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6 Customer Testimonial Videos Examples and Tips on How To Make a Great One.
Having someone to advocate for your product can be the final push your potential customer needs to finally make the purchase. In this article, we are going to explain what exactly is a customer testimonial video, show you some examples and give you some useful tips to make a successful one.
Raphael Freitas
March 26, 2024 • Reading Time: 14 minutes
Let’s be honest here. Who never caught themselves watching several different review videos or articles before buying a new product?
Especially with the rise of online shopping, customer reviews became an essential tool to influence the customer’s purchase decision. We have all been there. We already slid through the awareness and consideration sections of the marketing funnel and we are about to jump into the purchase one.
But before we commit to it, we want to be sure that the purchase we are about to make is worth it. And we don’t want to hear another sale sales pitch. Companies market their product as the best you can get, right? We want to hear it from real users just like me and you.
That’s where customer testimonial videos come in. Having someone to advocate for your product can be the final push your potential customer needs to finally make the purchase. In this article, we are going to explain what exactly is a customer testimonial video, show you some examples and give you some useful tips to make a successful one.
Table of Contents
What is a customer testimonial video?
First of all, let’s clarify what exactly is a testimonial video. As the name already suggests, it is a type of video where you have one of your customers tell their experience with your product. It seems very simple, but to make a good testimonial video there are a couple of factors that come into play.
A successful testimonial video shouldn't simply state the benefits of the product itself. Your potential customer probably already came across them during their buyer’s journey. A great testimonial video needs to communicate why other customers liked working with YOU. What differentiates your solution from the others available in the market? What makes your solution unique?
We’ll go over a few tips at the end of the article on how to make a good testimonial video, but first, let’s talk about why you should do it.
Why do you need to have customer testimonial videos?
To start answering this question, let’s refer to some statistics. A study by Wyzowl shows that 95% of people say that reviews influence their purchasing decisions. Yes, 95%.
Even though this number is pretty impressive, you might be asking yourself what it really means, who did this report, how did they come up with these numbers, and so on.
Well, guess what? Your customers might react the same way when you present them with your statistics. That is why customer testimonial videos are so powerful. They feature real people talking about their experience from your product or service, which helps to build trust in your brand.
Moreover, not only will testimonial videos highlight the benefits of your product but also give a unique perspective of the problems and pain points that specific customer had and how your product or service provided the perfect solution.
6 examples of great customer testimonial videos
We now know exactly what a customer testimonial video is and its benefits to your brand. It is time to see some examples of these videos done in the right way and get some inspiration to come up with your own.
Google Adwords
In 2020 many people are already familiar with the benefits of Google Ads, formerly known as Google AdWords, and how it works. But back in 2007, it wasn’t so mainstream like it is today.
This video from AdWords is a perfect example of a customer testimonial done right. First of all, it has great production quality! The video is perfectly synced with the music which makes it very engaging.
Moreover, if you are a filmmaker you will probably identify the basic principles of storytelling being used throughout the video. If you have no idea of what I am talking about, don’t worry, I will break it down for you!
We begin with the exposition part with a nice establishing shot followed by the protagonist - the customer - introducing herself. After that, we are presented with the problem at hand, the lack of customers.
With the problem introduced, we have the hero’s journey. In this case, her search for a solution - finding more cute dogs. This is where AdWords highlight all the benefits of the product and the customer journey until they actually get the desired outcome from the service. They emphasize the learning process and also show a mistake made by the user while learning how the service works properly, which makes it more relatable to the viewer.
Following the highlighted benefits from the service, we get into the 3rd Act of the story, the resolution. In this last part of the story, we are presented with the results that AdWords brought to her business. Not only does she give you some numbers she was able to achieve with the help of the service, but also advocates it in the end with a very strong sentence - “AdWords helped me grow so quickly here that I know with confidence that it will help me to fill my next facilities”. - all while having the biggest smile on her face. After all, life is great after AdWords.
Hubspot
Besides also having a nice storytelling structure, the HubSpot video does a great job of integrating some promotional material in the testimonial video.
Every time the customer talks about a feature of the product, some screencast pops up to illustrate what he is talking about. It is a great way to showcase the different features your product has based on the customer’s experience.
Another thing in this video that may be overlooked but it is very relevant to your video marketing strategy is having a clear target audience. If it was not clear for you watching the video, let’s take a closer look at our protagonist.
Will is a business owner that knows the importance of marketing and is trying different ways to promote his brand. However, he didn’t know how to measure their efforts properly and come up with an ROI for the different marketing channels. Sounds familiar? Can you relate to that? If you know a couple of entrepreneurs you probably have heard this story already.
