6 Quick Ways To Get Client Testimonials For Your Website

There’s no doubt that having a great website is one of the best ways to sell products or sell your services. Not only does your website’s design need to be user-friendly, have inspiring images, content that speaks to your audience and everything else that it takes to make for a professional website – but what about customer reviews?

Websites that have customer reviews tend to generate 62% more revenue, according to BigCommerce. As an online shopper yourself, you know that reviews are important and are often the final step you take before completing your purchase or hiring someone for a costly service.

How To Get a Client or Customer to Write a Review

Most business owners know that getting a golden testimonial or review (no matter how great their product is) can be as tricky as getting a picky toddler to finish their dinner. But we need those testimonials as a way to authentically tell our new customers what people really think about our product, or what someone’s experience to work with you was like.

Let’s walk through the steps you can take to get testimonials for your business which you can use on your website, social media, email marketing, brochures, etc.

1. Send Your Customer an Email Requesting a Testimonial

Well this one may seem pretty obvious, but I was always taught, if you don’t ask you won’t receive. Simply assuming your client or customer will send you a raving review if they’re happy with their experience most likely isn’t going to happen. You need to prompt them not long after their experience and ask for a review.

Here are some examples of how to ask for a review in an email:

Hi [customer name],
I hope you enjoyed [name of product/service]. Would you have 2 minutes to write a review about your experience? I would truly appreciate it!

Hi [customer name],
I have a huge favor to ask 🙂 I was hoping you would be able to send me a testimonial about your experience? If you could please reply to this email and send me a few sentences it would be much appreciated!

2. If They Don’t Respond To Your Email, Ask Again

If your first email attempt did not work, try asking again. There’s a good chance they saw your email and forgot to respond or since there’s nothing in it for them, they don’t want to take the time to write a testimonial for you. This isn’t uncommon and you should ask again and consider writing a different email this time.

Keep reading for more ideas on how to present a request for a testimonial for your website.

3. Offer To Exchange A Testimonial

If you client has their own business, you could offer to exchange a testimonial with them. They can write a testimonial explaining what it was like to work with you or review a product you sell, and you can in turn write a testimonial for them. This doesn’t work in all cases, but it may be a good motivator to get your client to take the time to write a stellar review for you if they know they are getting something out of it!

4. Offer To Share Their Website Link or Social Handle

An extra motivator for getting a client to write a testimonial for your business is to offer to share their business name and link to their business website or social media page along with the testimonial. This is a great motivator since your customer will get a little free advertising in exchange for writing a testimonial.

5. Include A Link To A Review Form

Sometimes clients are easily confused with how to send a testimonial and what to write. Most clients don’t realize they can just email you their testimonial, sometimes they are expecting a form on your website to submit their review. Consider using a testimonial form collection tool like Shapo to send your customers a link where they can submit their review.

It’s helpful to be clear about what they should write about in their review. You can provide specific directions such as “Please write 4-5 short sentences about your experience and how I helped”. Often times clients put off writing a testimonial because they assume you want a very long, detailed review – make it simple and easy for them.

6. Cut + Paste a Flattering Email

If all else has failed and for whatever reason your customer has not sent a testimonial (so frustrating), consider using text from one of your email exchanges. Look through your emails and see if there are any phrases or sentences that you could possible use as a review. Cut and paste those words and turn them into a testimonial!

Conclusion

It can be tricky to get a client to hand over a testimonial without having to ask at least a couple of times. Don’t forget that you must ask in order to receive.

✨ Pro-tip: Create a testimonials page on your website where you can collect all of your reviews in one place. Take a look at my client reviews page for some inspiration!