How To Get The Best Customer Testimonial Videos
Customer testimonial videos are a powerful tool for marketers–when they are done well. Today’s consumers are more likely to make purchasing decisions based on recommendations from their peers and sales that result from a referral are often larger sales than ones that result from other sales activities. Testimonials are the next best thing to a personal referral, but not all marketers know how to create effective and compelling testimonials.
Testimonials operate as a powerful source of social proof, which is especially important for newer or smaller companies who lack large scale brand recognition. Sites that feature testimonials see an 18% increase in sales and a 63% increase in likelihood of purchasing for all site visitors. Consumers are putting more thought into purchasing decisions and do more research before deciding to buy a product or service. Customer testimonials can serve a variety of sales and marketing functions, but the first step is creating impactful testimonials that can help get results.
Choose the Right People
To make a great customer testimonial video, you first need to select the right people. There are a few factors to check when identifying the customers best suited to a testimonial. Satisfied customers are the best brand ambassadors for your company. Customers that regularly use and understand your products and can speak positively about your company should be the first people to ask for testimonials.
You can base your selection on a number of criteria to identify the best people: Repeat customers who have made the highest number of purchases are likely to agree to provide a testimonial. Top customers who have spent more on your site than others are another good source for reviews. Loyal customers that have long-term relationships with your company and products can provide honest and powerful testimonials. Find customers that have already provided positive feedback or made it clear that they use your product or service and have had a good experience.
For newer companies, talk to your very first customers and people that have been loyal to your products. Startups that are looking for investors and funding may not have a large customer base but finding industry advisors who are knowledgeable about the market can be a great tool for early-stage companies.
Ask the Right Questions and Get the Details
Studies have shown that customers will spend 31% more with businesses that have positive client or customer testimonials versus companies that don’t. Creating an effective testimonial requires more than selecting the right person—you want your testimonials to be honest and powerful.
An effective testimonial is not only a tool for social proof, it also serves as a review of your product or service. Asking the right questions can help get the answers you want and guide the overall testimonial video without sacrificing any authenticity.
Come up with a list of questions that will get you honest and impactful answers. A few examples: Ask customers what problem they had before they purchased your product or service. What did they like best about the product or service? What are the top 3 benefits they experienced from the product or service? How would they recommend the product or service to someone who was uncertain? What was their main concern about the product / service and what convinced them? If your best friend asked about the product, what would you tell them?
Asking good questions gets the conversation rolling, but generalizations and vague responses aren’t as effective for providing social proof or creating a compelling testimonial video. Getting specific answers not only provides more information about your product or service, it also keeps the content genuine. Ask customers to speak about a recent purchase or experience. Specific responses will help reinforce real experiences and go a long way towards answering questions or allaying concerns potential customers may have.
Keep it Real
The most powerful testimonials are authentic and help build trust and validate your company to potential customers. Customer experience is a popular marketing buzzword as more companies are beginning to pay close attention to the overall journey potential customers go through before making a purchase. Authenticity is paramount for consumers and is particularly important when it comes to testimonial videos. 85% of customers trust local online reviews just as much as personal recommendations according to a 2017 survey.
Videos that appeal to emotions are incredibly effective and are some of the most widely shared forms of advertising. While most customer testimonials are unlikely to go viral, appealing to emotion is another way to validate a company. Find customers that have a great story to tell about your product—how did it change or improve their day-to-day life? Passionate recommendations with lots of personality can help provide social proof and drive sales at the same time.
Using honest and genuine content is the basis for great testimonial videos, but don’t be afraid to clean up the content or edit. Providing your customers with questions or an outline for the testimonial can help get the responses you want and minimize the amount of work customers feel like they must do. Set expectations for what you want from your testimonials—are you looking for longer stories or soundbites? If a customer has interacted with you personally and provided feedback, use that as the basis of the testimonial.
Customer testimonial videos are a great way to build trust in a company with the added benefit of boosting conversions and driving sales. Creating a good customer testimonial video involves some thought and planning. Figure out who you want to feature, whether that’s your top buyers or customers who have been with you the longest. Ask questions that are the most likely to have genuine and specific responses. Be as authentic as possible while still presenting a polished asset. Make it easy for your subjects to provide answers by setting expectations and helping them craft their story. With a little planning, creating the best customer testimonial videos is a fun and effective way to build social proof, engage with current customers, and reach potential customers.
Have you ever been influenced by a good customer testimonial video? What are some ways your business might include customer testimonial videos into marketing strategy? Share your ideas below!