HubSpot, however, goes even further with its segmentation in this video. Will wants to know the ROI from all the channels he is marketing in, but he has an even bigger interest in their promotional videos. Which is the perfect opportunity to promote the HubSpot and Wistia integration.
Salesforce - Trailblazers series
Salesforce is a company that understands the power of a customer testimonial video. So much so that they have an entire series of customer success stories, their Trailblazers.
What I find particularly fascinating about Salesforce customer testimonial videos is that it has a different approach than our previous examples. The AdWords and HubSpot videos focused on the financial results of their customers. However, Salesforce has a more emotional appeal to it. Its focus is on how the product has helped the business to connect more deeply with their customers. Which is completely aligned with their vision and mission.
CodeCademy
Another great example of a testimonial video that uses emotion to connect with the audience is the CodeCademy. It does not state one single statistic or feature of their product. The promotion is done exclusively by highlighting how the viewer can benefit from it on a very personal level.
Fulfilled by Amazon
Amazon is a huge marketplace. It has millions of sellers and buyers all over the world. While most testimonial videos are focused on one specific success story, Amazon took a different approach.
Having multiple customers in a single testimonial video will not fit every company. But Amazon wants to show that their service can help not a specific business, but basically any business. And that is what the compilation style video communicates to the viewer.
Slack - Sandwich video
Last but not least, we have the Slack video made by Sandwich video. For those who never heard about them, Sandwich is a video production company specialized in funny and engaging explainer videos.
This is definitely not a usual customer testimonial video. Not everybody has a customer that happens to be a powerhouse in video production and would create a high-end customer testimonial video that not even feels like it.
In case you missed the point of the video - which is completely understandable - Adam is the CEO of Sandwich video and this was his way of creating their testimonial video. The whole video is about how Slack helped to improve productivity in the company but in a very entertaining way.
Tips for a successful customer testimonial video
Ok. We just went through some great examples of customer testimonial videos. But how can you make your own?
As we just saw, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. It will depend on the message you want to convey, your target audience, and the goal of the video, among many other factors. However, here are some tips to keep in mind while planning your next testimonial video.
Be authentic.
Let’s face it. More often than not there will be other solutions in the market besides yours to the same problem. If you make a scripted video just talking about the benefits of your product or service, it will sound like just another marketing video.
Therefore, you should focus on what is special about your product or service, why the potential customer should choose you instead of the competition. In other words, what is your USP? And don’t be afraid to show some initial obstacles customers might have had when first trying your product. That will also add authenticity to the video and help to build trust.
Show specific, tangible results.
Whenever possible prefer specific and tangible results rather than vague affirmations. While it is great to have a customer say that you helped them increase sales and revenue, it is way more powerful when you can back it up with facts and give your potential customers a feel of what they could expect from your product or service.
Focus on the customer’s journey.
This goes back to the storytelling principles we talked about in the AdWords example. Having a structure that goes through the entire customer journey from the pain-point to the search for a solution and then how your product or service could help them overcome their problem is crucial so other people can relate to the customer giving the testimonial.
Which brings us to the next tip...
Prepare the right questions
A customer testimonial video is usually an interview you do with your customer. And as any interview, your answer can only be as good as the questions you ask. It is not about getting the right answers, it is about asking the right questions.
Prepare the questions with the message you want to convey in mind. Think of it as the script for your testimonial video. Even though you can’t predict what the exact answers will be, having well-prepared questions will make it easier for the interviewee to say what you want to hear.
Have an emotional appeal
This is what turns a good video into a great one. You might have heard the sentence “People buy on emotion and justify their purchase with logic”. I firmly believe it to be true. That being said, your video might have all the benefits and facts showing why the customer should buy your product, but if it does not have any emotional appeal, it will be a harder sell.
Finding the right people to produce your testimonial video
Now that you have a better idea of what a customer testimonial video is, its benefits and also have some examples and tips to make your own. However, you don’t really have the abilities and gear to make it yourself. How can you find the right people to produce your own video?
Unless you want to build an in-house video production team, you will need to outsource this task. This means trying to find video production companies or local freelance filmmakers, this will depend a lot on the budget you have to spend on the video.
Finding a professional that will fit the style of video you want AND be within your budget can be a hard and time-consuming task. That is why we created Beazy. We want to make the whole content production process as easy as possible so you can focus on your business while we handle the boring stuff. Get in touch with us about your project and we'll arrange all the equipment, locations and talents needed to turn your idea into reality. Tell us your idea and what you need, and we will find the right gear, location, and talent to bring it to life.
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