Customer Testimonial Videos: Using This Powerful Sales Tool

Are you using video testimonials from your customers? If not, now is the time to get started. Why include testimonials from customers? Why put them in a video format? And how can you craft effective videos? Here's what every business needs to know in order to grow. 

What are Customer Testimonials?

A testimonial is, at its heart, a personal statement by a customer about their experience with your product or service. The customer — either an individual or a representative of an organization — uses their own words, which others find more appealing than curated marketing material.

Testimonials are often short because they're used where engagement and space is limited. However, longer-form testimonials can be useful if you want to engage more emotions or show a lengthier journey.  

Why Choose Video Testimonials?

Testimonials come in written, audio, and video formats. Most companies are familiar with written testimonials, which often start with simple customer reviews left in person or on review aggregating sites. 

Written testimonials, though, have a limited reach. Today's customer is increasingly drawn toward the more dynamic format of video instead of the written word. Each company has a limited amount of time and space to get their message across, so it cannot ignore the trends of its customers. And that trend is toward the moving picture — its simplicity, realism, and connection. 

Consider how you feel when you watch someone speak, live and in person, about their experience. Do you find it more personal, more involving, or more honest than reading the same words on a page? Probably so. This carries over to potential customers, who are more often swayed by a video than by a customer quote. 

Did you know that customers are much more likely to stop and watch a video all the way through than complete other types of testimonials? Since the goal of any promotional material is to capture attention, videos provide a bigger bang for your marketing buck. And their reach is greater because people are also more likely to share that video with friends or family rather than sharing a static page. 

What Does a Testimonial Include?

In general, testimonial videos, and most other types of testimonial, include three components. The first is the presence of the person who had a good experience with your company. They must look and feel authentic so the audience believes them. Companies usually select relatable individuals and may even include a small bit of their story to help viewers see themselves in this customer. 

Then, there is a problem the person faced or needed to solve. This can be something as simple as being unable to find a comfortable shoe or as complex as looking for direction after their contentious divorce. How much time is spent understanding the customer's challenge depends on the length of the video. 

Finally, how did your product or service fill that need? How did it go above and beyond expectations? Would the customer recommend your company to their own friends and family? Have they already done so? This is the selling point of the video, so it must balance heartfelt praise with clear and convincing authenticity. 

How Can You Make Great Testimonials?

Of course, these are just the basic elements you'll include. The difference between effective and ineffective videos is in the presentation. Because customers today are more tech-savvy than in prior years, they expect high-quality video and audio. While there can still be a time and place to use homemade-style videos that are self-shot, most testimonials need professional equipment and direction. 

You should also shape the video with its particular goals in mind. Not every customer testimonial is the same. Some stories are longer and more emotional, for instance, while others are short and to the point. A long video might tell a story that engages people who are waiting in your waiting room, but a shorter one encourages clicks on social media or your website's landing page. 

Good videos also make use of skilled directing and editing techniques. The testimonial might intercut the customer's story with images that relate to it, other customer testimonials, or even your company talking about its products. It needs music that builds the right feelings and proper studio or natural lighting. And many videos today include captions to draw in even more views from all media and devices. 

Learn more about Short Form Video Statistics Marketing Trends

Where Should You Start?

Could you build your brand and customer base by incorporating video testimonials into your marketing strategy? Do you want better-quality videos or more complete storytelling? Start by meeting with the team at Colormatics. Our trained video and marketing professionals will work with you to identify the right testimonials to capture, create compelling videos, and use them in the most effective ways.

Call today or make an appointment to learn more and see how customer testimonial videos can help boost your customer acquisition.