Customer Testimonial Video Production
Getting your most valuable customers on camera can be a great way to share their story. Let's create a high-quality testimonial video or take a docu-style project.
What are customer testimonial videos and why use them?
Customer testimonial videos (a.k.a. customer story videos or case study videos) are a way to let your customers do the talking for you. Putting your most successful, happy, or unique customers on screen is a powerful way to attach a real-life narrative to your product or service. A customer story video typically features one or more customers talking testimonial-style about how your company has made a positive impact on their life or business.
The most valuable part of a testimonial video is getting your clients to vocalize the problem they were faced with and how your company provided a solution. Along with interview footage, this type of video is typically packed with lifestyle shots (known in the biz as b-roll) of your customer using your product or service in their own environment.
What are some characteristics of a great testimonial video production?
- Authentic, with personal details
- Natural responses (No scripts!)
- Not overly promotional (It’s about your customer!)
- Clear problem/solution narrative
- Customers with confidence
When and how should I use a customer testimonial video?
A client testimonial video production can pack a visual punch just below the fold on your homepage, or on a dedicated customer page. After your prospective customers have spent some time learning about what you do, serving up this kind of content can help ease any lingering concerns and reassure them with some third-party social proof before they make a buying decision.
This is our third year working with Demo Duck and they were fantastic from start to finish. They were patient while we solicited participants for our client testimonial video series and were on top of the project whenever we found someone.
Amy Boese, ASCP
How does Demo Duck create a concept for a customer testimonial video?
Demo Duck looks to you to identify customers who are loyal and satisfied, and who would also be good on camera. That might seem like a tall order, but we’ll guide you in figuring out who to look for in your customer pool. Once we’ve selected the right interview candidates, we’ll spend some time getting to know them and their experience in a pre-interview.
If you’re worried about putting your most treasured customers on the spot, don’t be. The pressure is on us, not your customers. It’s our job to research their story, make them feel comfortable, and guide the conversation in the right direction in order to capture meaningful responses.
Need to tell a longer story? Try docu-style.
Over the years, there's no doubt that you've heard the refrain, "shorter is better" when it comes to online video, but that's not always the case. According to Wistia, some longer video pieces drive better leads.
This is often more middle to bottom of funnel pieces of content, for which your customer testimonial video production may be one. So, if you have a customer whose story is just too good to cut down, try a longer documentary style video approach, that really lets their full story, true passion, and, hopefully, your production shine. These are often some of the most heartfelt and authentic versions of, what many may call, testimonial videos.
Customer Testimonial Video Examples
Meraki Go Customer Testimonials: Hair It Is Barbership
Fictiv: RoboGym Testimonial Video
Meraki Go Customer Testimonials: Shotwells Bar
AppFolio: PAH Testimonial Video
Meraki Go Customer Testimonials: Dr. DeLong Practice
Google Domains: Little Photo Studio
Client testimonial video FAQs
How do you measure success for a customer testimonial video?
Measuring success for a quality customer testimonial video production is best found by looking at the viewer engagement numbers and whether people stuck around to hear out your customers. You also want to look at conversions. Are people making a purchase after watching your customer story video? Tools like Wistia integrate with Salesforce and Hubspot, and can help you see who’s watching what.
How much do customer testimonial videos cost?
Depending on the style, a client testimonial video production typically costs between $14,000-$20,000. That tends to include a one-day shoot at the subject’s home or office, your office, or a rented studio, interviewing your customer(s), and editing all of the footage together to create a cohesive narrative that tells an authentic story and paints you as the hero. Travel fees for our crew (outside of Chicago) will be expensed separately.
How long do the customer testimonial video production process take?
Customer stories usually takes 6-8 weeks to produce. The biggest challenge is coordinating the schedules of you, your customer, and our team for the day of the shoot. Once we have pre-production logistics figured out, the rest is cake.
If you're looking for something quicker, we ask for a least one week before shoot for prep (crew, travel, etc.) and 2-3 weeks for post production.
How can I make sure I get the right customer?
Typically our recommendations are two-fold. First, ideally this is a customer who has been with you for a few years so that they can speak to a longer period of time for how your product or service has helped them. But also so your request doesn't feel off-putting if they've just signed on. In terms of their comfort in front of a camera, that's where we come in to do pre-interviews with any candidates for the video and then we can provide our feedback to you privately, or are happy to be the "bad guy" so you don't have to ruffle client feathers.
How do you make sure the customer enjoys their experience?
If someone has agreed to appear in your customer testimonial video, and we think they are a good fit, we will make sure they know what to expect prior to production during the pre-interview process, but we also have a one-sheeter we like to prep ahead of time. During the actual interview, our focus is to make it feel like a natural conversation. But sometimes a camera and crew can create added pressure, so we often try to clear out as many people as possible during the interview to keep the number of eyeballs, and applicable nerves, down.
Any common roadblocks with a client testimonial video production?
The biggest one is securing talent. It sounds easy but identifying that person and coordinating schedules can be tough. The other is making sure that person is truly committed to the project, even if it isn't their video. You're investing your time and money, and we're bringing a full crew and applicable gear, so we don't want any no-shows, which are rare, but occur when perspective talent doesn't make the production a priority (and they don't realize the impact of their absence). We can find some subtle ways to get them excited but communicate the importance of their attendance