In promotion and advertising, a testimonial consists of a written or spoken statement from a person commending the virtue of a service or product. Some people collect testimonials as a matter of course, whilst others just hope they’ll receive them as a gesture of goodwill from a happy customer… The latter, of course, is a very inefficient way to collect positive feedback.
Your business should be made up of happy 
consumers – you wouldn’t existist without your consumers, and you must remember that in everything you do. Remember to acknowledge any recommendations you do receive, and when you do have an obviously delighted consumer, take the opportunity to ask them for a testimonial, particularly if you don’t have any systems in place for collecting this type of thing.
Business and marketing are increasingly competitive and it’s harder to sell for several reasons: there’s more competition, there are those who are just after a quick job, those who will do your job for next to nothing, and of course, consumers are making more time to price shop because they have less disposable cash than they did before the recession. Therefore, you must communicate why you are better or different to your competitors, you must show that you are a genuine company who cares about satisfaction and results, and more importantly, you must offer them value – whether your offer them a maintenance plan or advice, or value for money! Testimonials are a great form of promotion because it’s not you talking yourself up, but happy consumers prepared to share their experience.
Testimonials offer a potential consumer an insight into your service and what they might expect. Not only that, but they have other uses too; if you’re a local company that has a limited geographical audience, you can use them on your website or blog to help your search engine optimisation. How? You must, of course, detail the town that the customer is based after their testimonial, as the areas are likely to be keywords that other potential consumers use. 
If you add your testimonials to your site as you receive them, you should be updating your site regularly, which Search Engines love, and your consumers should be able to identify with your existing audience. Consumers might even come across a name or company they know – and in this case, testimonials are absolutely priceless!
In conclusion, a business should implement a system for collecting feedback, and an easy way to do this is to include a feedback form with a thank you note. There is nothing like receiving good feedback for your service or product – it can be motivating as well as valuable. Always acknowledge the consumers that do take the time to fill out your feedback forms and make it as easy as possible for them to do what you want them to do (i.e. including a return stamp addressed envelope). By implementing this sort of system, your consumer will feel valued and hopefully they’ll be more than happy to spread the good word of your product or service.
Remember that automation and flexibility will increase your small business efficiency and, in-turn, make your life much easier!
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delivery delays and of course, incoming bills, on top of their usual problems!
you require an 