How to Record Customer Testimonial Videos
Outlined here are a few considerations, unique to video, that may arise when developing a process for acquiring and producing several, high-quality customer testimonial videos, in a repeatable, scalable way.
HOW WILL CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL VIDEOS BE RECORDED?
You have a few main options here:
- Perform a testimonial interview over something like Skype and record what unfolds
The problem here is that you’re relying on the customer’s hardware, and laptop webcams and microphones are generally not that good. The production value is likely to vary dramatically from video to video too, which is really bad for brand consistency. - Use a smartphone camera
Most flagship smartphones can record videos that are at least close to acceptable production quality, and you can provide a consistent production value, assuming you’re able to be in the same place as your customer.Otherwise, this option suffers the same hardware inconsistency problem as option #1. - Use professional cameras and lighting
If you can manage to be in the same place as your customer, using professional video hardware to record your customer testimonials will give you infinitely more control over the final cut of your testimonial video.Along with a far higher production value than either other option could provide, which can greatly improve the performance of your testimonials, especially in the B2B space, where higher production values are expected.
For businesses that favor consistency (both in their internal processes and content production), by far your best options are to either a) develop an in-house video team, or b) hire a video marketing agency to produce all your video testimonials for you.
In both cases, assuming you have the right skillsets and video equipment at your disposal, you stand to benefit hugely from consistently high-quality video, and a video production process you can rely on.
WHO WILL BE THE SUBJECT OF YOUR VIDEO TESTIMONIALS?
As I mentioned earlier, not everyone makes a great candidate for a testimonial. This is particularly true when it comes to video testimonials.
Some customers won’t be articulate enough, others just won’t give you the responses you were looking for, and then there are the customers that are so lacking in “stage presence” that you wouldn’t ever want the video to leak to the general public.
Having a sense for who is and isn’t a good candidate for a customer testimonial video relies somewhat on intuition, but it’s also a skill you can develop over time.
WHERE AND HOW WILL CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL VIDEOS BE RECORDED?
If you have a retail storefront, setting up a camera in the corner of a room, and recording your best customers as they come in is easy. It’s a different story in the B2B space, however.
For B2B businesses, this is perhaps the biggest obstacle is getting customer testimonial videos into your lineup, and where video testimonials differ most from written testimonials, should you choose to record testimonial videos in-person — which is really your best option.
Unfortunately, your customer are sometimes on the opposite coast, or even in another country, and flying out your internal marketing team or an outside video marketing agency to each client’s location just isn’t practical.
But you do have a couple decent alternative options:
- Hire a video crew in your customer’s city
Instead of flying a crew out to the client, simply hire someone near their office, and save yourself the travel expense. Plus, these studios are usually very capable of capturing incredibly well-shot video.This route does have its drawbacks though. For one, it’s not always easy to find a studio with the expertise to conduct a comprehensive testimonial interview, nor the marketing expertise to capture “the right stuff.” And although you’ll save on travel expenses, hiring a film crew in another city isn’t always easy, and certainly isn’t free. In a worst case scenario, you could wind up out of thousands of dollars with little footage you can actually work with. For advice on selecting a video production partner for your testimonial videos, see this guide. - Or wait for your customers to come to you
Every industry has at least one big trade show every year. It’s likely that you, as well as some of your best customers will be in attendance, and you couldn’t ask for a better opportunity to get a bunch of your customers on video in one fell swoop.You may think that an annual event would be far too hectic to possibly arrange a time to record testimonials with your customers. But with an experienced video crew and testimonial interviewer, you’d be surprised how many customer testimonial videos you can knock out in an afternoon.
WANT TO START USING CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL VIDEOS?
Start by assessing your exact video needs, before choosing the video production strategy that’s best for you. Download this handy guide we’ve put together to help you do just that!
START USING CUSTOMER TESTIMONIALS TODAY!
Acquiring customer testimonials isn’t always easy, but developing a process for doing so, and ensuring their quality makes it a heck of a lot easier.
Whether you decide to go with written testimonials, video testimonials, or a combination of the two — it’s hard to go wrong.
The payoff from having several testimonials in your back pocket, ready to show your next prospect, is undeniably huge.
YOUR TURN
How do you use customer testimonials in your business? What does your process look like? Have your own tactics for procuring customer testimonials? Sound off in the comments!
Thoughtcast Media is a video marketing agency that specializes in the production of video testimonials, traveling up and down the East Coast of the U.S. (and beyond), helping B2B businesses tell their customers’ stories.
For a primer on video testimonials be sure to check out our ULTIMATE GUIDE, covering just about everything you need to know about producing video testimonials that get results.
Don’t want to waste any more time before you can get your hands on some testimonial videos of your own? Learn how we make buying AUTHENTIC video testimonials easy.
