have this archive that captures the satisfaction of your clients over time.
Discover unique ways your product/service has benefitted clients
In the process of collecting testimonials from your clients, you will get to ask critical questions that will help you really understand how they are using your product or service. And you will be surprised how drastically this can change from business to business! When you discover a new or innovative way your product/service is being used, you can use this to market your business in a whole new way and potentially reach an untapped market.
Help clients see the full value of your service/product
The last time you likely spoke with your client was when they were just beginning to use your product/service. It’s so important to follow-up to be sure they are staying committed to getting the full value out of what you sold them. Asking for a testimonial is a great reason to check in with them to see how they are doing. Do they have questions or concerns? Are they unsure how to implement a certain feature? Are they struggling to train their employees? This gives you the opportunity to talk through any issues and right the course before they are left feeling like they made a poor investment.
Touch base and strengthen your relationship with clients
Finally and most importantly, collecting client testimonial’s gives you yet one more valuable touch point to strengthen client relationships. You will keep your business top of mind and possibly even sell additional products or services to them in the near future. By doing the leg work to interview clients and create a client testimonial article on their behalf, you are essentially highlighting their success and building good will that gives you a foot in the door for future sales.
Do you have any ideas related to the topic of collecting client testimonials? Join the conversation by leaving a comment!