How to ask for testimonials worth publishing

When to ask for a testimonial

The best moment is soon after something went well, while the customer still remembers the details:

• Right after a result. The website goes live, the problem is fixed, the order arrives, the course ends.
• When they thank you. A thank-you is the easiest opening, but it is not permission to publish: reply with a proper request.
• Once they have used it. For a product, give them time to try it first.
• Not with an invoice, and not while a complaint is still open.

Ask every customer at the same point, not only the ones you expect to be happy: testimonials are more honest, and easier to believe, when nobody was filtered out at the request stage. And never make a reward depend on a positive answer; in the US the FTC bans incentives conditioned on a review saying something positive or negative. Source: FTC, 16 CFR 465.4

How to ask: email, text or in person

By email

Write it yourself, keep it short and mention the project or purchase. Give one link, say how long it takes, and say they decide whether you may quote them. There are ready-to-copy versions in the testimonial request email templates.

By text or WhatsApp

Even shorter, and best right after a delivery, a visit or a call. One friendly line and the link is enough.

In person, with a QR code

Put a QR code where customers already are: on the counter, a receipt, the packaging, a table card or your business card. In TrustClap every collection page has its own QR code that opens the same link, ready to download and print.

After a call or a meeting

Ask out loud while the conversation is warm ("Would you mind putting that in writing for our website?"), then send the link straight away, so answering takes one tap.

Questions to ask for a testimonial

Open questions get stories; yes-or-no questions get "yes". Three or four are enough, in this order:

1. The starting point. "What did you need help with?" or "What problem were you trying to solve?"
2. The experience. "What was it like working with us?" or "How was your experience with us?"
3. The result. "What changed after you started using it?" or "What results have you seen since?"
4. The recommendation. "What would you tell someone considering us?" This answer is often the line you quote.

A few things make the answers better:

• Add a short hint under each question, such as "What is better, easier or different now?"
• Ask about one thing at a time.
• Don't suggest the answer. A testimonial has to be the customer's honest opinion. Source: FTC, 16 CFR 255.1
• Ask for permission in the same step, separately from the answers. See permission to use testimonials.

Testimonial request messages to copy

Replace the words in [brackets] and paste your link. The email and the text message are also ready to copy inside TrustClap, next to each collection page's link.

Need more? Here are email templates for projects, purchases and appointments, with follow-ups.

Follow up once, then stop

If there is no reply, send one friendly reminder after a few days, then leave it. Thank everyone who answers, whatever they said: private feedback that tells you what to improve is worth as much as a quote for the website.