If you've got great testimonials but they're scattered across emails, spreadsheets, or random Slack threads, you're not alone. Most folks want to show off customer love but end up losing track of testimonials or, worse, never using them at all. This guide is for anyone who wants to make Senja and their CRM actually work together—so testimonials get collected, sorted, and put to use with minimal fuss.
No fluff, just steps that work (and a few things to skip).
Why Bother Connecting Senja to Your CRM?
- No more manual copy-paste: Let forms, tags, and automations do the boring work.
- Testimonials where you need them: Pull them up right inside your sales or marketing tools, not buried in some folder.
- Faster feedback loop: Share fresh testimonials instead of dusting off ones from two years ago.
But let's be real: No tool or integration is perfect. You’ll need to spend a bit of time upfront, and sometimes APIs or zaps misfire. Still, it's worth it if you're tired of chasing down quotes or want your team to actually use testimonials.
Step 1: Get Your Senja Account Set Up
Before you can connect anything, you'll need to have a Senja account—ideally on a paid plan, since most integrations or API access aren't included on free tiers.
- Sign up at Senja and set up your workspace.
- Create a testimonial collection form. Make it easy for customers—short, clear, and to the point.
- Test your form. Submit a fake testimonial to see what shows up in your Senja dashboard.
- Bonus: Add custom fields if you want to track things like product used, NPS score, or user type.
Pro tip: Don’t overcomplicate the form. The longer it is, the fewer testimonials you'll get.
Step 2: Pick Your CRM (and Know Its Limits)
Not all CRMs are created equal. Some, like HubSpot and Salesforce, have robust APIs and lots of integration options. Others, like Pipedrive or Zoho, might need more DIY work. Here’s what you need to check:
- Does your CRM have an API, or at least Zapier/Make integration support?
- Can you create custom fields or objects (for storing testimonials)?
- Are you allowed to use webhooks or connect third-party apps on your current plan?
What doesn’t work: If your CRM is old-school and only takes CSV uploads, you’ll be doing a lot of manual work. You can still use Senja, but the integration won’t be “seamless.”
Step 3: Decide How You Want to Sync Data
There are basically three ways to connect Senja to your CRM:
- Native integrations (rare, but check if Senja supports yours)
- Zapier/Make (Integromat) automations (most common)
- Custom API scripts (if you have dev resources)
What Actually Works (and What to Ignore)
- Native integrations: If Senja offers a built-in integration for your CRM, use it. It's usually the least painful.
- Zapier/Make: Works with most popular CRMs. You’ll need accounts with these services, but the setup is point-and-click.
- Custom code: Only worth it if you have very specific needs or a technical team.
Ignore: Fancy multi-step automations unless you’ve got a real use case. Start simple—collect testimonial data, push it to the CRM, done.
Step 4: Set Up the Integration (Most Folks Use Zapier)
Here’s a straightforward example using Zapier, since that's what most people use (but the steps are similar in Make):
1. Trigger: New Testimonial in Senja
- In Zapier, set up the trigger: “New Testimonial Received in Senja.”
- Connect your Senja account. You’ll need an API key from your Senja dashboard.
- Test the trigger with a sample testimonial.
2. Action: Create or Update a Record in Your CRM
- Pick your CRM as the action app.
- Choose “Create Record,” “Create Note,” or whatever matches your CRM's data model.
- Map the testimonial fields (name, quote, rating, etc.) to the right spots in your CRM.
- Optionally, tag or categorize testimonials (e.g. “Product A” or “VIP customer”).
3. Test the Zap
- Run the Zap and check your CRM. Is the testimonial showing up where you want it?
- Fix any mapping mistakes (wrong fields, missing data, etc.).
4. Turn the Zap On
- Make sure it’s switched on and runs automatically for new testimonials.
Pro tip: Set up a second Zap to notify you (or your team) in Slack or email when a new testimonial arrives. That way, nothing falls through the cracks.
Step 5: Organize Testimonials Inside Your CRM
Getting testimonials into your CRM is only half the battle. If they’re dumped into a generic note field, nobody will ever use them.
- Create a dedicated “Testimonials” object or custom field if your CRM allows.
- Link testimonials to contacts, deals, or companies so your sales or success team can find them fast.
- Use tags or categories (e.g. product line, customer type, use case) to make searching easier.
What to skip: Don’t try to sync every field from Senja. Focus on the essentials—text, author, date, rating, maybe a link to the original.
Step 6: Put Testimonials to Work
You didn’t do all this just to have a pretty dashboard. Here’s how to actually use those testimonials:
- Sales enablement: Attach relevant testimonials to deals or contacts so reps can drop them into emails or demos.
- Marketing: Pull testimonials into your website, newsletters, or ad campaigns.
- Customer success: See which customers are raving fans, and who might be willing to do a case study or referral.
Some CRMs let you automate this—like showing testimonials on a customer’s profile page, or auto-inserting quotes into proposal templates.
Pro tip: Don’t hoard testimonials. Share the best ones with your team regularly, so everyone remembers why your product matters.
What If You Hit a Wall?
Let’s be honest—sometimes integrations just don’t work as advertised.
Common issues: - API changes: Senja or your CRM updates something and your Zap breaks. - Missing fields: Not every testimonial maps perfectly. Sometimes you’ll need to tweak your process. - Duplicates: If you sync the same testimonial more than once, you’ll need a way to deduplicate.
What to do: - Double-check your Zapier/Make logs. - Reach out to Senja or CRM support (sometimes it’s a known bug). - Don’t be afraid to use a manual import until you figure out the hiccup.
Keep It Simple—And Iterate
Here’s the thing: You don’t need a perfect, automated pipeline on day one. Start by getting testimonials out of inbox purgatory and into your CRM, even if it’s just the basics.
Once that’s working, add bells and whistles—like notifications, custom fields, or smart tagging. The goal is to make testimonials easy to find and use, not to impress anyone with a complicated setup.
If you run into trouble, strip things back. A clunky system you actually use beats a fancy system nobody touches.
Now, go collect some love from your customers—and make sure your team actually sees it.