The Perfect Questions For Testimonials & How To Ask Them

Promoting your business through testimonials is a great way to connect with potential customers, but finding the right questions for testimonials can be difficult.

Testimonials are a powerful marketing tool, acting as real-world endorsements that build trust and credibility for your business.

But getting high-quality testimonials from satisfied customers can be a challenge. The secret lies in asking the right questions.

By carefully guiding the conversation, you can unlock powerful stories that showcase the true impact of your product or service.

This article is designed specifically for businesses seeking to leverage the power of testimonials for marketing and sales success.

7 Questions To Ask For The Perfect TestimonialGetResponse

1. What did you want?
2. What was the problem you had?
3. How was that making you feel?
4. What did you do?
5. What did we do?
6. What was the outcome?
7. Would you recommend us?

We go deeper into these below and even give you different questions for different situations.

Why are Powerful Testimonials Important?

Have you ever walked into a store without any knowledge of the products on offer?

You might hesitate, unsure if anything will truly meet your needs.

And if you get anxious, introverted, shy, or are socially awkward, you may immediately turn right around and walk out of the store due to overwhelm.

Now, imagine another scenario where a friend raves about a particular brand, highlighting its benefits and the positive impact it had on their life.

Suddenly, you feel a sense of trust and confidence, and comfort going to the store for a purchase.

Testimonials act as that trusted friend for potential customers, making it much easier for customers to consider your brand.

70% of people trust reviews and recommendations from strangers  just as much as they trust family and friends.

Testimonials leverage this power of “virtual word-of-mouth” marketing to reach a wider audience.

They build trust and social proof, reassuring potential buyers that your business delivers on its promises.

A testimonials influence

Strong testimonials can significantly influence buying decisions.

When someone considering your product reads a success story from a satisfied customer, it creates a sense of connection and confidence.

They see themselves reflected in the story, understanding how your product or service can address their own challenges.

This social proof reduces risk perception and encourages them to take the next step towards a purchase.

Additionally, testimonials foster brand loyalty. Hearing positive experiences from others reinforces the value of your product or service.

Reading testimonials from others who share their positive experiences strengthens their initial positive impression, encouraging repeat business and positive word-of-mouth marketing.

They become brand advocates, sharing their satisfaction with their network, further expanding your reach.

Testimonials come in various forms, each with its own application:

• Customer Testimonials: Focus on the experiences of individual customers, highlighting how your product or service has improved their lives.

• Client Testimonials: Ideal for B2B businesses, these testimonials showcase the positive impacts of your service on a company’s operations or efficiency.

• Product Testimonials: Zero in on the specific features and benefits of a particular product, showcasing its effectiveness in solving customer problems.

• Expert Testimonials: Feature endorsements from industry leaders or recognized authorities who validate your product or service’s claims.

• User-Generated Content (UGC): Positive social media posts, reviews, or video testimonials created by your customers showcasing their real-world experiences.

Powerful Questions for Testimonials

Crafting compelling testimonials is more than asking customers to share their thoughts or experiences.

You need to know what questions for testimonials you need to ask. Well-structured questions unlock the real stories of how your product or service has impacted customer’s lives.

These questions should delve deeper than surface-level satisfaction, uncovering the specific challenges overcome, the positive emotions experienced, and the tangible results achieved.

By asking the right questions, you can transform a simple “good product” into a powerful narrative that resonates with potential customers.

Strong testimonials can significantly influence buying decisions by demonstrating the value proposition of your product or service.

Here are three key areas to focus on with your testimonial questions, each with five specific examples to guide your conversations:

Questions for Understanding Customer Experience:

Testimonials are a powerful marketing tool, but simply having a testimony of “I like this product” falls short of their full potential.

Customers walking into a store filled with unfamiliar products won’t trust an “it’s good”. They will most likely move on to your competitors products.

Compelling testimonials act as trusted recommendations, offering a window into real customer experiences.

By delving deeper than surface-level satisfaction, you can capture:

• The challenges customers faced.

• The specific ways your product or service helped them overcome those hurdles.

• The positive impact it has had on their lives.

These rich narratives resonate with potential customers, building trust, fostering emotional connection, and ultimately influencing buying decisions.

Here are 5 questions to ask to get more than ‘it’s good’:

1. What were your biggest challenges or pain points before using our product/service?

2. What were your biggest challenges or pain points before using our product/service?

3. How has our product/service helped you overcome those challenges and achieve your goals?

4. What specific results have you experienced since using our product/service? (quantify if possible

5. Can you describe a specific instance where our product/service made a positive impact on your business/life?

Questions to Capture Emotional Impact:

Testimonials that simply highlight features and benefits can fall flat.

Testimonials that impact your customers purchasing decision lies in capturing the emotional impact your offering has on customers.

Why? Because people are driven by emotions first, logic second.

By understanding how your product or service makes customers feel, you can craft testimonials that connect with potential customers on a deeper level.

These emotional connections resonate more strongly than dry facts and figures, fostering trust and influencing buying decisions.

1. How has using our product/service made you feel? (e.g., empowered, confident, relieved)

2.How has our product/service impacted your business/life in a positive way? (e.g., increased efficiency, improved work-life balance, reduced stress)

3.How would you describe your overall experience with our company? (e.g., professional, helpful, supportive

4.What surprised you most about the results you achieved?

5.Would you recommend our product/service to others? Why or why not?

Questions Tailored to Specific Scenarios:

A one-size-fits-all approach to testimonial questions won’t capture the full range of customer experiences.

Generic questions will get you basic responses, and while the questions above go deeper into a customer’s experience, for certain scenarios you need more specific questions.

By considering the unique context, you can craft questions that unlock richer stories and more impactful testimonials.

