This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
How do you ask for and gather customer testimonials? We have talked from time to time about the importance of social proof, of being able to demonstrate, "Hey, this has worked for other people. I'm selling this product and it's changed their life. It has made their life better. It has made something easier for them.
It's helped them to save money or to get fit or otherwise work effectively, could be all kinds of benefits," whatever it is. You want to be able to show proof to potential buyers, customers, clients, subscribers even. How do you actually ask for and gather those testimonials? I'm going to give you some really practical ways to do that. We're going to hear from Elena.
She's been running her hustle for a few months and likes the idea of gathering these customer testimonials. Presumably, she has some people she can ask for them. How does she actually do that? What's the best way to ask and how do you make it easy for customers to provide the testimonial? In fact, that is one key point.
If you want to get more testimonials, make it really simple for people to provide them. Let's talk about how to do it in a way that doesn't feel awkward or pushy, just feels natural and something that a customer might actually want to do. Doesn't need to be complicated. That's our job here to simplify some concepts, give you an action step and maybe a little point of inspiration and motivation for your day. Love question and my answer coming right up.
Hey Chris, this is Elena from Oceanside, California. I've been running my side hustle for a few months now and I know how important customer testimonials are for building credibility. The problem is, I'm not sure how to go about gathering them. How can I ask my customers for testimonials in a way that's natural and not pushy? Are there any tips for getting great feedback that will really help my business grow?
Thanks for your help. All right, Elena, how can you ask for testimonials in this way that feels comfortable? I think it's not just how do you ask, but what is the best way to gather them? Let's talk about both of those things. First of all, when do you ask for testimonials?
Well, it's important to ask right when your customer is most satisfied, so they've just had a positive experience. They have just received your product. Maybe they've expressed their satisfaction. That's always great when someone says, "Hey, thank you. I really liked this product or service." You're like, "Oh, awesome.
That's amazing. Can you share a little bit more?" It can also be when they've reached a milestone. So if your hustle involves an ongoing service like coaching or consulting, whenever your customer has achieved some significant results, that's also a good time. Okay, so how do you make it simple and easy to provide? Give them a template.
If you feel that your customer might not know what to write, which is probably the case, say what was your experience like with this product or service? How did it help you solve your problem? Can you give me a few sentences and just keep it really short? Make a short, easy-to-use form, perhaps, where customers can submit their testimonials. Google Forms can do it for free.
Next, try to get it as specific as possible. So you don't want a testimonial that's just like great service. Again, let's focus on problems, solutions to problems. How did this product help you save time or money or solve a problem? What specific feature did you love the most?
Just again, the more specific, the better. And then in terms of the gathering, the more you can automate the process, the better. Some platforms like Etsy, Airbnb, Shopify, they have built-in systems that automatically prompt customers to leave reviews. So you want to refer to those tools, maybe set up a follow-up email after a customer has completed a purchase. Again, set up this follow-up email that thanks them for their business and asks for a testimonial.
It includes a link to the quick little form or the review platform where they can do it. And again, just make it as easy as possible so that people will want to do it. And then lastly, once you've got those testimonials, once you have gathered them, don't be shy about showcasing them. Offer testimonials everywhere, post your best testimonials on your website, include them in email newsletters, product pages. It's important.
It's one of the most important things you can do to increase conversion, help people feel more comfortable with their purchase when they see that other people like them have had a great experience. Elena, wishing you the best. Always, listeners, if you have a question, a comment, sidehustleschool.com. Excited to bring you many more episodes in the rest of the year. A new episode every day, in fact, seven days a week, always completely free.
That's all for now. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. the Onward Project.
