We previously published an article on this blog about Coupon Clipper review pages and how they can help local businesses. Please refer to it to learn more about online reviews. We recommend that you encourage your satisfied customers to go online and write reviews on different sites when possible. That is a good way to build a solid online reputation and help your site with regard to search marketing.

In order to get good testimonials or customer reviews, it is often helpful to offer a free trial of your product for new customers or a discount to those who are willing to write testimonials for you. Also, providing good customer service can also often yield positive results. Following up with a client via phone or email after a transaction to ensure they are pleased is a smart technique to obtain a useful testimonial.

It is also wise to have a section on your website of success stories that includes testimonials. It allows site visitors to connect with the case study and learn more about how your business works and how it has helped others. Visit  Clippermagazine.com and click on “Success Stories” for a good example.

It is important to get your customers’ permission to use their testimonials–and always make it easy for  them to provide feedback. Make a simplified document or an online comments page. It should be the type of form that takes little time to complete.

You can also use social media to obtain testimonials. For example, a fan page on Facebook, where favorite menu items can be rated, would work great for a restaurant.

The point: Offering great services or products is a good start, but you should consider going to the next level by being creative with your marketing techniques and utilizing testimonials from satisfied customers .