Getting customer testimonials can be awkward and even embarrassing. When asked directly by someone to say something nice about them, can you say no, even if you want to? And you don't want to put customers in a difficult position.

Here's a technique which produces results that will bowl you over (and not just the one from the happy customer who asked "You don't have a sister, do you?"). Set up a survey - using SurveyMonkey - we suggest two questions, both open-ended with large text boxes for the responders to write what they like. The first question could be  "how could we improve our service to you?" and the second "what do you like about doing business with us?"

I think people are genuinely flattered to be asked for their opinions, and enjoy the chance to push a supplier in a direction which benefits them. You may be quite taken aback at the warmth of the feedback you get, most of which you can use on your website, unattributed of course.