Questions to Ask for a Testimonial
For business owners, freelancers, coaches and marketers asking a happy customer or client for a testimonial, whether by email, on a form or on a recorded call. The questions follow the order of a good testimonial: what things were like before and why they chose you, the experience, the results, and who they would recommend you to, then questions for video testimonials and case studies and the permission questions to finish on. Each has a note on what a usable answer sounds like or what to do with it, and 'us' can be swapped for your own name or your product's.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Before
What was going on before you came to us?
Why ask it
This is the opening of nearly every good testimonial, because a reader has to recognize their own situation before a result means anything to them. A strong answer describes a scene: the spreadsheet that broke every month, the knee that ruled out the stairs. If you get 'things were fine, I just wanted better', ask what better would have fixed.
What problem were you hoping we would solve?
Why ask it
Take it down in their words, not yours. Customers name the problem in the terms the next customer will type into a search box, and those are often plainer than the language on your own sales page. If they list several, ask which one would have made them act all by itself.
What had you tried before, and where did it fall short?
Why ask it
The answer places you against the alternatives without you having to criticize anyone. Keep it general when you publish: 'two other agencies' reads better and is fairer than a competitor's name. If they had tried nothing, ask what kept them putting it off.
What almost stopped you from going ahead?
Why ask it
Price, time, a bad experience with someone similar, doubt that it would work for a business their size: whatever they name is probably on your next prospect's mind too. A testimonial that says the doubt out loud and then answers it does more than one that only praises. 'Nothing, really' is common, so offer a few examples and let them pick.
What made you choose us over the other options?
Why ask it
You are hoping for a reason a stranger could check, such as a quick reply, a sample of the work or a clear price. 'You seemed nice' is pleasant and unusable as it stands, so ask what you did that gave that impression. Their reason is often not the one you advertise, which is worth knowing whether or not it gets quoted.
How long had you been living with the problem before you did something about it?
Why ask it
A length of time gives the story a size. 'Three years of doing payroll by hand' is a detail readers remember. If it was only days, the story is about speed instead, and the urgency is the thing to quote.
What was it costing you, in money, time or stress?
Why ask it
This is the first number in the testimonial, and the later result is measured against it. Accept a rough figure and print it as rough: 'about ten hours a week' is honest and still vivid. Do not turn stress into a number they never gave.
How did you first hear about us?
Why ask it
An easy one to start a call with, and it leads straight into why they chose you. If a friend or colleague sent them, that referral is worth a line in the testimonial, without the other person's name unless they agree too. Keep a tally of the answers as well, since it shows where your happiest customers come from.
What did you need to see or hear before you said yes?
Why ask it
A demo, a reference call, a refund policy, a conversation with the person who would do the work. The answer shows which piece of your sales process carried the decision, and it makes a good line for readers who are at that same step. Follow with 'and did it hold up?'
Experience
What was it like to work with us?
Why ask it
Open on purpose. Let them choose what to talk about first, because the thing a customer raises unprompted is the thing they valued most. If the answer is 'great, really easy', ask what made it easy and wait.
What did you like most about working with us?
Why ask it
A standard on testimonial forms, and the one most likely to get 'everything' as its answer. Ask them to pick one thing and say when they noticed it: 'the Friday summary, so I never had to chase' is a quote, where 'great communication' is only a category. For a product, ask which part they would miss first if it were taken away.
Is there a moment from the work that you still remember?
Why ask it
Moments are what make a testimonial sound like a person. The call on a Sunday, the draft that arrived a day early, the afternoon the old system was finally switched off. If nothing comes, ask about the first week and the last week, since memory tends to keep the ends.
What did we do that you did not expect?
Why ask it
Surprise is specific by nature, so this rarely gets a vague answer. Check before you quote it that the thing is something you do for every customer. Printing a one-off favor as if it were standard sets up the next client to be let down.
How easy was it to get started?
