A good testimonial shows what problem your customer had and how you helped them. Ask about it when he has experienced the result of your collaboration. In a conversation he tells you what it was like before, what helped him working together and what has changed since then. You turn this into a customer testimonial, have them approve it and show it on your website.
Why short testimonials like the ones you see all the time on websites aren't enough.
You help your customers, bring them good results and regularly receive positive feedback. There's hardly anything about it on your website. Anyone who reads your references there will only find out that the collaboration was “great”. This could be the same for any of your competitors.
This is often due to how you ask for customer feedback. If you simply send your customer a Google link, they will have to think of what to write. But he doesn't know which parts of his experience are important for your next dream customer.
Make it easy for him and ask him specific questions. If you walk him through his experience, he can tell you a lot more than “Everything was great, I’d be happy to do it again.”
"The collaboration was great. Very professional and always punctual."
What problem did you have? What has changed? How do you notice this today?
When reading, your dream customer wants to understand whether you know their problem and have already helped someone who was in a similar situation. That's why the customer testimonial should show how your customer got from their original problem to the desired result.
01 / The base
The basis for good testimonials: enthusiastic customers.
If you want to have enthusiastic customer testimonials, you also have to offer your customer a collaboration that they can enthusiastically talk about. This includes being organized, keeping promises and taking work off his hands. It gets really exciting when you think for yourself and give him something that he can put to good use.
An example would be to give a customer a slideshow template that fits the new design after the website project. This allows him to directly create his own content for social media. It's a bonus that he didn't expect and that makes his job easier.
Make sure you go the extra mile and give your client the results they expected from the collaboration. Then show him what you have achieved. In everyday life you quickly forget what it was like before.
So ask him before you start working together: “On a scale of 1 to 10, where do you currently stand in these areas?” Choose the areas that you want to improve together. After working together, you ask him the exact same questions.
You can then say to him, for example: "Eight weeks ago you ranked yourself at a 3. Now you say you are at a 9. So we helped you improve your performance by six points."
Bam. Now your customer can see for themselves how far they have come and that they have achieved their goal. Of course you have to deliver. Once you've done that, help him see that progress too. He can talk about exactly that later in his testimonial.
02 / The timing
When should you ask for a testimonial?
When a project is completed, you'll want to ask for a customer testimonial straight away. Depending on what you did for your customer, they may not have experienced the result for which they hired you at this point.
When I ask directly about the website launch, my client can tell me that they like the design and the collaboration went well. But if I instead wait until the customer receives inquiries about their website, then they can talk about what the website has specifically achieved for their company.
Tim Jaschke won ten new projects via his website in the first month after the launch. If I had asked him for a testimonial right before we went live, he wouldn't have been able to tell you about it.
View Tim's testimonial →Three signals you can pay attention to
- Your customer reports back with success. For example, with new inquiries or a goal that has been achieved.
- Your work together is having an impact. A campaign or published project brings the desired result.
- Relevant feedback comes from outside. For example, if the new design triggers exactly the reaction that your customer hired you for.
So think about what result your customer wanted to achieve through the collaboration. If he hired you to get more requests, then ask as soon as those requests come. Then he can tell you exactly whether and how you helped him.
03 / The request
How to ask customers for a testimonial.
If your customer tells you enthusiastically about a result, this is a good opportunity to ask them for a testimonial. Be happy with him and suggest that you record his experience in a short conversation.
Hey [name], great that [specific result] worked now! I'm really pleased.
Would you be okay if we recorded your experience as a customer voice? I would ask you a few questions. You don't have to prepare anything or write a text. I will prepare your answers and send everything to you for approval.
You can send your customer a short form, for example with seven questions that are displayed one after the other. This way he doesn't have to sit in front of an empty text box and think about how to start. If you would like more detailed answers, go through the questions with him in a call and agree beforehand that you will record the conversation.
From a short form to a detailed testimonial call
For a detailed testimonial call, you can prepare 15 questions and plan around 15 to 30 minutes. You go through the questions with your customer and let them talk in peace. Some answers take one to two minutes, others are shorter. If he can't think of a question, you just move on to the next one. The experiences that remain in his mind and that he can describe to you in his own words are interesting.
You can use the 15 questions below directly for your conversation. Listen to your customer's answers and ask questions if you are interested in something more specific. You adapt the questions about numbers to the goal of your collaboration, such as more inquiries, less effort or better processes.
When inviting your customer, tell them that you will take care of the preparation. He just has to answer your questions and then receives the finished text to read. So he doesn't have to prepare or write a text himself.
04 / The question guide
15 questions for your testimonial interview
“Were you happy?” can be answered with one word. “What was your problem before we worked together?” opens a conversation.
First, go through with your customer what problem they had and what they wanted to achieve. Then you talk about your collaboration, his results and who he would recommend you to. These questions will help you:
- What was your problem before we worked together?How did it affect your everyday life or in the company, and what did you want to change?
- What thoughts almost stopped you from working with me?Were there any concerns, doubts or previous experiences that played a role in your decision?
- What was your WOW moment in our collaboration?When did you realize that working together was really beneficial for you?
- What has changed in the most important key figure for your goal?What was the status before and where are you today? These can be, for example, requests per month, processing times or error rates.
- What specific successes have you achieved since then?What was added over what period of time, such as new customers, completed projects or saved working hours?
- What did our collaboration bring you financially?Can you roughly say how much additional revenue you generated or costs you saved?
