Recently, I was looking to get some work done on my house. Google all you want, but reputation is the only reason people buy — or don’t buy — anything. Ever.

It doesn’t really matter what a company says about itself; it’s what the customers say about the company. And when customers have good things to say, that alone will sell to other customers.

The contractor that caught my eye had a customer letter posted on their website. As a business owner, I know if a client takes the time to write a glowing letter filled with specifics, the company has to deliver. This testimonial had details on the day-to-day expectations, the quality of work, and the timeline. A bit skeptical, I asked for another testimonial. This, too, was a glowing review of recent work the company had done. These former customers were very appreciative and it showed.

From testimonials, I learned this company over-delivered, going above and beyond what was expected. They even did things that didn’t make additional money: like cleaning up each evening and taking home their own garbage. One customer wrote that they even brought their garbage cans to the curb! They just thought it was important to do to keep their customers happy and writing rave reviews.

The competition I had considered also had testimonials, but they were one or two sentences with no details, consisting of “they did a good job” and “very professional,” with a five-star rating attached. Ultimately, I went with the company with testimonials that didn’t look like generic, eBay feedback.

That’s what potential customers are looking for: in-depth, non-canned, honest testimonials. Get that and your reputation will do the rest.