A kind word from a customer isn’t just good for the ego, it’s also good for business. While explaining to your customers why you are the best, the fastest, or the friendliest at your work, someone else vouching for you will be far more effective in making a sale. But once someone starts spilling the beans about how fantastic your business is, how do you take their story and turn it into profit?
Here are 8 ways to share your business’s best compliments with current and potential customers:
1. Put it on your social media sites.
The easiest and fastest way to spread good news about your business is by posting to Facebook, Twitter, Google + and any other social site you might use. Users who may have liked your page because they were considering using your service or buying your product now have a great reason to call to you ask more. Try adding a call to action onto the end of the testimonial, such as, “Want to be as happy as this customer? Give us a call today!”
2. Display it in your place of business.
This only works if you have a brick and mortar location, but if you do, it’s a great idea to display your customer testimonials in your office, whether by having handouts in your lobby area or by displaying a few on the walls. Consider it the same idea as parents putting their kids’ best artwork on the fridge. Keep it in a high-traffic area and don’t be ashamed to do a little bit of bragging.
3. Put it in your email signature.
Every time you send a professional email, you are opening up the chance to make a great business connection. So you may as well take the opportunity to show them that you are a great business!
4. Make a video.
Reading what your customers say about you is one thing – hearing it from their mouths is another. Making a testimonial video of your customer is a great way to highlight your business, drive traffic to your YouTube page, and give your customer their 15 minutes of fame!
5. Write a blog about it.
If you have a customer testimonial with more of a story behind it, such as a unique problem that you helped your customer solve, consider writing a blog about it. Give the background of their business, why they came to you, and the outcome of the sticky situation. You can even stockpile some of these stories for weeks when you don’t have any pressing news or issues to blog about.
6. Put them on your website.
Many of our clients have a customer testimonial page, and/or a sidebar including customer testimonials. The benefit of having a static location for testimonials allows you to easily refer back to them when you need to, and they can be easily found by those who show interest in your business.
7. Refer people to review sites.
If you have a happy customer, why not tell them to write a good review on Yelp or Facebook. According to the 2012 Local Consumer Review Survey, “Approximately 72% of consumers surveyed said that they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.” And with more and more people turning to these review sources, it’s smart to be sure you have a strong presence there.
8. Ask customers to share with their network.
If you do something such as take a picture of a happy customer and share their story on your Facebook page, encourage them to share it, too. They will be excited that you highlighted them as a customer and you will be excited about all of the potential business you can get from them spreading the word.
Remember, in order to use a customer’s story, you should get written permission from them first. Once they give you the go-ahead, there are tons of ways for you to make a great situation even better!