Why ask it
Aimed at the reader's fear of switching. A good answer has a duration in it, or a count of steps, or the name of whoever helped. If it was not easy, thank them, keep it out of the testimonial and pass it to whoever runs onboarding.
Is there anyone on our team you would like to mention?
Why ask it
Customers remember people more readily than processes, and a named person makes praise concrete: 'Dana answered every email the same day'. Ask the colleague before their name goes on a public page. Pass the compliment on whether or not it is published.
How did we handle it when something changed or went wrong?
Why ask it
Only ask if something did, and you will know. A customer describing a problem that was put right is more believable than one describing perfection, and many readers look for exactly that. If their account still has an edge to it, treat it as feedback and do not publish it.
Was anything harder than you expected?
Why ask it
One honest wrinkle makes the rest credible: 'the first two weeks were a lot of work, and it was worth it' persuades more than unbroken praise. It also warns you about a step that needs fixing. Use it only with their agreement, since they may have meant it privately.
What is one thing we could do better?
Why ask it
Not for publication. It tells the customer you want the truth and not only a compliment, and it hands you something to fix. If the answer is serious, deal with it first: a customer with an open complaint is not one to be quoting.
Results
What has changed since we started working together?
Why ask it
The center of the testimonial. Let them answer in whatever terms come first, money or time or peace of mind, and then ask for a figure or an example to pin it down. A worrying answer is one that describes your effort ('you worked so hard') and no change on their side.
Can you put a number on it, such as hours saved, revenue or new customers?
Why ask it
A figure is the part of a testimonial a reader can repeat to someone else, so it is worth one direct ask. Take whatever unit the customer already tracks: a tutor's client will say grades, a shop owner orders. If they cannot give a number, do not suggest one: ask for a before-and-after example.
Where does that figure come from, and what period does it cover?
Why ask it
Ask it kindly, as someone who wants to quote them correctly. 'Sales up 40 percent' means little without 'in the six months after launch, compared with the six before'. Keep the source and the dates with the quote in your records, in case anyone asks later.
How soon did you notice the first difference?
Why ask it
Prospects want to know how long they will wait, so quote the time as this customer's experience and not as a promise, with the word 'about' if that is how they said it. Then ask what the first sign was, since 'the first booking from the new site' is easier to picture than 'week six'. A slow start followed by a clear result is still a good story.
What can you do now that you could not do before?
Why ask it
For results that are not numbers. Taking a weekend off, running a meeting in English, saying yes to a bigger order: these are concrete, and they often end up as the headline. Ask for the most recent time they did it.
Where do you think you would be now if you had not done this?
Why ask it
It asks the customer to picture the other road, and the answer is often the most quotable line of the session: 'still doing the books at midnight'. It is a guess, so print it as their opinion in their words and never as a result. Skip it where the honest answer could be grim, such as a health or debt matter.
Which result mattered most to you personally?
Why ask it
The business result and the personal one are often different, and the personal one is more quotable. A finance lead may report cost savings and care most about closing the month without working late. Ask about both, and let the customer decide which they are happy to see in print.
Was there a result you did not see coming?
Why ask it
Side effects make good material because no sales page promised them: staff who stopped complaining, a child who started reading for fun. Make sure it is plausibly connected to your work before you publish it as an outcome.
Is that a typical month now, or was it your best one?
Why ask it
It keeps a peak from being printed as the norm. If it was the best month, say so in the quote or use the average. Rules about earnings, health and 'typical results' claims differ by country and industry, so find out what applies to yours before a figure goes in an ad.
What have other people noticed, such as your team, your customers or your family?
Why ask it
A second-hand observation is evidence the change is visible from outside. 'My accountant asked what we had done differently' is hard to beat. Quote it as the customer's report of what was said, and do not name the third person without asking them.
Recommend
Would you recommend us, and what would you say?
Why ask it
Ask them to say it as they would to a friend, and take down the exact sentence. That informal version is usually better than anything written for the occasion. A pause, or a 'yes, but', means there is something to hear first, so ask what the 'but' is.
