How to get right a customer testimonial video

It is the most convincing video a small company can produce: a client who looks like your prospects, explaining why they chose you. It is also the easiest to get wrong, and almost always for the same reasons.

Which client should you choose for a testimonial?

The natural reflex: ask your biggest client. The right criterion: ask the client your prospects will recognise themselves in. A testimonial works through identification. If your target is a fifty-person industrial company, a large corporate testimonial will impress them without convincing them: “that is not for companies like us”.

Should you prepare a script for the client?

A client reciting sounds false by the second sentence, and everyone feels it. The work happens beforehand: a preparatory conversation to identify what they genuinely have to say, then on the day, open questions and the time to let the answers come. The best lines in a testimonial are never the ones you planned.

The questions that work: what made up your mind? What worried you before starting? What actually changed? What would you say to someone who is hesitating? They are questions about their story, not about your product.

How do you put a client at ease on camera?

The client giving the testimonial is not an actor, and a camera intimidates everybody. A good testimonial shoot looks like a conversation: little visible equipment, no intimidating set, and someone opposite who is genuinely listening. The first few minutes serve no purpose other than making the camera disappear, and that is time well spent.

What ruins a customer testimonial video?

The river testimonial: eight minutes of compliments. Nobody will watch them. A testimonial runs one to two minutes; the rest lives very well as written quotes.
Praise with no story: “they are very professional” convinces nobody. What convinces: the problem before, the hesitation, the turning point, the result.
Sign-off by the client's comms department: plan the approval chain from the start. A testimonial stuck for six months in legal review is no use to anyone.

What if no client dares go on camera?

It happens often, and it is not a blocker. Start with written quotes with a name and a job title, offer the video only to the client most at ease, and keep the others for later: a first successful testimonial often makes the next ones want in. To work out whether it is the right format for you today, there is an article on where to start.

How does a testimonial shoot actually run?

To demystify the exercise for your client, here is the typical run we apply. A phone conversation beforehand, with no camera: we identify their story, their own words, and answer their worries (no, they will not have lines to learn; yes, anything they dislike will be cut). On the day, a light setup at their offices or yours, in a place familiar to them. Twenty to thirty minutes of filmed conversation, of which one to two minutes will be kept. Then they approve the edit before anything goes out: that is not negotiable, and saying so from the start removes half the reluctance.

That run has a practical consequence for you: the only real burden on the client is one hour of their time. Present it that way when you ask, and offer them a specific date rather than a vague “some time soon”.

What do you do with the testimonial once it exists?

The most common mistake: publishing it once on LinkedIn, then forgetting it. A good testimonial works everywhere and for a long time: on the page of your website where prospects hesitate (pricing page, offer page), inside your sales proposals, attached to a follow-up email, as a short cut on social media, and in meetings when the objection it addresses comes up in conversation.

That is also why a testimonial is designed with its variants from the shoot onwards: the long version for the website, a short vertical version for social media, and a few written quotes pulled from the transcript. One shoot, three uses. It is exactly the logic of cutting down into short formats that we apply to all long content.

Video testimonial, written quote or written case study?

The three formats complement each other more than they compete. The written quote is immediate and fits anywhere, but it is skim-read and reassures moderately. The written case study details the how and speaks to analytical buyers who compare seriously. The video testimonial does what writing never will: you see a face, you hear a tone, you feel it is true. It is the anti-scepticism format. That is no small thing in a B2B sales cycle: according to Brightcove, 96% of B2B buyers consider video important when choosing a supplier.

The right combination for a small company: written quotes everywhere the eye lands, one or two case studies for advanced prospects, and a video testimonial for the moment trust is decided. One satisfied client can feed all three at once, and that is the best possible use of an hour of their time.

Frequently asked questions about customer testimonial video

How long should a customer testimonial video be?

One to two minutes. An eight-minute river of compliments will be watched by nobody; the rest of the material lives very well as written quotes. The shoot itself is twenty to thirty minutes of filmed conversation, of which one to two minutes are kept.

Should you write a script for the client giving the testimonial?

No, never. A client reciting sounds false by the second sentence and everyone feels it. The work happens beforehand, in a preparatory conversation to identify what they genuinely have to say, then on the day with open questions. The best lines in a testimonial are never the ones you planned.

What questions should you ask a client on camera?

Four questions work: what made up your mind? What worried you before starting? What actually changed? What would you say to someone who is hesitating? They are questions about their story, not about your product.

How much of a client's time does a testimonial take?

One hour of their time in total. A phone conversation beforehand with no camera, then twenty to thirty minutes of filmed conversation on the day. Present it that way when you ask, and propose a specific date rather than a vague “some time soon”.

Does the client approve the edit before it goes out?

Yes, and it is not negotiable. Saying so from the start removes half the reluctance: they know anything they dislike will be cut.

Should you choose your biggest client for a testimonial?

No. The right criterion is the client your prospects will recognise themselves in, not the most prestigious one. A testimonial works through identification: if your target is a fifty-person industrial company, a large corporate testimonial will impress them without convincing them.

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