How to Ask For Reviews and Testimonials

In order to receive reviews and testimonials for your business, you need to ask for them. Only a handful of people will go and leave a review or testimonial without being asked. So, if you want to use social proof to promote your business, you need to ask for them.

What Is the Difference Between Reviews and Testimonials?

Both are people giving their opinions of your business. In general terms, a review is a customer’s honest review of your product; a testimonial is a customer recommending your product and raving about its benefits.

So a review would be when you send a customer a link to a third-party website where they can leave a review without being prompted for what they need to say. A testimonial would be where you ask your customer a few questions so that you can get a response that has been thought out and would address specific features or areas.

When to Ask For Reviews or Testimonials

Always ask for reviews and testimonials after your customer has experienced your product or service. So, if you are a service provider, you would wait until after you have finished providing the service in full, not ask for a review or testimonial halfway through. If you are an e-commerce business or digital product business, you would ask for a review a few days after the product had been delivered, maybe even a week. This gives your client a chance to use your product before they give a review.

Creative Forms of Reviews

Reviews and testimonials don’t always have to be text-based. You could invite customers to leave video reviews, post before and after photos, or even post photos of them using the product. These all add social proof to your business.

A great way to encourage this is to give customers a hashtag or ask them to tag you in social media posts on a particular platform. You could even offer an incentive to get more video reviews by offering a discount for their next order if they post a video on social media. You can use these videos on your social media and even feature a carousel of them on your product page. These could even feature in future ads and marketing campaigns.

How to Ask For a Review or Testimonial

The most important thing to remember when asking for a review or testimonial is to be clear. Don’t ramble, don’t justify or soften your language; be clear about what you want and how they can give it to you. We’ll look at some scripts that will help you ask for testimonials and reviews in a bit.

Don’t forget that no-one is obligated to leave you a review. Sometimes your customers will be too busy to leave a review; sometimes, they may not have used your product yet. They may have even found your product or service to be disappointing. As business owners, we must remember that our product or service cannot please everybody.

How to Ask For Feedback or Testimonial

If you are asking for private feedback or a testimonial (in other words, not a review that will be automatically posted on a third-party website), then send your client an email asking for feedback.

Thank your client for their purchase/working with you, and check in on how they are getting on. You can create a template, but if you are a service-based business, you should personalise this by asking about things that came up while you were working together.

Then, ask them if they are willing to give feedback. State that it will be used to refine your product/service and processes and for future marketing. Ask your questions or leave a link to your feedback Google Doc.

Finally, thank them for taking the time to leave feedback, and you hope to work with them again in the future. It is completely up to you, but you could give them a little thank you gift like a discount code or useful resource if you would like.

Example Template

Email subject: We’d love to hear your feedback

Hi [Name],

Thank you for ordering our Callie Pet Brush; we hope your fur baby’s coat is the softest it has ever been, and your couch is fur-free. We love hearing from our customers about what we do well and what we could do better. This helps us to better serve you and your pets when we create new products.

Click here to leave feedback about your experience. Your opinion will inform our products and processes as well as for marketing purposes.

As a token of appreciation for helping us to better care for your pets, we’ve attached a 15% discount voucher for your next purchase. A second 15% discount voucher is attached for the first friend who asks how you got your pet’s coat so shiny.

Best Fishes,

PET COMPANY NAME

Ask For a Review

If you are asking for a client to leave a review on a third-party website or your own product page, the script looks a little bit different.

Example Template

Email subject: What did you think of your new PRODUCT NAME?

Hi [Name],

Thank you for ordering our Callie Pet Brush; we hope your fur baby’s coat is the softest it has ever been, and your couch is fur-free. If you have any questions about the Callie Pet Brush or any concerns, please reply to this email, and one of our customer service reps will get in touch with you within 24 hours. We are on hand to ensure you get the most out of your new grooming tools.

Now that you’ve had a chance to try out the Callie Pet Brush, we’d love it if you could leave a review to let us know what you think. Here is the link; your review will be posted on the product page immediately. Make sure to enter your email address with your review to receive 15% off your next purchase as a thank you from us.

We’ve attached an e-book with our top grooming tips so that you keep your fur baby looking cute between visits to the groomer. Regardless of whether you leave a review or not, we are thrilled to be a part of your pet’s health and happiness.

Best Fishes,

PET COMPANY NAME 

Do I Need to Give Discount Codes and Freebies?

No, not necessarily. But it is a nice touch. You are asking your customers to do something for you, so it is nice to give them a little extra value in return. Free products like an e-book showing how to get the most out of the product or giving related tips can be a great way to impress your customers if your profit margins are too tight for a discount code.

By adding a little extra value when you ask for a review or testimonial, you:

• Improve the chances of them leaving a review
• Improve the chances of getting a good review
• Leave a good impression so they will think favourably of you when they need your products or services again

If you are asking for feedback or testimonial (which takes more time than a simple review) then consider giving a freebie or discount code. This represents more time and effort than a simple review. The same goes for a video review.

Freebies and discount codes are not expected by customers, so you do not have to use them. If you do not, try and keep your testimonial and review processes as simple as possible. Keep things as simple as possible.

Service-Based Business Advantage

As a service-based business owner, you have a huge advantage of knowing your customers a little better than some. From their personalities and experience working with them, you can tell who would be more likely to give a review and what kind of review they would be comfortable with. You can decide who you will send a request for a text review and who you will send a request for a video review.

Now that you know how to ask for a review or testimonial, automate the process.