Nothing your marketing messages say is as powerful as what your customers can say about you.

Nielsen’s research indicates that 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family more than all other forms of marketing.

Oh yeah? How about 85% of fans of brands on Facebook recommend those brands to others.

Even more? 72% say reading positive customer reviews increase their trust in the business.

What does this mean for you? Next step in your marketing plan: aggressively communicate testimonials. The power of testimonials is undeniable, and in the era of over-saturated marketing, use your best tool.

How do you get reviews? For one, ask. And ask at the right time. Kathryn, a wedding planner at Embrace Bliss in Manhattan Beach, is featured on The Knot and Yelp, two websites that feature reviews (and drive most of the traffic to her site). The best time for her to get reviews? As soon as the honeymoon is over! Our client Regne Salon & Beauty Boutique asks for feedback in an automated email sent at completion of the services. It includes a simple survey (1-5 stars for 4 questions, and a free form text area) that not only captures the immediate reply, but also asks at the time the customer feels the best. Immediacy works in your favor.

Collect them first, but then use testimonials in your marketing: on your website, in your newsletter, on Facebook, in Tweets. Everywhere.

And you CAN edit the copy of testimonials. If someone writes 5 paragraphs, clip out the best couple of sentences. Punctuation, grammar or spelling errors? Fix ’em (especially your vs. you’re, there vs. they’re, please!).

One last thought: more is (probably) better. Site visitors are looking for their “twinsumer“. Think about it – when you read book reviews on Amazon or restaurant reviews on Yelp, aren’t you looking for the post written by someone who sounds like you? 5 stars but no description? No! 1 star and a horrific rambling rant? Yikes! I’m looking for the cerebral explanation of what went right or wrong. Having more candid feedback improves your odds of finding more customers to satisfy.

Your next step: ask yourself where can you ask for more feedback today?