Who would get the most out of this?
Why ask it
The answer names your audience in a customer's words: 'any clinic with more than two front-desk staff', 'someone who has tried to learn alone and stalled'. Readers who match the description pay attention. It is also a check on who you think you are selling to.
Who is it not right for?
Why ask it
A testimonial that says who should look elsewhere reads as honest, and it spares you customers who would have been unhappy. If the customer names a group you do want to serve, ask what would have to change for them.
What would you say to someone who is unsure whether it is worth the money?
Why ask it
Price is a hesitation most sellers hear, so a customer answering it directly belongs next to your pricing. Good answers compare the cost with something: the hours saved, the price of the mistake avoided. Do not publish what they paid unless they offer it and your prices are public.
What would you tell someone who is where you were a year ago?
Why ask it
It invites advice instead of praise, which people give more naturally and readers take more willingly. Change the time span to match how long they have been a customer. On video this is often the closing line.
If you had to sum it up in one sentence, what would you say?
Why ask it
This gives you the pull quote: the short line for a homepage, a slide or the top of a case study. Ask it late, when they have already talked through the details and the summary has something to draw on. If the first try is long, say 'and shorter?' and smile.
What three words would you use to describe us?
Why ask it
Quick to answer on a form and handy for a graphic. The words also show whether customers see you the way you describe yourself. Expect an adjective or two that every business gets, such as professional or friendly, and ask what made them pick the less usual one.
On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend us, and why that number?
Why ask it
Suited to a form or an email, where it sorts the replies for you. The people who answer nine or ten are the ones to ask for a full testimonial. Read the reasons from the sixes and sevens just as closely, and do not ask those customers for a public quote yet.
Video and case study
May I record our conversation, so that I quote you accurately?
Why ask it
Ask before anything else, and again once the recording has started, so their yes is on the recording too. Say who will see or hear it and whether the recording itself will be published or only used for notes. Whether everyone on a call has to agree to being recorded depends on where each of you is, so check that for your place and theirs.
Could you introduce yourself: your name, what you do and who you do it for?
Why ask it
The standard opener on camera, and a warm-up that nobody gets wrong. It gives the editor a clip for the caption, and it lets the speaker hear their own voice before the real questions. Record it even if you expect to use a text caption instead.
Would you answer in full sentences and include my question in your reply?
Why ask it
Your voice will be cut from the finished video, so 'about six weeks' means nothing alone, where 'we saw the first results in about six weeks' can be used anywhere. Explain this before you start, give one example, and remind them gently when they forget.
Can you tell me the whole story, from the day you got in touch?
Why ask it
A long, uninterrupted answer gives an editor more natural material than ten short ones. Stay quiet, nod, and note the points you want to return to. For a written case study this is the spine: problem, choice, work, result, in the order they lived it.
How did it feel when you saw that result?
Why ask it
On camera the feeling carries further than the figure, and this is the question that gets it. Ask where they were and who they told first, which turns 'relieved' into a small scene. If they answer with another number, let it go: some people are not going to show much on video, and pushing shows too.
What did the project look like from your side: who was involved and how long did it take?
Why ask it
Case studies need facts that a short quote leaves out. Collect the timeline, the team size, the tools and the starting point, and check each one with the customer in writing afterwards. Spoken dates and figures are often slightly off.
Is there anything we could show alongside your words, such as a chart, a photo or a before and after?
Why ask it
Evidence a viewer can see does more than a second paragraph of praise. Ask who owns the image or the data and whether anything in it is confidential, such as other people's names in a screenshot. Have them send it to you instead of capturing it yourself.
Is there someone else on your team we should hear from?
Why ask it
The person who signed off and the person who works with it every day tell different halves of the story, and a case study is stronger with both. Let your contact make the introduction. A colleague approached cold may wonder whether they are allowed to speak.
Would you like another go at any of those answers?