Such scenarios can include:

• A new product launch.

• Exceptional customer service.

• A B2B service.

Here are some examples to guide your conversations:

1. For a New Product Launch:

• What surprised you most about our new product? (Highlights unexpected benefits or innovative features)

• How did this product address a need you weren’t even aware of before? (Showcases the product’s ability to solve underlying problems)

• Would you recommend this product to early adopters? Why or why not? (Gauges enthusiasm and potential challenges for new products)

• In what ways has this product changed the way you approach [relevant task]? (Focuses on impact on user behavior)

• Can you describe your initial impressions of the product and how they’ve evolved since using it? (Highlights learning curve and long-term value)

2. For Exceptional Customer Service:

• Describe a situation where our customer service team went above and beyond your expectations. (Focuses on specific actions and their positive impact)

• How did our customer service team help you resolve a challenge? (Showcases problem-solving skills and effectiveness)

• What made your interaction with our customer service team so positive? (Highlights specific qualities like responsiveness or empathy)

• How would you rate your overall experience with our customer service department? (Provides a clear measure of satisfaction)

• Would you be comfortable recommending our company based on your customer service experience? (Highlights the link between good service and brand trust)

3. For a B2B (Business to Business) Service:

• How has our service helped you improve your company’s efficiency/productivity? (Quantify impact on key metrics if possible)

• Can you describe a specific instance where our service saved your company time or resources? (Provides a relatable example of real-world benefit)

• In what ways has our service helped you achieve your overall business goals? (Connects service to broader strategic objectives)

• Would you recommend our service to other businesses in your industry? Why or why not? (Highlights industry relevance and value proposition)

• What sets our service apart from competitors in your experience? (Focuses on unique strengths and competitive advantage)

How to turn Answers into Compelling Testimonials

Asking the right questions for testimonials is just the first step to creating testimonials that convert and build loyalty and trust.

The next step is to transform the customer responses into compelling testimonials that resonate with potential customers.

Here are some actionable steps to maximize the impact of your testimonial gathering:

1. Actively Listen and Encourage Elaboration:

• Pay close attention to the customer’s answers, focusing on specific details, quantifiable results, and emotional language.

• Ask follow-up questions to delve deeper into their experience and uncover the most impactful aspects of their story.

2. Extract the Golden Nuggets:

Not every answer will be a goldmine. Look for quotes that are clear, concise, and emotionally charged.

Phrases that highlight specific challenges overcome, results achieved, or positive feelings experienced are particularly valuable.

3. Focus on Authenticity:

Testimonials should feel genuine and believable.

Avoid heavily scripted responses that sound overly promotional.

4. Prioritize Customer Voice:

Let the customer’s voice shine through. Similar to the one above, every customer has a different ‘voice’.

Maintain the essence of their responses while ensuring clarity and grammatical accuracy.

Don’t edit them all to sound or read the same.

5. Structure for Impact:

Consider structuring your testimonials with a clear beginning, middle, and end.

Start with a brief introduction to the customer and their challenge.

Then, highlight the solution provided by your product or service and the positive outcomes achieved.

Finish with a strong quote that encapsulates the overall value proposition.

By following these steps, you can transform raw customer responses into compelling testimonials that capture attention, build trust, and ultimately drive sales.

Examples of Powerful Testimonials

Here at Results and Co., we ask our clients for a testimonial after their project is completed. Sometimes we ask for a short one, and sometimes they give more depth and detail.

Below are just a few testimonials that we received. Each one answering questions that potential clients would have and capturing each clients unique voice:

William M.

Results & Co took the time to help our small business improve our website and really understand what we needed to reach our target market!

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Quacy Barry

Ever since I’ve worked with Results & Co, I’ve seen a significant increase in the quality of leads coming to my website.

Results & Co recently ran a Facebook campaign for me; this campaign results in a really low cost per lead, and we were able to generate 700+ leads in the first 14 days.

By far, the best marketing company I’ve worked with and will continue to work with.

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Sharon Ferruccio

I spent 2 hours working with James and Naomi on my BrandScript. What an outstanding experience to collaborate with business-savvy professionals who understand me and care about my business.

I have worked with dozens of marketing firms over the past 40 years, and this was the first time I was heard by a discerning team invested in my success.

My work in the engineering and construction industry can be complex and technical. They took the time to understand every nuance.

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Transition Point

If you’re wanting to your elevate your brand to be attractive to your customers, do yourself a favour and have James provide a fast review.

We loved hearing James talk through his website experience, just as a first time customer would do. From here we will now create the plan to create a customer experience to support sales growth.

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Katelyn Scrivano

When I received an email saying I could get my website reviewed for free, I first wasn’t expecting someone to get back to me. James not only actually did the free website review, but sent me a 15 minute live review of my site!

I was expecting to maybe get a few bullet points of things he thought might help, but instead I got to see in real time how he viewed the site and he gave me concrete, actionable steps that I worked on immediately to fix.

I’ve since gotten extremely valuable emails with content to continue to help me with my website and my business overall.

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Crafting powerful testimonials is a strategic investment in your business growth.

By using the right questions and following the tips outlined above, you can unlock the power of customer stories to build trust, influence buying decisions, and foster brand loyalty.

Remember:

• The key lies in asking the right questions.

Focus on understanding customer experiences, capturing emotional impact, and tailoring questions to specific scenarios.

• Go beyond the questions.

Actively listen, extract the most impactful quotes, and prioritize authenticity in your testimonials.

• Showcase success.

Utilize real-world examples of compelling testimonials crafted with these techniques to demonstrate their effectiveness.

If you are ready to promote your business and start building a loyal customer base, schedule a call today.