Top 7 Do's and Don'ts for Customer References

In the age of the internet, one way to stand out can be to use customer references and testimonials to promote your business.

Here are 7 rules to follow to make the best of them:

1. Do make asking for customer comments a habit. Ask every customer, on a regular basis – and make sure you get it in writing. Even if you have to write it up yourself and get the customer to approve it, it is still worth writing it down.
   
   
2. Do collect all of the comments over time. That way you can use more comments and rotate them around so people see different comments over time.
   
   
3. Do ask a “quantitative” question. For example, “how happy were you with the service on a scale of 1 to 10” or “would you recommend us to a friend”. Once you have a high score on these things, that can become a very powerful reference. “95% of our customers would buy from us again” marks you out more than just saying your customers are satisfied.
   
   
4. Do use testimonials wherever you can. Put them in brochures, on websites, on presentations or even in shop windows.
   
   
5. Do use the comments to drive your social media – after all, this is all about social “proof” of your business. Use this as a way to get positive recommendations about your business to a wider audience.
   
   
6. Don’t make up comments that you would have liked people to say or maybe they could have said. Some people do it, and it is lying – never build your business on lies.
   
   
7. Don’t dismiss a not so good testimonial as unimportant, make sure you learn from it. But make sure one bad review doesn’t put you off asking other people – this should be part of your on-going business model.

Want help improving your profits? FREE reports to help Small Business Owners stop falling for the myths and start understanding the real rules of profits. Download instantly for fast profit results! Kate Marsden is The Profit Mechanic and gives resources, tools and support to Small Business Owners to improve their profits. Read more about The Profit Mechanic here.