Why ask it
People relax when they know a stumble is not final, and the second take is nearly always shorter and clearer. Offer it once at the end and once after any answer they visibly disliked. Past two or three takes the answer starts to sound recited.
Is there anything you wanted to say that I did not ask about?
Why ask it
Leave the recording running. Customers often save their best line for this, because it is the thing they came prepared to say. On a written form, make it an optional open box at the bottom.
Permission
May we publish this, and where would you be comfortable seeing it?
Why ask it
List the places one by one, such as your website, social media, paid ads and sales proposals, and let them agree to each. Plenty of customers are glad to be on your site and would not want their face in a paid ad. Get the answer in writing and keep it. What form consent has to take differs by country and by industry, so check what applies where you operate.
How would you like to be named: full name, first name and initial, or anonymous?
Why ask it
A full name with a role and a company is the most convincing, and it is entirely the customer's call. Offer the lesser options without making them ask. For anything sensitive, such as health, money, legal trouble or a child, suggest first name only yourself.
May we use your company name, job title and logo?
Why ask it
Someone who can agree for themselves often cannot agree for their employer. Many companies route this through marketing, communications or legal, and a logo usually has its own rules. Ask who would need to approve it, and let your contact take it to them.
Could we use a photo of you, and would you rather choose it?
Why ask it
A face makes a quote look real, and people care a great deal about which face. Let them send the picture. If a photographer took it, ask whether they have the right to pass it on, since that depends on their agreement with the photographer.
Are you happy for us to shorten or tidy your words if we send you the final version first?
Why ask it
Nearly every testimonial is trimmed, and saying so beforehand removes any surprise. The promise to send it back is the important half, so keep it every time. If they ask to rewrite it themselves, accept: a slightly stiff quote they stand behind is better than a lively one they regret.
Is there anything you told me that you would rather we left out?
Why ask it
People say more in conversation than they want in print: a figure their boss has not seen, a jab at a former supplier, a detail about a client of their own. Asking outright costs you a line or two and earns the trust that gets you the next testimonial.
Is there anything readers should know about our connection, such as a discount, a free product or a friendship?
Why ask it
If the customer got something in return, or knows you personally, readers may need to be told. Disclosure rules for endorsements vary by country and platform. Find out what yours require before you offer any thank-you for a testimonial.
Would you be willing to talk to a prospective customer who asks for a reference?
Why ask it
A reference call is a bigger favor than a quote, so ask it separately and make no the easy answer. Agree a limit, such as one call a quarter, and ask again each time before you pass on their details. Some customers who cannot be named in public are glad to do this privately.
If things change for you, how would you like us to handle taking it down or updating it?
Why ask it
People leave jobs, companies get bought and opinions shift. Say plainly that they can ask for it to be removed and tell them who to write to. Put a date on the testimonial in your own records so you can check in after a year or two.
How to ask for a testimonial and edit it fairly
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
When and how to ask
Ask close to the result
The best time is soon after the customer has seen something work: the first report that came out right, the finished kitchen, the exam passed. The details are fresh and the goodwill is high. Asking at sign-up gets enthusiasm with nothing behind it, and asking a year later gets 'it was good, I think'. For ongoing work, pick a milestone, such as the end of the first quarter, and ask then.
Ask the happy ones, one at a time
A message sent to the whole customer list is easy to ignore, and the replies it does get tend to be generic. Choose people who have already said something kind, in an email, a review or a call, and write to each by name, mentioning what they said. If a customer has an open complaint, fix that first and leave the request for later.
Pick the channel that suits the customer
A form or an email with four or five questions is the least work for them and gets short, tidy answers. A fifteen-minute call, recorded with their agreement, gets stories and exact phrases, and you do the writing. Video asks the most of them, so offer it to people who are comfortable talking and give them the questions beforehand.
Send a few questions, not the list
Nobody fills in a form this long. For a written request five are enough: what was going on before, what almost stopped them, what has changed since, what they would say to someone considering you, and where you may publish it. On a call you can cover ten to twelve in a quarter of an hour. Tell them how long it will take before they agree, and stick to it.
