The customer is completely satisfied and has told you so on the phone more than once. In front of the camera everything changes. They sit stiffly, look into the lens and say, "The company is excellent and I recommend them to everyone." It's true, and nobody will believe it. A testimonial persuades when viewers hear a specific story from someone like them, and getting that takes different preparation from shooting an ad.
Which customer should you pick for a testimonial video?
Choose a customer who got a clear result they can describe and who resembles the customers you want to reach. The biggest name isn't always the best choice. A manager speaking in formal generalities is less convincing than a small shop owner describing what changed in their day.
Start with an ordinary phone call about their experience and listen to how they talk. If they tell the story with detail and some enthusiasm, they're a good candidate. Get their written consent to filming and publishing, including where it will be published, before the shoot day.
Which questions draw out natural answers?
Open questions about the past and the details, in the order the story is told. Questions that can be answered with "yes" or "excellent" are useless on video.
- How did things work before you started with us? Describe a typical day.
- What made you look for a solution at that point?
- What were you hesitant about before you started?
- How were the first few weeks? Did you run into any difficulties?
- What's different now? Give me an example from last week.
- If a friend in the same line of work asked you, what would you tell them?
The question about hesitation matters more than it seems. When the customer says, "I was worried the staff wouldn't learn the system," viewers hear their own concern and then hear how it turned out. That's more believable than nonstop praise.
How do you run the interview so the customer forgets the camera?
Seat the interviewer next to the camera and ask the customer to look at the interviewer instead of the lens. Start with easy questions you won't use in the video, like what their business does or how they got started, until they relax.
Ask them to repeat the question in their answer, since the interviewer's voice will be cut. Instead of "It was hard," they say, "Before the system, preparing reports was hard." If they say something good but stumble over it, gently ask them to say it again "the way you just said it." Don't feed them the words.
If you can, don't make the sales manager who closed the deal the interviewer. Customers speak more freely with a neutral person and are less inclined to be polite for the sake of it.
Where should you film a customer testimonial?
At the customer's workplace whenever possible. The shop, clinic, factory or office adds to the story in ways words can't, and gives you extra footage to use while they're talking.
Pick a quiet corner for the interview itself, because a factory looks great on camera and sounds terrible. Film the interview in a quiet room, then film the customer working or using the product in the real space. Use a small clip-on mic, and read the audio tips for company videos before the day.
- Intro callHear the story, choose the customer, get written consent
- PreparationQuestions, location, and a time that doesn't pressure the customer
- InterviewOpen questions, interviewer beside the camera
- Work footageThe customer in their real space using the product
- Edit and reviewA short story the customer sees before publishing
How do you edit a testimonial without losing its honesty?
Arrange the answers to tell the story: the situation before, then the decision, then the experience, then what changed. Remove repetition and stumbles, and keep the natural pauses that make speech sound human.
Never cut a sentence in a way that changes its meaning, and don't add numbers in on-screen text that the customer didn't say. Send the final version to the customer before publishing. It protects the relationship and avoids surprises. From the same interview, pull short clips with one strong sentence each to use in reels and ads.
Where should you use a customer testimonial video?
Wherever a potential customer hesitates before deciding. Your service page, your pricing page and your quote request form are all places where visitors ask themselves whether someone like them has tried this before.
Short clips work in ads and on social media, and the full version works on your website and in sales presentations. Your sales team can also send it directly to a hesitant prospect in the same field, since a clinic owner's testimonial persuades another clinic owner more than any slide deck. On your website, put a written summary of the customer's main points under the video, for people who don't turn on the sound and for search engines.
What if no customer agrees to appear on camera?
It happens, especially in sensitive sectors. You can record audio only over footage of the location or product, use just a first name and city, or show a written quote with the customer's permission. What you shouldn't do is hire an actor to speak as if they were a real customer. That deceives viewers and can hurt your reputation if it's discovered.
We prepare the questions and film and edit customer testimonials as part of our media and video production service. Tell us about the customer you have in mind and we'll suggest questions and a filming approach that suits their location.
Questions our partners ask
Should I write what the customer says?
No. Viewers notice a scripted line being read right away. Ask open questions, let the customer answer in their own words, then choose from their answers in the edit without changing what they meant.
How long should a testimonial video be?
The main version is usually one to two minutes. Cut short clips from it for social media, each with one strong sentence.
Do I need written consent from the customer?
Yes. Get written consent that states where the video will be published and for how long, especially if their workplace or other people appear in it.
Written by the Visual Innovate team, the people who build, host and follow up systems, websites and apps for our clients in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Egypt.
