How to ask for a customer video testimonial
There are 2 ways to ask for a video testimonial:
- Directly, face-to-face
- Virtually, by text/email or website display widget
Which is the best way to ask questions for a video testimonial?
There are 2 methods to ask for a video testimonial in 2022:
- When your customer is face-to-face in your place of business (Direct Request)
- When your customer receives the video testimonial request by email, text or website widget (Virtual Request)
How do Direct Requests compare to Virtual Requests for a video testimonial?
One metric we can look at is the number of video testimonial apps available on the market. Then, we can look at how these apps collect their data.
Data Comparing Direct vs. Virtual Ask
We accessed the Review App websites below, watched their Explainer Videos or signed up for the Demo to understand their method of collecting video testimonials.
Data Analysis
- 3 of 12 (25%) video testimonial service firms have a direct face-to-face option for collecting video testimonials.
- 10 of 12 (83%) have a virtual option to collect video testimonials.
- 9 of the 12 (75%) only have the virtual option.
- 1 of the 12 (~9%) has both options.
We suspect that a Virtual Ask strategy is simpler than a Direct Ask strategy for video testimonials.
Which strategy is better?
Is a Virtual Ask strategy better for your social media marketing? Or, is it simply easier?
And, do the resulting video testimonials actually turn out better?
Do customer video testimonials created using a Direct Ask strategy lead to more persuasive social proof than video testimonials created using a Virtual Ask strategy?
Let’s take a look at some of the evidence.
When Your Customer is Face-to-Face in Your Place of Business
- Intimate space is within 18 inches of your body
- Personal space is 18 inches to 4 feet in radius from your body
- Social space is 4 feet to 12 feet in radius from your body
- Public space is greater than 12 feet from your body
Intimate space is important for social media photos, images and video.
Read about The Proximity Rule as the Rule applies to a social media marketing program.
- When your customer is face-to-face, you can help them prepare for the video testimonial. One of your team should interview the customer in the testimonial video.
- When you email your request, the customer will use their mobile device to record the testimonial. You will need to include written instructions in a follow-up email.
- When your customer clicks the website display widget, their webcam will activate and you will need to prompt them with written instructions on your website.
The Proximity Rule and Social Media
The Proximity Rule is described within the context of social media in 2020 by David Meerman Scott in his book Fanocracy.
The Proximity Rule says, simply:
“We can build trust online with new customers when they see the image of two or three people together, within their Intimate Zones, in videos or photos.“
David Meerman Scott
A quote from Fanocracy:
“Our unconscious brain can respond to what we see as if it were our own experience, even if it is on social media, film, a screen or a faraway stage through something called mirror neurons. Mirror neurons are a group of cells in the pre-motor and inferior parietal cortex of the brain.
These neurons are fascinating because they not only activate when we perform an action – biting into an apple, smiling, or getting near to somebody we enjoy being with – they also fire when we observe somebody else performing the same action.
When those around us are happy and smiling, our unconscious brain tells us we are happy and we often smile, too.
When we’re at a rock concert, our mirror neurons fire based on what the performer is doing onstage and what the other audience members are doing.” (p. 69)
Learn how the brain ‘sees’ online video EXACTLY the same as we see people in real life.
However, this evidence only suggests – it does not prove the idea that one type of video is superior to another.
We would need data from Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) specialists such as the CRO experts at these worldwide firms.
These CRO specialists would use A-B split-test data to show that one type of video social proof is superior to the other.
When Your Customer Receives a Virtual Ask
As noted, 75% of the firms use the Virtual Ask strategy to collect video testimonials from customers.
Based on our interactions with customers in medical clinics, gyms, veterinarians and various retail locations, we have observed that a direct ask strategy requires team member time, training and management follow-up.
Based on these observations, there appears to be a preference for the Virtual Ask strategy, at least initially, from the target market of these video app service firms.
Again, there does not appear to be any direct evidence online that this preference for the virtual ask strategy is based on a side-by-side A-B test of one type of video over another type of video.
How do I Ask for a Video Testimonial?
To overcome the weirdness and avoid awkwardness (what if they say NO?), here are three ways to ask for a testimonial when you are face-to-face with a client.
1) As You Ask for a Testimonial, Offer a Compliment
We love Chelsei Henderson’s 5 Non-Icky Ways to Ask for Testimonials from the FreshBooks blog– #5 is pure gold, “Your opinion means the world to me — would you mind sharing your thoughts about the work I did for you?
Our observation is that this technique would work well for both a direct or a virtual ask strategy.
This request has to be authentic and it may work better for professionals whose services are more relational and personal – dental technicians, hairdressers, therapists and physicians – than for professions that are more transactional.
The customer can still say no – the choice is theirs, however the business has been transparent about the need for a testimonial PLUS you’ve been the first to offer appreciation to the customer.
2) Highlight the Giver’s Expertise in the Testimonial
Are you sharing the video testimonial on LinkedIn?
Highlight the fact that just being asked to give a testimonial implies specific content knowledge and expertise in the person being asked.
According to Jeremy Cohen, cofounder and general manager of the executive search firm The Talent Studios:
“The emphasis needs to be on the fact that you believe their opinion has gravity and you respect it to the point where you want it memorialized on the largest public forum of accessible career information on you,”
3) Offer Testimonial Prompts to your Customers
Monique Alvarez of Forbes lists 12 prompt questions she uses to solicit testimonials from her customers – here are our favorites to choose from:
- What was your problem before you bought [our product/service]?
- What results have you gotten from [our product/service]?
- What kept you from buying [our product/service] sooner?
- What exactly did you like most about [our product/service]?
- Why would you recommend this to someone who might be on the fence?
- What was your main concern that would have prevented you from buying this, and what put your fears to rest?
- If you were to recommend [our product/service] to your best friend, what would you say?
- What made you choose [our product/service] over anything else you could have done?
- What are three benefits you’ve experienced as a result of buying [our product/service]?
- What was life like before you started with [our product/service]?
- What is life like now that you’ve experienced [our product/service]?
- What surprised you the most or made you the happiest about buying [our product/service]?
Great customer service practices should always include these survey questions – perhaps as an exit interview. The gold standard customer satisfaction survey model today is called the Net Promoter Score (NPS) – check out our blogpost on scoring the NPS here.