Ask a satisfied customer for a testimonial and they usually say yes. Then nothing arrives, because you handed them homework.
The timing decides everything
Ask within a few days of finishing, while the relief of a job well done is still fresh. A month later they are pleased with you in a general way, which does not produce a specific sentence.
The best moment is the one people miss: right after the customer says something nice unprompted. That is the sentence you want. Ask if you can use it.
Do not ask them to write
"Could you write us a testimonial" means a blank page and a task on their list. It never gets done.
Ask two questions instead:
- What was the situation before we started?
- What is different now?
People answer those easily, in speech, in about a minute. That answer is your testimonial.
Write it for them
Take what they said, tidy it slightly, send it back: "Would you be happy for us to use this, edited however you like?"
Approving something takes ten seconds. Writing something takes a week that never arrives.
Specific beats glowing
"Excellent service, highly recommended" persuades nobody, because every business has ten of those. "We were chasing payments for three weeks every month and now it takes an afternoon" persuades somebody with the same problem.
Numbers and situations do the work. Adjectives do not.
Get permission properly
Name, business, and where you plan to use it. A quick written yes avoids the awkward conversation later, and most people are pleased to be asked.
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