Proven at home, unknown abroad
Testimonials When Entering a New Country
At home you have years of happy customers. In the new country you have none, and buyers there want to hear from someone like them, not from a firm on another continent. The gap closes one early customer at a time. Pick the date your first local customer starts and get a dated plan below.
- Dated asks for your first local customers
- When home market proof still helps, and when to retire it
- A point to give the new market its own widget
The problem, solved
Starting from zero in a new country
You know how to collect testimonials. These are the parts that change when the market is new and the first customers are few.
Situation 1 of 5
Local buyers ignore our foreign testimonials
A glowing quote from a company they have never heard of, in a country they do not sell into, proves little to them.
How StoryProof solves it
Tag every testimonial by market, then choose the local ones for the widget on the new country's pages as soon as there is even one.
Situation 2 of 5
We only have three customers there
With so few accounts, each one matters, and asking them all on the same day wastes the chance to ask at their best moment.
How StoryProof solves it
Add each local customer as a contact the week they start, in a smart list for the market, so nobody is forgotten or asked twice.
Situation 3 of 5
They would answer better in their language
Early customers in a new market may be comfortable reading English and still give a flatter answer in it.
How StoryProof solves it
Collection forms come in several languages on every plan, so the form can match the market. Our languages page goes deeper.
Situation 4 of 5
Time zones make the follow up awkward
A reminder that lands at 3am local time is easy to miss and looks careless.
How StoryProof solves it
From Pro, the follow up automation sends two reminders and only sends inside the quiet hours you set.
Situation 5 of 5
Our homepage mixes every country together
A new market's single quote vanishes among dozens from home, so local visitors never see it.
How StoryProof solves it
Build a separate widget for the new market's pages. How many widgets you get depends on your plan.
Timeline
Your first year of local proof
Pick the date your first customer in the new country starts using you. The plan dates each ask and the point where local proof should take over.
Day 0
Tag the market from day one
Create a market tag and a contact list for the new country. Every local customer goes in the week they start.
Day +21
Ask the first customer about choosing you
Ask why they picked a company new to their country. That answer speaks directly to the next local buyer's doubt.
Day +45
Local proof on the market page
Put the first approved local testimonial on the new country's landing page, above any home market quotes.
Day +90
Ask about early results
Ask the first few customers what has changed since they started. Keep the question local: their team, their customers, their regulations.
Day +150
Review the mix
Count local versus home testimonials on the market's pages. Once local ones can fill the main widget, move home quotes lower or off.
Day +365
One year in the market
Ask your longest standing local customers for a fuller story, on video if they are willing. This is the proof that tells buyers you are staying.
Dates are calculated in your browser. Nothing is stored.
Home proof or local proof?
Home market testimonials are not useless abroad, they just do a different job.
In StoryProof
Run the market in StoryProof
- 1
Add local customers to their own list
Contacts and smart lists are on every plan. Keep the new market separate so its timing is its own.
- 2
Set the form language
Pick the language that fits the market from the ones available, and keep one link for text, audio and video.
- 3
Set quiet hours for the local time zone
From Pro, the follow ups respect the quiet hours you set, so reminders arrive in local working hours.
- 4
Approve, tag and place
Approve each local testimonial, give it the market tag, and choose it for the new market's widget.
What happens next: When you open the next country, copy the tag and list setup, and reuse the timeline with the new start date.
Before you start
Where the plan meets reality
No local customers means no local proof
Nothing on this page shortens the wait for real customers. Until then, be honest that you are new to the market.
Local rules on testimonials differ
Advertising and consumer rules on endorsements vary by country. Check the new market's rules with someone who knows them.
Translation is yours
The form can be in another language, but your request emails and any translated quotes are written by you.
Early customers may want privacy
In a small market, a named first customer is easy to approach for your competitors. Some will prefer role and industry attribution.
FAQ
Questions people ask
Short answers to what usually comes up next.
Should I show home market testimonials in the new country at all?
Yes, until local ones exist. Pick the home customers most like local buyers, and replace them as local testimonials arrive.
Should I translate a home testimonial for the new market?
If you do, say it is translated, and keep the meaning exact. Where you can, show the original alongside.
How early can I ask a new local customer?
Ask about why they chose you within the first few weeks; ask about results only once there are results to describe.
Is this the same as collecting in several languages?
No. Language is one part. This page is about sequencing and placing proof for one market where you are new.
Still have a question? Ask the StoryProof team or book a demo.
Build local proof from your first customer
Tag the market, ask at the right moment and give local testimonials their own widget.
Last updated 2026-11-11.