Just as 81% of online consumers do online research before making a purchase, organizations looking for partners should do the same (I know that we do – and we also Google all prospective employees, and here’s a tip: if we can’t find a trace of you with Google, we’re not going to hire you).

In the past, firms would have solicited and printed testimonial letters from their customers in order to prove their abilities and worthiness to prospective clients. But writing testimonials takes time, and while we’ve gathered a number of them, I always feel bad about bugging my busy clients to take time out of their day to write something pithy so we can get more clients. There’s also always the spectre of the client asking you to write the testimonial letter yourself, which I have always found awkward (it’s also very unsatisfying).

Instead, what I’d rather see is the spontaneous expression of happiness with our work from a trusted partner.

This tweet was from Scott Monty, Ford’s head of Social Media, and he sent it while we were on a conference call yesterday morning, delivering some very interesting insights to him and the Ford Digital Marketing team.

Thanks, Scott – it’s the testimonial 2.0 – and Google likes it, too!