Don’t be afraid to ask your customers for references or testimonials – they can be one of the greatest sources of new business for you.

The trouble with the Internet is that there are millions of businesses and it's hard to distinguish them. Anyone can put up a website and turn themselves from a one-man, cowboy operation into a professional looking big company. Search Engine Optimisation is now a huge area – and the people at the top of searches are certainly not always the best at what they do. Even if you don’t use the internet to promote your business it’s still hard to get heard amongst the endless marketing messages out there.

Fortunately, we also live in an era where social proof and recommendations are big. People want to know before they buy that you will do what you say, or your product is as good as you say it is.

Chances are, you saying that just won’t be enough. Buying decisions, whether that’s as small as which is the best local gym or restaurant or as big as which of the major IT companies to use, are increasingly based on recommendations and testimonials. I have seen major procurement processes swung by references that were "great" rather than just "good".

So, what can you do in your business? Firstly, get into the habit of getting references and testimonials from customers as soon as they have used you. Don’t wait and don’t be afraid to ask – get a comment from everyone as soon as you can.

Get it in writing if possible but if not get it verbally and check with them that they are happy for you to write it down. Secondly, use the testimonials wherever and whenever you can. Put them in brochures, on websites, on presentations or even in shop windows. Make sure people know that they are genuine comments from your customers about your business. Thirdly, use these comments to drive your social media – after all, this is all about social "proof" of your business. Use this as a way to get positive recommendations about your business to a wider audience.

A few things to avoid:

• Never make up comments that you would have liked people to say or maybe they could have said. Some people do it, and it is lying – never build your business on lies.

• Don’t do reciprocal recommendations unless you really believe what you are saying (yes, that absolutely includes LinkedIn).

• Don’t dismiss a not so good testimonial as unimportant, make sure you learn from it. But make sure one bad review doesn’t put you off asking other people – this should be part of your on-going business model.

So, take action NOW – this week, ask 3 customers for a testimonial.