How to ask for a testimonial in a survey
As a business owner striving to build the credibility of your business, asking for a testimonial in a survey is a great way to get feedback on your products or services. Prospects rely heavily on testimonials to help them determine whether or not to put their faith in a business and make a purchase. Therefore, it is important to make sure your surveys are designed to solicit meaningful feedback from customers that can be transformed into testimonials.
For all the potential value in customer testimonials, collecting them may seem like an uphill battle until you consider using surveys to gather them. After all, you can subtly prompt customers to answer questions in a way that paints your business in the best possible light. You can develop surveys using various approaches that use the opportunity to collect customer feedback in a systematic and consistent manner.
Where should you use surveys in your business?
It is natural to wonder when to use surveys to gather testimonials for your business. Surveys can be administered at different stages of the customer journey, such as post-purchase, onboarding, or customer service experiences. Where you decide to use surveys really depends on the type of feedback you need. For example, if you are looking to find out how satisfied customers are with a particular product or service, you may want to send surveys shortly after the purchase.
Generally, it is crucial to have surveys that gather meaningful information about:
- Customer Satisfaction: To understand the customer experience with your offering and identify areas for improvement.
- Market Research: To gather data on customer preferences, opinions, and behavior to inform marketing and product development decisions.
- Customer Retention: To understand the customer’s reasons for returning to the brand or not and why they may choose to leave in the future.
When collecting data through surveys, you might not realize how they have the capability to give you content that is ideal to be used as testimonials. Testimonials are an essential part of any brand's marketing campaign, as they help to build trust and attract prospects. Therefore, surveys should be used to gain customer insights and create content that can be used as a powerful marketing tool.
Testimonials can act as social proof that your product or service is reliable, trustworthy, and of high quality, so they’re worth gathering.
How to ask for a testimonial in a survey?
Even though it might seem a little challenging at first, asking for a testimonial in a survey isn't that difficult. When you're on task, it can seem a little difficult to ask for feedback without coming off as pushy. After all, you don't want to alienate people or make them feel like their time is being wasted. When you're mindful of the approach that you need to adopt and tactfully craft your questions, asking for testimonials in surveys can be quite straightforward. There are primarily two ways to solicit testimonials in a survey:
Approach 1: Ask for general feedback
When you ask for general feedback regarding the experience that the customer had in the survey, you are giving them the opportunity to provide an honest opinion and insight that can be valuable in improving your products and services. You will be surprised by some of the responses you get when you use this approach because customers feel that they are being listened to, and they are often more candid in their responses.
When crafting the survey, it is best to include specific questions that nudge the customer into giving you a response that you could utilize. You can guide your customers into giving feedback by asking questions like:
Examples
- If a friend asks you about our brand, what would you say about us?
- Reflecting on your experience with our product, what would you say was the best thing about it?
- What impact did our service have on you?
Pros
- It can easily become a standard practice.
- It can lead to very genuine responses.
- It may give you access to rich insights.
Cons
- You have to sift through the input to find responses that can be used.
- Many of the responses might not be worth sharing with an audience.
Approach 2: Directly request a testimonial
When you ask the customer to share a testimonial, you are essentially asking them to share a more personal review of their experience with your product or service. Just asking them directly can be a powerful way to garner feedback. Additionally, when you take this approach, customers may feel more appreciated and respected because their feedback is explicitly requested.
The best way to ask for feedback is to just be direct and go for it with something like:
Example
“We value your support for our business and would love it if you left us a testimonial. Please share your thoughts about our business in whatever format suits you best (whether that be a few sentences or even a short video)”.
Pros
- It is very transparent, making it easier for customers to decide whether they want to share their input.
- It gives customers a clear idea of what type of feedback you’re looking for.
Cons
- It can put off customers unless you’re careful about asking them for a testimonial politely.
- It could come off as too big of an ask.
What tools can you use for surveys?
There are many tools available to use for testimonial collection through surveys ranging from free to paid options. However, the one that you should use heavily depends on your specific needs. Generally, online tools like Google Forms, Typeform or SurveyMonkey are popular choices, as they provide an easy-to-use platform and allow for quick setup.
Tips for asking for a testimonial in a survey
There are many small details that you can take care of when you ask for a testimonial in a survey. Generally, there are three crucial tips that can help you get survey responses that lead to high-quality testimonials:
Tip #1: Maintain transparency
It's important to let respondents know right away if their comments can be utilized for marketing purposes when you conduct a survey. You can add a disclaimer to the survey that allows customers to opt out if they don't want their comments to be used in marketing materials.
Tip #2: Give an incentive
If possible, offer a clear incentive for sharing a testimonial in a survey. For example, if you run a retail store, you can provide customers with a discount code or free shipping on their next purchase if they take the time to answer your survey questions.
Tip #3: Keep It Short & Sweet
Survey fatigue is your enemy, but you can combat it by keeping your survey short and focusing on direct, clear questions. Even if you're asking for feedback, it helps to make sure you don't ask too many long open-ended questions that could take a long time to answer. Instead, you should focus on crafting specific, direct questions that allow for easier and more straightforward responses.
Tip #4: Appreciate all the survey respondents
Show your appreciation to those who took the time to fill out the survey by thanking them at the end of the survey and also sending a follow-up email. When customers are nice enough to provide feedback, it's important to thank them and show your gratitude. After all, their testimonial could be the key to acquiring new customers.
Benefits of testimonial collection via a survey
Collecting testimonials through surveys can be advantageous in several ways, making it ideal for businesses.
When you use a survey to gather what customers have to say about your offering, you're likely to succeed in getting meaningful information. After all, surveys provide an easy and effective way to collect customer feedback in a standardized format.
The ability to quickly and cheaply gather comprehensive and precise customer feedback is a major advantage of survey-based testimonial collection. Conducting a survey can act as a great source of testimonials and also offer the following benefits:
- Cost-effective: they don't cost as much and can be distributed on a wide scale with relative ease
- Versatile: they can be used to gather feedback that addresses the points you would like to highlight through the use of carefully crafted custom surveys.
- Easy to administer: in terms of complexity, administering surveys isn't too demanding as the processes are relatively straightforward
- Easy to develop: developing a survey isn't an extensive process, as all that is required is to carefully create the questions you would like to have answered
- Easy to handle the data: the tools you use are very apt and can keep the survey responses organized
- Very practical: ultimately, it is a feasible solution that can help you gather data without having to invest too much time or resources
Final thoughts
Asking for a testimonial in a survey is an excellent way to collect feedback on your goods or services to increase the reputation of your company. When someone vouches for your brand and appreciates it, it is going to be easier for prospects to trust it and give it a try.
If you want to automate your testimonial collection, you should learn more about Niva.io and all the services it can offer you.
