How to Get Even Greater Benefits from Testimonials

• Social proof.
• Testimonials.
• Recommendations.
• Likes.
• Positive feedback.
• 5-Star reviews.

There are a lot of different terms for when customers say good things about your business and your team. We’ve talked about the importance of sharing these glowing words with prospects—such as featuring social proof on your website—but there’s another way to leverage these assets to boost the success of your business:

Make it a habit to share positive customer stories and remarks with your team.

Here’s a universal truth: Everyone wants to be on a winning team.

This truth is especially important today when companies like yours are working so hard to build employee loyalty that translates into brand advocacy. Further, success breeds success and when members of your team hear how your products or services are benefiting the lives of your customers or clients, it motivates them in ways that help them make more sales and show up to work every day with a positive attitude.

The first step—and the place where we most often drop the ball—is capturing the good news. All too often an anecdote will be shared informally once or twice and then get lost to history.

Everyone wants to be on a winning team.

You need to put systems in place to capture positive stories wherever they surface. This may involve offering incentives for stories that get written up or captured on video. Since almost everyone today is carrying around a high-quality video recorder via their cellphones, capturing a customer testimonial in the field isn’t difficult. The only stumbling block is remembering to ask for it.

Further, make it a habit to share these stories at meetings and/or through company publications. Have the person who “captured” the positive news talk about the situation and let your team know more about the customer and situation being featured. If sharing becomes part of your company culture, you’ll find that the benefits you get increase more and more over time.

Some of these testimonials can be featured on your website as well. When you think you’ve captured something you’d like to share publicly, be sure you have the permission of your customer or client.