If you’re looking to increase your company’s credibility, consider adding testimonials to your website. Testimonials can be a great promotional tool for your brand that doesn’t cost you anything but a little bit of time.

Check out these tips for putting customer testimonials to use:

  • Whether or not you decide to offer an incentive (10% off your next order, free shipping, etc.) for giving a customer testimonial is up to you. But you’ll find that many of your past clients will be willing to give you a testimonial regardless–all you have to do is ask!
  • Check your past customer emails. You may already have some great testimonials from past customers without even realizing it. Be sure to check with those customers first before using their quotes as testimonials though.
  • A written testimonial can be a very powerful thing, but only if it is authentic. Don’t designate a person on your staff to write glowing testimonials of your company or prospective clients will see right through it. Fake testimonials are very risky—most readers can tell they’re not real and it will turn them off to your company.
  • When you ask your past customers to write a testimonial for you, be sure to ask permission to use their name. If they don’t feel comfortable using their full name, at least make sure to post their first name and city. This will add credibility.
  • Video testimonials can be a very persuasive marketing tool. To increase credibility, film your past clients where you’re able to show off the work you did (if applicable). For example: If you’re a landscaping company, ask your client if you can film their testimonial in their yard, so your prospective clients can not only hear a testimonial about your business but see the work you did, too.
  • Once you have a good amount of testimonials, you can use them in a variety of ways. Designate a page on your website to them, use them on your brochures, flyers, and other marketing materials, and send out a few ‘tweets’ to let people know what customers are saying about your business.
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