How do you convince your customers to record a testimonial?

Intro

Video testimonials are social proof number 1. You know that, I’ve said it often enough here on this channel, and so have my guests. But it’s not always easy to collect testimonials from customers. Beyond the technical aspect, you need to be able to convince them to do it for you. And this is undoubtedly the most important brake for all of us. So, after years of experimenting with different techniques, here’s my method for convincing your customers to give you the best possible chance.

What you will learn in this article:

– Customization
– Choosing the right questions
– Leading by example
– Give to receive
– Responding to objections

Personalization

The first point, and the most important of all, is the personalization of your invitations.
You need to make it clear that this is not a generic testimonial request sent indiscriminately to all your customers. It’s very impersonal and not very engaging. Your customers will feel like just another number.

If you hope to get a response from your customer, you have to make him understand that you have selected him in particular, because his experience is very important to you.
You have to flatter your ego. It’s a powerful psychological bias.

This means sorting out your customers. We recommend that you segment your customers into different categories and form small groups.

Some examples of segmentation:

– Customer seniority
– Type of company
– Transaction volume
– Customer affinity

You’ll be able to go even further in personalizing your messages when you invite them.

Choosing the right questions

Thanks to the previous segmentation step, you’ll be able to adapt your questions to the type of customer you’re targeting.

To avoid having a bland, over-generalized testimonial in which your prospects don’t recognize themselves, you need to be as specific as possible with your questions.

The aim of a customer testimonial, unlike a customer review, is to go into greater detail about the customer’s experience. It’s not enough just to get proof that the customer is satisfied, you also need to know why they called on you and what you solved for them.

So, in terms of questions, we’re going to have questions that are fairly focused on your product or service.

Here’s an example:

– What was your problem before you turned to us?
– What made you decide to work with us?
– How did we solve your problem?
– What was the result?

Leading by example

If you decide to make a video testimonial, your customer may be reluctant to record himself on video. People often want to do too much.

So, to motivate your customers and set an example, record a video to explain why it’s important for you that your customer does the same, and take the opportunity to give a few tips on shooting and/or what you expect from them.

In this way, you’ll make face cam video recording less dramatic.
Hesitations, frame,n tone. It’s important to show that there’s no need to worry about making things perfect.

The most important thing is that the image is bright, in a quiet room…and above all, speak frankly.

Give to receive

You have to give to receive. Today, it’s the strategy that works best, whatever the marketing application. You have to be generous with your customers if you want them to give you their precious video testimonials in return.

Offer a reward for customers who respond to your testimonial. Ideally, it should have something to do with your company or even, why not, your region if it’s important to your business (e.g. a local product for a local tourism company).

Here are a few examples of our awards:

– Bottle of wine or Champagne. Classic but still effective for the vast majority of customers.
– Promo code or free product. The simplest solution for you, with the added advantage of building customer loyalty.
– Gift. If you know your customer well, you can take the risk of giving them a gift that will really please them on a personal level.
– Many thanks. If you don’t want to spend money on your testimonial, you’re likely to experience a lower response rate. However, if you’re sure of your customer’s response, you can simply thank them sincerely.

Responding to objections

Customers will undoubtedly object to you not giving a testimonial. It’s the same for salespeople: you have to be able to answer objections to convince customers to do a testimonial for you.
Here are some of these objections and their answers:

Customer: I don’t have time!
Answer: Reserve a small 10-minute slot in your diary.
I’m sure you’ll have a 10-minute slot in the next few days or weeks.

Customer: I don’t want to film myself
Answer: I understand that it’s difficult to dare to film yourself. But your testimony is invaluable to me. What I propose is to show you the result before publishing, so that you can validate it.

Customer : Where will my image be broadcast?
Answer: I plan to post your testimonial on my website and social networks. If one of these social networks bothers you, let me know and I won’t broadcast your image on it.

Customer: You need my manager’s authorization!
Answer: No problem. If you want, I’ll contact him and ask for his authorization. Can you give me his contact details?

Conclusion

Convincing customers to record a testimonial can be a time-consuming process, involving personalization, email sequences and reassurance.
Fortunately, there’s Charlie, our software that can help you through the process of convincing your customers to make a testimonial.