Feedback is an important part of human relationships.
If you think about it, it happens everywhere, even when you’re at the Salon or the barber’s. The stylist constantly asks questions like…
“You like this style?”
“Hope you’re not in pains?”
“Is the hair low/high enough?”
And other related questions. And it is no different with businesses. You see, as businesses, client testimonial is not just an opportunity to show your prospects and leads how good your work is, it is also a teachable moment that can help you know what to improve, where to improve, and how to make these improvements along the lines your clientele expects.
When you know what to improve, you’ll know how to channel resrouces along the right areas and have enough time to focus on other parts of your business that move the needle.
But then, when people think of client testimonials, they think of the generic “this service was great, thank you”. While this is not bad, it also leaves a lot unsaid… this is why today, we want to share some insights with you that can help you get better testiominals that reveal hidden details from your cleints.
- Help them along the way: Why should you do this? The answer is simple. Humans are lazy and would always look for the path of least resistance (or the easiest option) to pick when faced with a task like this. This is why testimonials like the one above seems commonplace. But when you ask the right questions, you can “guide” your clients and get them to answer these specific questions. Here’s an example of what I mean: Hello {client’s name}, thank you for patronizing {your business}, I’d like to ask some questions to improve the quality of my service and you can fill in the answers in the spaces provided. What part of my offer served you best? What’s the best word you’d use to describe my service? On a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to recommend this to a family member? What’s your least favourite part of my offer? What would you like to see from me when next you patronize my business? While this is not cast in stone, it is a great starting point to finetune your client testimonials and present better services to your clients.
- Keep an open mind: I know this is easier said than done, but the core of feedback involves retrieving information to make adjustments. And when you’re closed minded… you’d not take too kindly to some of these testimonials.
- Remember your audience: While you’re an important part of your business, you should also know that testimonials don’t have to BE ABOUT YOU. Yes… sometimes business owners get entrapped in the idea of their offers and want testimonials that sound EXACTLY LIKE THEY WOULD. Perhaps this is why certain quarters of the online business world “manufacture” these testimonials… but that’s talk for another day. Today, we encourage you to provide an environment where clients can express their feedback in language that resonates with them and communicates their opinions about your offer.
- Sign up on Workstedi: Client testimonials are only great when you have a platform where they’re useful, helpful, and most importantly… you can always make reference to them. This is where Workstedi comes in. When you sign up as a vendor on the platform, you can receive real-time reviews from your clients that will be on your profile forever. Plus, it’s not like social media where your page (or their pages) can get deleted and your sparking reviews are gone forever.
