Testimonials and Portfolios

As a business owner you want to be able to display your work and reflect to your clients your area of expertise and the work that you do so well. The use of testimonials and a portfolio for you and/or your business are excellent ways to accomplish this. Sharing with others some of your past work and some of your achievements can certainly be good business when done well. You never want to brag, of course, however anyone interested in doing business with you will want to have some reassurances that you really are good at what you do and that you have had many satisfied customers over the length of your business.

One way to promote the quality of your business is through testimonials. Testimonials can reveal quite a lot about your business. Satisfied customers are likely to praise your business. They may speak of how excellent the customer service provided was including the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff. If prospective customers read that your business works well with customers and provides kind and courteous customer care, they are more likely to consider doing business with you.

Customers who offer testimonial may also discuss how satisfied they were with your products and services. They may say that they would or will do business with you in the future. Testimonials may show that your business provides top quality products and services that truly do benefit people.

You can gather testimonials rather easily. When you have a customer who is extremely satisfied with the products or services your business provided, ask if they would be willing to write a testimonial for your business. They can write why they were very satisfied and why they would do business with you again. You can place some testimonials on your website. In addition you could add them to marketing brochures and other marketing materials that you may be distributing.

Testimonials can be an excellent tool used to promote your business. They allow potential customers to learn more about the quality of your products and services from previous and current satisfied customers. Great comments about your business will often mean more to a potential customer when they come from other customers rather than from you yourself. In fact, people often ask others for input on a particular business as a way to learn how reputable a business is and the level of quality products and services provided by that business.

Potential clients can also learn a good deal about your business by viewing your portfolio. The portfolio truly can be a great marketing key because it provides an opportunity for others to view your work. Your portfolio will include your best work and be a great display of your talents and/or the talents of your entire business staff. Potential clients often ask to see a portfolio in many industries. For example, if you build websites they may ask to see a portfolio of some the websites you have already designed.

Build a portfolio so that individuals can see your talents and skills without you having to tell them. You can include links to your work if you provide online services, pictures of your work, etc. Include your best work in your portfolio. Also make sure your portfolio reveals a variety of work completed by you/your business. This will show prospects the range of products you can complete and will provide a sample of the quality of work.

Your portfolio can be posted on your website. Make it accessible to anyone who visits your site. You may also consider creating a marketing kit for your business. If you do use or plan to use a marketing kit, you can include your company's portfolio. Anyone viewing the marketing package will be able to learn more about the business and see samples of your work. They can then gather a better idea about the products and services offered and if those products and services can benefit them.

Never underestimate the impact testimonials and portfolios can have on you or your company's success. They offer prospective clients a preview of your business. Testimonials can reflect that others are satisfied and loyal customers. Portfolios provide the opportunity for anyone interested in your products or services to see some of your previous work and to evaluate the quality and talent of that work.