Most small companies have customers who are happy and never say so in public. The work is good, the invoice is paid, and the conversation ends there. A short quote from a real customer helps a new buyer more than another paragraph about your own strengths. Getting it is a routine, not a favour you hope for. This article describes a simple version that takes about ten minutes per customer.
When to ask
The best moment is right after something the customer can see: a project delivered, a problem solved, a thank-you email received. Memory of the result is fresh and the mood is positive. The worst moment is the end of the contract, when attention has moved on, or right after a dispute, even a small one.
Practical rules:
- Ask once a customer has said something positive in writing or on a call. You are then only asking them to repeat it.
- Wait until the result is real. A promising first week is not yet a testimonial.
- Do not ask during an open invoice or an open complaint.
Who should ask
The person the customer already knows and trusts, usually the account owner or the person who delivered the work. A request from a stranger or from a generic address looks like marketing and is easily ignored. Marketing prepares the wording and keeps the records; the relationship owner sends the message.
The request in three sentences
Short requests get answers. A workable structure:
- Thanks and context. "Thank you for the feedback on the new ordering process; it was good to hear that your team saves time."
- The ask. "Would you be willing to let us quote this, with your name and company, on our website?"
- The easy way. "To make it quick, here is a draft based on what you wrote. Change anything you like, or just tell us in two lines what you would say."
The draft matters. Most people agree but do not know what to write. Build the draft only from the customer's own words and facts you can check, such as the task, the result they named and the time frame. Never add claims they did not make.
What a useful testimonial contains
A vague line such as "great company, highly recommended" convinces no one. A useful quote answers three questions a new buyer has:
- What was the situation? "We were tracking orders in three spreadsheets."
- What changed? "Now one list is shared between sales and the warehouse."
- What does the customer notice? "We stopped losing half a day each week to corrections."
Include a number only if the customer gives it and agrees to publish it. If the figure is an estimate, let the quote say so.
Approval and permission
Two separate steps protect both sides.
Approve the text. Send the final wording back and wait for an explicit yes. Small edits for length are fine only if the customer sees the result. Never change the meaning.
Record the permission. An email reply is enough for most small companies, as long as it states:
- the exact text,
- the name and role you may show, and whether the company name may appear,
- the places of use (website, proposals, social media, print),
- that the customer can withdraw permission later, and how.
Keep the email with the text in one place. If the customer is a larger organisation, check whether its own communication rules require a separate approval, and whether the quote contains personal data of any other person. When in doubt, ask for a short written confirmation from the customer's communications contact.
Where to use it
Place each quote where a buyer hesitates, not in a separate "praise" page nobody opens:
- next to the price or the contact form,
- on the service page that describes the same task,
- in proposals, directly after the section on the approach,
- in follow-up emails to prospects who asked a similar question. If you want to improve those messages, see better emails with AI.
Match quote to reader. A manufacturer reading about order handling wants to see a quote from another operations person, not a general compliment.
A simple record
One table is enough: customer, contact, date asked, date approved, final text, places of use, review date. Add a column for what happened after publication, for example "used in proposal for the logistics sector". Twice a year, check that every customer is still a customer on good terms, that the text is still true and that the permission has not been withdrawn. Remove or refresh anything that is out of date. If you also automate parts of your outreach, marketing automation at scale explains where a person should stay in the loop; asking for a testimonial is one of those places.
Common mistakes
- Asking everyone at once. A mass email gets few answers and tells customers they are a list. Ask individually, a few each month.
- Writing the quote for them. A draft is fine; invented praise is not.
- Publishing before approval. Even a harmless quote can embarrass a customer if it appears without notice.
- Forgetting to ask again. Results from three years ago do not describe your current work.
- Hiding the customer completely. An anonymous quote is much weaker. Offer a name and role, and accept a "no" gracefully.
Summary
Ask after a visible success, through the person the customer knows, in three short sentences with a draft they can edit. Get the final text approved and keep written permission with the places of use. Then put each quote next to the decision it supports, and review the list twice a year. Five good testimonials, used in the right places, usually do more than a long page of general claims.
Sources
- Common practice for small and mid-sized companies, offered as a practical guide. No client results or market figures are claimed in this article. Adjust the wording, the records and the review period to your own situation, and check local rules on personal data and consent where they apply.
