BY ALEX BOUTHILLIER

We tend to trust what we know, and who we know.

That’s why word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing is so powerful. In fact, by some estimates, it improves marketing effectiveness by up to 50% and results in a buying decision up to 40% of the time. Whether you’re talking direct to consumer (D2C) or business to business (B2B), WOM marketing is a must-have in the arsenal of tools at your disposal.

In the B2B arena in particular, there are many tactics you can use to leverage your existing client relationships into successful WOM marketing efforts. The one we’re exploring today is that of developing a compelling client testimonial video. These on-camera interviews offer many benefits, including the ability to celebrate key relationships and the achievement of collaborative successes.

At Hencove, we strongly believe in the power of testimonials and have outlined five essential tips to set you up for success when developing and launching testimonial videos.

1.     Identify Your Audience

With all marketing efforts, it’s important to determine which subset of your audience is the most important for you to target. By narrowing your focus in the early planning stages, you can then find the right client, craft more precise questions for the interview, publish the video in the right places, and ultimately make the biggest impact.

Your business likely has multiple audiences of prospects, each focused on a vertical of your business offerings. Therefore, keep in mind that a client delivering a testimonial of their partnership with your business will only be relevant to other prospects from that same vertical.

Once you’ve narrowed your audience, consider what aspects of your partnership this audience will value. Understanding what is most important to them will guide every step that comes next.

If you already have a client in mind, make sure their experience will be enticing to your prospects and will represent your target audience.

2.     Choose the Client and Interviewee with Purpose

After you’ve established who you’re trying to reach, look back at your past clients and think about who stands out. Which clients have you been successful with? Which ones have a story that’s relevant to your prospects?

You may already have in mind a client that represents a perfect success story for your business. While that story should be shared and celebrated, take the time to consider how it will resonate with your prospects. An effective story is critical to the success of WOM marketing, so choose your client carefully.

Also choose your interviewee carefully. The person giving the testimonial should be comfortable speaking on camera, share an experience that your prospects can relate to, and be an appropriate representation of your target audience. Some people are uncomfortable speaking on camera, and if they’re pushed into doing it, their discomfort could hinder the effectiveness of their story.

3.     Make Your Interviewee Comfortable
Throughout your relationship with your client, you’ve likely worked together in a respectful, collaborative style. The testimonial process should feel similar to your existing working relationship—one built on mutual trust. Few people are naturally comfortable on camera, so take the time to create a level of comfort before and during the interview for the best interview outcome.

Before the interview, explain what the interviewee can expect. We recommend pre-interviews comprising the video production team and interviewee, if possible. A virtual pre-interview is an opportunity for the interviewee to meet the team and share their customer experience, understand the interview process, and ask questions. This may be a first experience for some people, and therefore they may be unsure of the process. By meeting in advance, you can assuage their nerves or concerns and become familiar with their conversation style and cadence. This is also an opportunity to better understand their story and develop thoughtful questions.

On the day of the interview, make the interview location comfortable. If the interviewee isn’t in a comfortable position—they’re ducking around lights, squinting to see the interviewer, sitting in an uncomfortable chair—their discomfort will show in the recording and will negatively impact the effectiveness of the interview.

Remember, this testimonial interview process should represent your brand. The last thing you want is for the interviewee to feel unprepared, uncomfortable, and awkward.

4.     Ask the Right Questions

Vague questions will yield vague answers. Each client experience is unique, so for each client, prepare specific questions about their experience and how it impacted them both personally and professionally. A testimonial video is just like any other video project in that you’re telling a story. Craft your questions in a way that is specific to each client’s experience but focuses on topics that are relevant to all of your clients.

For example, instead of asking this:

“How did our company address your concerns?”

Ask:

“In an earlier conversation, you expressed concerns about transparency and hidden fees. Can you talk about your concerns prior to working with us, and how we addressed those challenges throughout our relationship?”

Not only will the revised question be relatable to other clients, but it will yield a more specific and thoughtful response and the client will likely feel more closely heard and listened to.

If you’re interviewing multiple people, think about what they have in common beyond their relationship with you. What common thread can be woven into the interview that would appeal to your audience? What kinds of questions would yield complementary answers among the interviewees?

5.     Have a Distribution Plan
If a video is posted to your website and no one watches it, is it even a video? Consider how your prospects will view this video and the hard work you’ve put into it. Look at your analytics and determine where prospects and clients see most of your content. Depending on your target audience, you may use this video to amplify what’s already working, or you may decide to extend your reach using a medium that your prospects tend to use more frequently. Because your client has already agreed to share their experience, leverage their audience and ask if they’d be willing to share the video on their channels. Asking someone to share a video of their testimonial is easier than asking them for a personal referral.

With the right combination of proper planning, a compelling client success story, and a professional video editor, one conversation can be leveraged into several effective pieces of content. Some questions and answers may lend themselves to different platforms, so having a plan before you proceed could broaden your reach significantly.

Your video should fit the needs of your business however you choose to distribute it: whether it’s simply posted on a relevant web page or shown across a dozen platforms nationwide.

That’s a Wrap!

An enthusiastic client that is excited to share their success story is a tremendous asset to your business. Identify who you want to reach, find the right client, choose the right interviewee, ensure their comfort while they’re telling their story, and then publish the finished video where it’ll be seen by your audience. By planning appropriately, you can leverage this asset to reach the right audience in the most effective way.