6 Unmissable Tips for Customer Video Testimonial Collection

Despite its trendiness now, customer trust has always been critical for marketing success. Earning and keeping trust is paramount, and video testimonials are the best way to do this at scale. The numbers don’t lie: data shows they build trust, boost engagement, and ultimately drive sales. A customer personally speaking to the high quality of your services or product is the best form of relationship-driven sales. 

But to get authentic and compelling content, you need a plan that considers your customers' experience and makes participation easy. We’ve gone in-depth with our current users to understand what makes testimonial campaigns work, and now we’re sharing that knowledge with simple, practical tips for success.

1. Individualize your requests for better, more consistent responses

It’s tempting to mass email your customers a generic message to get as much feedback at one time as possible. However, our data shows that personalized and 1-to-1 requests always work better. There are two reasons for this:

• Email performance gets worse as your campaign size goes up. Deliverability, open rates, click-through-rates, unsubscribes, and other metrics get demonstrably worse as you increase your list size for a single campaign.

• Personalized requests rely on human connection. An email that broadly asks a large group for a general response on “feedback” won’t perform well because it’s not asking a specific person to answer a specific question about a specific experience. Here’s an example of a well-crafted request:

“Hi Craig, I was thrilled to hear about your recent experience with our wedding planner, and how your wedding came in just under budget despite last minute changes. Can you leave a quick video testimonial capturing your experience to help us share your success story? Your experience can help us reach similar couples that need quick, on-budget wedding help.”

Overall, a smaller or 1-to-1 campaign will yield higher open and response rates.    

2. Strategic timing: strike while the iron (and enthusiasm) is hot

Timing is everything when asking for feedback or testimonials. Don't wait weeks after a successful interaction to send a request. Capitalize on the positive momentum. Here are just a few ideas for building this type of workflow internally:

• Within 24 hours of a service completion while the experience is fresh in their mind.

• Within 12 hours of a delivery confirmation, especially for product-based businesses.

• When the customer completes their first successful session in your software.

• Embedded in transactional communications like confirmation emails, subscription confirmations, or receipts as these create natural, scalable touch points. 

• Immediately following positive feedback on an alternate platform. This could be when a customer sends a glowing email, responds positively to a survey, or makes a comment in person.

If you’re a Speaking of Me user, make sure you have a few review links prepared with standard questions so you can deploy them at any time. 

3. Make it effortless and eliminate friction

Your customers are busy, and they probably have a long to-do list. Make the video submission process as smooth and seamless as possible:

• No complicated setups. Forget about asking them to download software or navigate complex instructions. This includes manually uploading video to your shared folders. 

• Mobile-friendly is a must. Many people will record on their smartphones while on the go. Ensure the process is seamless on mobile devices.

• Keep it short and focused: Provide clear prompts and suggest a reasonable video length (think 30-60 seconds per question for initial requests).

4. Plan to offer an incentive and a few (gentle) reminders

People have different comfort levels on camera, and they might need a little encouragement. Plan on circling back anywhere from 2-4 times, depending on your audience. You’re not being a pest; you’re simply reminding them and building their confidence to deliver what you need: their endorsement. 

Here are some reasonable ways to approach this: 

• Clearly explain the "why." Emphasize how their testimonial helps others and supports your business or your organizational mission.

• Write your questions clearly to help them structure their thoughts and feel more confident, like "What problem were you trying to solve before using our service?" or "Would you recommend us to others? Why?" Open-ended questions can increase the mental burden on reviewers as they feel the need to take more time to craft a response. 

• Consider a personalized incentive - especially one that can drive repeat business. This doesn't need to break the bank. Think exclusive discounts, early access to new features, or a small thank-you gift tailored to their needs. This fosters goodwill and encourages future engagement. We suggest personalizing something from your business. For example, if you run a restaurant, send them a “free appetizer” gift card and a handwritten ‘thank you’ note. 

5. Authenticity over perfection

Remind your customers that you're looking for genuine experiences, not Hollywood productions. 

• A slightly less polished video often feels more authentic and relatable than something overly produced. 

• Consider adding a link to other testimonials you’ve published to help your customers understand how the video will be used and shared.

6. Identify your fans and leverage that happy heap of customers

Once you begin to build a pipeline of repeat customers, you have a perfect place to start. 

• Pay attention to customers who leave glowing written reviews, send positive emails, or mention you on social media. These individuals are already fans and might be more willing to do a video.

• Follow-up on positive reviews: If someone leaves a great written review, ask if they'd be open to expanding on their experience in a short video.

• During customer visits or calls, listen for "magic moments" that can you can specifically ask them to share about in a follow-up video testimonial.

Bonus tip: pick the right video testimonial collection tool

Let's be honest. The thought of orchestrating video clips, chasing down busy clients, and wrestling with editing software is enough to keep you from trying. 

That’s why we built Speaking of Me.

Most marketers, solopreneurs, and do-it-yourselfers are cobbling together testimonial snippets from recorded calls or simply putting it on the back burner due to budget and time constraints. Or maybe you haven’t attempted video testimonials at all. We can’t blame you either way.

But what if collecting powerful customer video testimonials didn't require elaborate setups or endless back-and-forth? What if you could tap into the authentic voices of satisfied clients with a simple, streamlined process?

You can, with Speaking of Me. Unlimited video, 4K mobile testimonials, and editing integration with Canva (pending) make us the easiest tool for building trust through your customer’s voice, at scale. Try it now, free for 7 days.