Make no an easy answer
Some customers are happy and still cannot be quoted, because of an employer's policy, a private matter or plain shyness. Say in the request that it is fine to decline, and offer smaller options: an anonymous quote, a private reference call with a prospect, or a review on a site they already use. Review sites set their own rules about asking for reviews, so read them first.
Getting specific answers
Ask for the story, then the detail
Start each topic with an open question and follow with a narrow one: 'What changed?' and then 'How many hours is that a week?' The first gives you their words and the second gives you the fact that makes the words believable.
Do not put words in their mouth
'Would you say we saved you a lot of time?' gets a yes, and the sentence that ends up on your site was written by you. Ask what happened, and if the answer is thin, ask for an example. A quote the customer would not recognize as their own misleads the reader and is unfair to the customer.
Record, with permission, and transcribe
Ask before you press record and say what the recording is for. Rules about recording calls differ from place to place, so find out what applies where you and the customer are. A transcript lets you quote exactly and saves you from rebuilding a sentence from memory in your own style.
On video, set them up to do well
Send the questions a few days ahead and tell them not to script their answers. Sit them facing a window, put the camera at eye level and record somewhere quiet. Have them look at you and not the lens, and keep recording between questions, because the relaxed remark after an answer is often the clip you use.
Write the draft for them if they prefer
Busy customers often say 'just write something and I will approve it'. Base the draft only on things they have said or written to you, keep their vocabulary, and send it as a draft they are free to change. Do not publish it until they have replied.
Editing without changing the meaning
Cut, do not rewrite
Editing a testimonial means choosing which of the customer's sentences to keep. Remove the ums, the repeats and the tangents, and fix spelling and obvious slips. Leave their word choices alone, even where yours would be smoother: the slightly odd phrase is what makes it sound like a person.
Keep sentences in their context
Do not join the first half of one sentence to the second half of another to make a stronger claim, and do not drop a qualifier that changes the sense. If the customer said 'after a slow first two months, leads doubled', the short version is 'leads doubled by month three' and not 'leads doubled right away'.
Carry the conditions with the number
A figure travels with its period, its starting point and its source. If you shorten the quote, shorten the words around the number and keep those three. Where a result was unusually good, say so near the quote or choose a more ordinary one.
Short for the page, long for the case study
One or two sentences suit a homepage or a sales page, with the result first. A paragraph of four or five sentences can carry the before, the doubt and the result. A case study has room for the whole account, with the customer's quotes set inside your description of what was done. Make all of them from the same approved text.
Send the final version back
Show the customer exactly what will appear, including the name, title and photo beside it, and wait for a clear yes. If you later want a different excerpt or a new place to show it, ask again. It takes one short email, and it is what makes them willing next time.
Permission and keeping it honest
Get consent in writing and file it
Keep the customer's approval, the approved wording, the date and the places they agreed to in one folder. What counts as valid consent, and how long you may rely on it, depends on the country and sometimes the industry, so ask a lawyer or your trade association how it works where you operate.
Check the rules of your own field first
Some professions and platforms limit testimonials or do not allow them. Health care, law and financial services are common examples, and the rules vary by place and by regulator. If you are licensed or regulated, ask your regulator or professional body before you collect any.
Be open about thank-yous
A gift or discount offered in exchange for a testimonial changes what it is, and some places require that to be disclosed. The simplest course is to ask without offering anything and to thank people afterwards. If you do offer something, find out what disclosure is required where the testimonial will be shown.
Never invent or borrow one
A made-up quote, a real quote under a made-up name, and a stock photo beside a real customer's words all deceive the reader, and may break advertising rules as well. If you have no testimonials yet, say less and ask your first few customers.
Review them once a year
Check that the person still holds the job title shown, that the figures are still fair and that they are still a customer or left on good terms. Take down anything a customer asks you to, promptly and without argument.