(Photo by studio tdes)

To build your social credibility, you’ll need to interview your customers for testimonials. But how do you do that?

First, consider letting someone other than you do it. As a business owner, you’re naturally passionate about your business and therefore naturally defensive of criticism. Someone not in leadership will likely to better ask questions dispassionately and record responses accurately.

Second, since testimonials generally convey the emotional experience of working together, it’s important to create mini-case studies about the work – not simply “How wonderful was it working with us?“. Get the details:

• Their demographic information
• What have they tried?
• What worked?
• Why did they come to you?
• How did they find you?
• How long have they been with you? What’s worked? What hasn’t?
• Who would they recommend your programs to? Why? Have they?

Finally, feature these mini-case studies throughout the year in all your marketing. See which case study works best for different types of clients, and continue to fine-tune your social credibility.