Customer testimonials remain one of the most effective, lowest-cost marketing assets a business can build. They give genuine credibility to your brand, and show prospective customers that real people value what you offer enough to say so publicly.
Testimonials are occasionally paid endorsements, as with influencer marketing, but the most credible ones are given voluntarily by genuinely satisfied customers, usually at a business’s request.
Research consistently backs this up: most people read testimonials before making a purchase, and the majority of online shoppers read reviews first, especially for higher-priced products or services. Businesses with genuinely strong testimonials tend to see meaningfully higher customer spending as a direct result.
Here are four steps to obtaining, crafting and using customer feedback properly.
Step 1: Watch for positive feedback
Positive feedback shows up everywhere, an email (“thank you for great service”), a social media comment, a handwritten note, or something said in person. All of it is worth capturing, since most of it disappears unused if you are not actively watching for it.
Step 2: Ask for feedback properly
Asking for a testimonial directly can feel awkward, so avoid doing it bluntly. Instead, send recent customers a simple request to rate their experience, then follow up on strong ratings by asking them to elaborate.
Approaching your best customers personally, rather than only through automated requests, tends to yield richer feedback and strengthens the relationship at the same time.
Ask specific questions: how much time or money did the product or service save them, what was the single biggest benefit, what did they like most, and would they recommend you to friends or family. Specific questions produce specific, usable answers.
Always get explicit permission before using a customer’s name, photo or video alongside their testimonial. Including these details makes a testimonial considerably more trustworthy, but using them without permission is both a legal problem and a trust problem.
Step 3: Craft the testimonial properly
A generic “great service” or “I love it” testimonial does very little work for you. Look for testimonials with genuine detail about what specifically makes your business valuable, specificity is what makes a testimonial feel authentic rather than generic.
You do not need to use feedback in the exact wording you received it. Correcting spelling or grammar, or lightly paraphrasing for clarity, is fine, just send any meaningful changes back to the customer for approval before publishing. Including a name, date and photo where you have permission adds real credibility.
Step 4: Actually publish and use them
Once you have strong testimonials, put them to work:
- Feature testimonials prominently on your homepage, where they get the most visibility.
- Build a dedicated testimonials page so older feedback does not get lost as new testimonials come in.
- Share testimonials on social media, including short reviews inside paid social campaigns.
- Turn strong testimonials into case studies: outline the challenge, your solution, and the measurable result, with photos and, where possible, a link to the customer’s own business.
- Include a relevant testimonial in email marketing when promoting the specific product or service it relates to.
- Use testimonial quotes inside blog content where relevant.
- Record video testimonials from happy customers willing to appear on camera, genuinely powerful for social media and events alike.
Rather than telling prospective customers why they should choose you, let existing customers make that case instead. It carries considerably more weight than anything you could say about yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need permission to use a customer’s name or photo in a testimonial?
Yes, always. Beyond the legal requirement, asking first also makes customers considerably more comfortable being featured, which improves the quality and openness of what they share.
Where should testimonials appear for the biggest impact?
Your homepage first, since it typically receives the most traffic, followed by a dedicated testimonials page and prominent placement in case studies and email marketing tied to the relevant product or service.
How do I get customers to give more detailed, useful testimonials?
Ask specific questions rather than open-ended ones, what they saved, what benefit mattered most, whether they would recommend you, specific prompts produce specific, usable answers.
Can I edit a testimonial before publishing it?
Yes, correcting grammar or lightly paraphrasing for clarity is standard practice, just send any meaningful changes back to the customer for approval first.
Are video testimonials worth the extra effort compared to written ones?
Generally, yes. Video testimonials tend to carry more weight on social media and at events specifically, since they are harder to fake and easier for prospective customers to connect with emotionally.
Letting your customers do the talking
A strong testimonial programme is one of the most cost-effective marketing assets a small business can build. Watch for feedback consistently, ask for it properly, and put it to work across your website, social media and sales materials, and you will find prospective customers trust your existing customers considerably more than they trust you.
By Sylvia Schutte, MD of Stratitude, a full-service marketing agency.
Originally published in September 2020. Updated September 2026 to refresh the guidance on collecting and using customer testimonials. Specific tools and platforms for managing testimonials change, so confirm current options directly before adopting one.
