How to Get More Testimonials for your Service Business

 Have you ever visited a service business website and noticed all the nice comments people have made about working with them? They might be sprinkled across the front page and throughout the website. There might even be an entire page devoted to just these testimonials. You might have thought, if all these people had such a good experience with this business, it must be good!

That is what testimonials are meant to do. They give your service business credibility. When potential new customers are considering hiring you to do a service, they want to know what others have experienced when they worked with you. If you can offer them some testimonials, that will help them to trust you. However, getting the testimonials you need can be a challenge, especially if your business is new. Here are some tips on how to get more testimonials for your service business.

Let's start with what you should never do. You should never make up your own testimonials. It is deceitful, illegal, and people will eventually find out. When they do, your credibility will be destroyed.

If you haven't had your first client yet, you can offer your services to a nonprofit organization in exchange for a testimonial. Find an organization you would like to support, or that you already are involved in, and find out how you can help. Many nonprofits and charities have limited budgets and would be happy to accept your services in exchange for a testimonial.

You might also want to approach your friends. If you have friends in your target market, or even close to it, you can offer your services to them in exchange for a testimonial. If you don't have any friends that would be appropriate for, you can join an online forum or connect with others in social media to find some.

What some new service providers do is offer a discounted rate on their service for a limited time to get their first customers and testimonials. The other good thing about getting testimonials this way is, they might discover how valuable your service is and become regular clients.

What about your peers? Even if you're just starting out in business, you have probably met some of your colleagues who would be willing to give you testimonials. Remember that they will need to try your service first before they can honestly review it. Many will be willing to help you get started.

Finally, to get more testimonials for your service business, just ask. Whenever you've worked with a new client for a while, and you know that they're happy with your work, ask for a testimonial you can use. If you make this a habit, you will always have appropriate testimonials to fill your website and your marketing materials.

Having good testimonials is an important part of marketing your service business. No matter what stage you're at in your business, it's important to start collecting them now. The above tips will make it easy to do.