- What else does the collaboration bring you, apart from these numbers?What is easier, more pleasant or possible today that wasn't possible before?
- How does the result affect other areas of your company?For example, does your marketing, sales or team benefit from this? What works better there now?
- Why did you choose me and not someone else?What convinced you and what was particularly important to you when making the decision?
- What feedback have you received from others since then?What do customers, interested parties or employees say about the changes?
- How has our collaboration impacted your business overall?What has changed for you as an entrepreneur or for your everyday work?
- Does the result suit your company and your requirements?How do you know that it suits you and reflects what you stand for?
- What advice would you give to someone who is still considering working with me?What do you think this person should know before making a decision?
- If someone asked you what it was like working with me: what would you say?How did you experience the communication, the process and the personal collaboration?
- What else would you like to say to someone who is reading or watching your experience?Is there anything we haven't discussed yet that is important to you?
If your customer says something has gotten “much better,” ask: “Do you have an example of that?” or “How did you notice that?” Maybe he will now receive more inquiries or save his team several hours of work each week. Maybe he can think of a specific situation that was difficult before and is now going smoothly. Such answers will help your dream client understand the outcome.
Your customer delivers the experience.
You help him tell them tangibly.
05 / The use
Use testimonials as text, video and short clips.
Some visitors want to listen to your customer in the video, others prefer to read through their experience. Once you have recorded the testimonial call, you can offer them both and also use short excerpts for social media.
For people who want to understand the initial situation, collaboration and results.
For voice, emotion and the person behind the experience.
A concrete result or an important moment as an introduction to the whole story.
Show the change step by step instead of simply making a long text smaller.
Keep the entire recording and find the answers that are also understandable as a short clip. This can be an answer to the original problem or the place where your customer talks about their result. A conversation with 15 questions can create several clips, which you can publish individually after it has been approved.
If your customer provides specific numbers, you can highlight them next to the video. For Tim, for example, that would be the ten new projects in the first month. This means your visitor can immediately see the result behind the customer's opinion.
From video to text testimonial: transcribe, edit and share.
Your customer has already told you his story. With a transcript, you can turn it into a written testimonial without having to write it all down again. This is how you do it:
- Have the full interview transcribed.Load the recording into a transcription program. It converts the spoken answers into text, so you don't have to type out the conversation yourself.
- Turn the transcript into a readable text testimonial.Read through the transcript and compare any unclear parts with the recording. Remove filler words and repetition and organize answers by problem, collaboration, and outcome. Write from your customer's perspective and keep his wording the same so that the text sounds like him.
- Send your customer the finished text for approval.Your customer reads the text and tells you whether everything fits or whether he would like to change anything. Also show him the video excerpts you want to use so that you can coordinate everything before publishing.
- Make publishing easy for him.If you would also like a review, send him the coordinated text and the direct link, for example to your Google profile or to Trustpilot. Then he has his experience already formulated in front of him and can publish it himself.
One conversation, several formats: You have the long video for your website, short clips for social media and a written testimonial. Your customer answers your questions and releases the result. You take care of the preparation.
This is how you present a detailed testimonial.
Show the video with an appropriate preview image and add a strong statement from your customer next to it. Add his name, position and company. Below you can highlight the original problem, the collaboration and the result. Your visitor will then understand what it's about before it starts playing and can decide whether they want to watch the whole story.
Where do testimonials belong on your website?
Place customer testimonials where you explain what you achieve for your customers. For example, if you write that your offer brings more qualified inquiries, this corresponds to the experience of a customer who has achieved exactly that. Show a strong message directly on the page and make the detailed text or video easily accessible.
You can see what that can look like in mine Client testimonials. There you will find texts and videos from customers with different starting points. If you also want to understand how we built their websites, check them out detailed case studies on.
So sehen Video- und Texttestimonials auf einer Website aus
Here you can see customer testimonials from my own projects. Listen to how customers talk about their collaboration or open the texts using “Read more”.
Businesses whose online presence finally reflects the results they deliver.
Any questions about obtaining testimonials?
How long should a good testimonial be?
Your dream customer should understand what problem the customer had, how you helped them, and what the outcome was. If your service requires a lot of explanation, the customer testimonial can be correspondingly detailed. Make a strong statement about it on your website and give visitors a chance to read the whole experience.
Is a Google review enough as a customer testimonial?
A detailed Google review can tell a lot about your work. But if it just says “everything’s great,” that won’t be of much help to your dream customer. Therefore, go through with your customer what their problem was and what has changed as a result of your collaboration. From this he can also make a meaningful assessment.
What do I do if my client doesn't have time to write?
Offer a conversation or a short form with individual questions. Then prepare his answers as text and have it checked and approved. So your customer has to tell their experience, but not write a finished advertising copy.
Can I shorten or reword a testimonial?
If you shorten repetitions or combine spoken answers into one text, send your customer the finished version to proofread. He should recognize himself in it and confirm to you that you have portrayed his experience correctly. You can then publish the text.
Which customer last told you about a success?
Write to this person and ask them if they would like to tell you about their experience in a short conversation. You now have the question guide. All you have to do is make an appointment and listen.
Treat yourself to customer testimonials that finally show what you can do.
How to build a sales-optimized website →
Customer testimonials on the thank you page after booking an appointment →
I am , founder of Krisnetics. I develop individual, sales-optimized online presences for companies. You can find out what this looks like for my customers in the linked customer testimonials and case studies.
