3 Good Video Testimonial Questions to Ask Your Customers

December 4, 2021

Ivan Maya

Ivan is an award winning videographer with over 7 years of experience. He understands the power of video content is and always looking to help others leverage it's potential.

Testimonials are social proof that helps companies sell to new customers. In a video testimonial, a previous client will talk about its product or service and describe how it helped them solve a problem. These short testimonial messages are a great way to build trust in reluctant buyers quickly. The power of a testimonial is even greater when you feature a reputable company or individual. In the end, you are more likely to trust a CEO of Coca-Cola than some small, local company. 

But of course, this depends on your target market. Local companies will likely benefit more from local testimonials. If your target market is medium-sized businesses, on the other hand, then you’d want to show more testimonials from that market. 

Video testimonials are a better, more efficient version of traditional testimonials. Because you can see a person, it is much easier to relate to them. Many consumers, particularly younger generations, also prefer the video form.

Unlike reviews, people reluctantly leave testimonials. Many consumers never reject a review at all, even if they’ve had a good experience. If a brand doesn’t deliver, it can leave a dent in its reputation. Here are some methods that will help you get testimonials from consumers: 

  • Try by simply asking
  • When you ask for a testimonial, make sure that the message is personalized
  • Explain to them why video testimonials are so important to your business
  • Make the testimonial as simple and short as possible
  • Offer an incentive

It is very important to streamline the creation of the content. You need to lead the conversation and ask specific video testimonial questions included in the finished video. That way, an endorser will focus on things you want them to speak about. Here’s what you should ask your participants to discuss in their video testimonials: 

Ask the Customer to Introduce Their Company

Like any other promotional tool, the initial few seconds of a testimonial video are the most important. During this period, a viewer decides whether or not to continue watching. As such, the message needs to be strong and relatable. Every customer story should begin with an introduction. It provides context and credibility and shows viewers why they should care. This is why it is important to have a recognizable face in the video. Most consumers relate to famous people and look to them for leadership.

Ideally, a person giving the video testimonial should have a proper backstory. The message will become more authentic when provided by an influencer who would benefit from the product or service. For example, if you’re selling car parts, it is much better to have a CEO of a car manufacturer or auto shop vouching for you than someone who doesn’t use or care about your items.

While working with an influencer usually helps, there are a few situations where it might not work. If your products are made for small and medium companies, having a large manufacturer might antagonize potential buyers. This is especially noticeable in industries where a few companies have a monopolistic grasp over the market. Nevertheless, the viewers will still understand the potential benefits.

Focus on Three Points

Furthermore, the person providing testimonial needs to focus on the following things:

  • What is the name of their company?
  • What does their company do?
  • If the company is reputable, they should indicate how they built themselves up and what separates them from the competition.

Keep in mind that this pertains to B2B situations. If you have a B2C product, the focus will be slightly different (instead of talking about a company, the endorser will talk about themselves and their issues).

The introduction is important for establishing authority, but it will also lay the foundation for other parts of the testimonial. Ideally, a company or individual providing the testimonial should have the same traits as your ideal customer. This will make them even more relatable. Often, potential buyers will recognize the issue that an endorser mentioned, believing that the product can also help them.

Ask Them to Talk About Their Problem

The second section is very important for establishing pain points. When people make a purchase, they will either experience pleasure or solve a problem. Fulfilling your wishes is always important, but it cannot compare with fulfilling needs.

During this step, the customer should talk about the following:

  • The nature of their business issue.
  • How it was stalling their business.
  • The customer can also mention the long-term consequences if they do not solve the problem.

During the second step, you create a sense of urgency. A person watching the video has to realize that this problem isn’t going away and that the sooner they resolve it, the better. Often, people avoid addressing their issues or are reluctant to admit they have a problem. This is because they are too ashamed or proud to admit they’re struggling in most cases. This goes both for B2B and B2C clients.

When you have a company talking about its problems, it is much easier for others to admit or recognize their issue and resolve it. So, you are not only creating a link between the product and the potential customer, but you are also increasing the likelihood that they will make a purchase.

How to Present the Problem

Saying that you had a problem is often not enough. Instead, you need to go deeper into the nature of the issue and how it affected a specific process within the company. For example, saying that you couldn’t generate enough leads is too broad. Mentioning that you didn’t have a viable internet marketing strategy and couldn’t grow social networks is a much better way to present things. 

Make sure to ask the endorser to provide a more elaborate explanation. Tell them to use industry-specific language. This would add to the overall credibility of the video and product. Again, the main focus is on being relatable. A person giving a testimonial should describe the same issue that most people from that industry have. The more details they provide, the better response from viewers.

Ask Them to Elaborate How the Product Helped

The great thing about this part is that it can reveal some amazing product or service features. Sometimes, manufacturers don’t even realize how useful certain product functions can be and how much time and effort they can save. When a person gives a video testimonial, they will use their own words to describe the product’s benefits. Their words are genuine and are usually more descriptive than the promo material your marketing team could create.

This is because internet marketing teams and content writers often do not test the product before creating a campaign. Unlike users, they might not fully grasp all the benefits it can bring. Even if they do, they might not understand the significance of future clients’ business.

Ideally, the endorser will talk about their situation and processes before using your product and after. By making a comparison, you can highlight the increasing inefficiency. If the change was numerical or percentual, make sure that the endorser mentions this. Numbers are universal and much easier to understand than simply saying, “Our company is doing better now.”

Things can be tricky if a product or service provides several benefits. Before starting the campaign, you should test the product with a wider audience and determine which function they liked the most. Based on that response, you should ask the endorser to emphasize this benefit as the main selling point.

What to Highlight

There are a few things you can ask the endorser to highlight:

  • The number of features/functions
  • Ease of use
  • Specific qualities that set it apart from the competition
  • Increase in efficiency after using the product or service
  • Increase in efficiency compared to similar products they’ve used in the past

Not only are you trying to sell the product with the video testimonial, but you’re also trying to showcase why it is the best solution on the market. It is very important to perform efficient positioning (of your product) and deposition (of competitor’s products).

What Will The Finished Testimonial Look Like?

The usefulness of these customer stories will vary based on how cooperative your endorsers are. Some people are willing to read the script and present the item exactly how you want it. But, the more you ask from them, the more likely it is that the person will seek compensation.

Testimonials are crucial for various reasons; they build brand awareness, offer social proof, and more. No matter how you look at it, a video testimonial needs to look as authentic as possible. This is why it’s probably best if you ask them these three video testimonial questions and wait for their response.

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