People don`t like to make mistakes when they buy products and services. They are particularly concerned if they`re looking for services online from a company they`ve never seen or worked with before.

You can help alleviate your customer`s concerns about acquiring services from you (on the web or off) by including legitimate testimonials from satisfied customers on your website and in other marketing materials.

If you provide traditional services to a pretty traditional market, don`t go overboard with testimonials. You don`t need dozens and dozens of testimonials saying how wonderful your company is. A few carefully chosen testimonials from happy customers stating specific services you have provided will provide credibility that can help turn lookers into customers.

How do you get those testimonials?

The answer is simple: ask. Anytime a customer sends you an email praising your service, your customer service, or anything that other customers may be looking for, ask them if you can use their comments in your marketing materials. Call customers who use you regularly and ask them if they`ll give you a testimonial, too. If they tell you they don`t know what to say, ask them to talk about some solution you`ve solved for them. Discuss these topics in the forums click here.