Persuasive B2B marketing is authentic — and nothing speaks more truthfully than a customer’s success story.
After all, 92% of customers trust earned media (word of mouth, case studies and testimonials) more than any other marketing medium. And thanks to a recent upswing in video marketing, video testimonials and case studies have fast become the medium-of-choice for many businesses promoting their impact.
But which of your customers are right for the job? And where can you find them?
Well, as with any other marketing push, it all starts with a strategy.
Your video testimonial strategy: what, how and why?
Before you can understand who from your client base to approach, you need to ask yourself:
- What exactly do you want to get across in your video testimonials?
- How do you intend to use them in your sales and marketing activities?
- … and why is that important for your overall strategic mission? Will these videos help you expand your customer base? Are you looking to assert a new positioning? etc.
Because a video testimonial is every bit as valuable as other lead generation material. You wouldn’t publish a blog post without knowing what purpose it served. And you wouldn’t pay for a LinkedIn ad without knowing who it’ll reach.
So take a step back and meaningfully align your approach with your other marketing goals. Then you’re ready to reach out…
How to find your happiest customers
Once you have your strategy, it’s time to identify happy customers. They’re the ones you want to feature in your testimonial – and there are many ways to find them.
Run NPS surveys
Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys help you to determine who your most supportive customers are, based on their response to one fundamental question: How likely is it that you would recommend our company/product/service to a friend or colleague?
Everyone participating needs to submit a score out of 10. Those who give scores of either 9 or 10 are considered ‘promoters’ who will likely buy more, remain customers for longer, and make more positive recommendations about your company to others.
Examples of good NPS tools include Qualtrics, Wootric, and AskNicely — all of which offer a comprehensive solution for evaluating how happy your customers are.
Speak to engaged customers
Sometimes referred to as “social listening”, browsing what’s being said about your B2B brand online can be a great way to find happy, engaged customers. Better still, if these clients are already showing support for your business in a public domain, they’re halfway to endorsing you in a case study, too!
Check out the comments tabs on your company’s LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram page — do some of the same names appear time and time again?
Similarly, any customers who have given positive feedback to you directly (or to members of your team) in conversation or via email could be strong contenders as well.
Analyze online reviews
Depending on your business size and sector, customers may be using third-party platforms to review your product offer and service. If so, these sites can be a fast-track to identifying happy clientele.
B2B review sites like Trustpilot, Clutch, and Capterra are great places to scan for glowing customer reviews.
Narrowing your list down — which success stories align closest to your goals?
OK, time to think back to your testimonial strategy for a second.
What’s the key message you want to convey in the videos you publish? How is that message going to resonate with your ideal customer? And which of the happy customers you’ve identified so far have the most compelling and relevant stories to share?
The social proof provided by a video testimonial is extremely powerful. And for the customer success story to have maximum impact, it’s essential that it clearly expresses what key benefits were delivered thanks to your products or services.
Perhaps their productivity levels have increased, or their profit margins have improved? If so, by how much?
Whatever the crux of their story is, make sure they have proof to back it up, i.e. relevant statistics or KPIs.
Once you’ve established which customer stories best align with your goals — and which can be supported by convincing evidence — you’re ready to narrow down that list even more.
We’re almost there!
How suited are those customers for video?
“The message is the medium” — chances are you’ve heard this saying before, and it really applies here in the world of video case studies.
Why? It’s simple. Because even the most compelling and persuasive story will fail to land (and convert) if it’s not told well.
So double check: who on your shortlist will be relaxed in front of a camera? Who can clearly and enthusiastically articulate their experience of your brand? Who has the most charisma?
Ideally, the customer(s) you choose will be excited to be involved and comfortable showing emotion to enhance their testimonial. And considering a message’s total impact is believed to be 38% verbal and 55% non-verbal, it’s really important to find customers with a confident presence and tone.
A great way to evaluate their suitability is by scheduling a brief video call to see for yourself how they come across. Alternatively, ask if they have any recent video content they’d be happy to share.
What you’re looking for are the customers who can captivate an audience. The ones who can best communicate their stories and keep the viewer engaged to the end.
Getting started with a video testimonial strategy
By now, it should be clear that the essence of a video testimonial is a great story, well told. When executed correctly, this is highly impactful; helping prospects earn trust in your business and get excited about the product you offer.
If you can learn to recognize which customers would be perfect for a video testimonial, and know where to look to find them, then there’s just one piece of the puzzle left: recording.
VideoVouch is designed to make planning, recording, and editing B2B video testimonials and written case studies a breeze. All you need to do is find the right customers, and we’ll handle the rest.
We’ll record a 30-minute interview with your customer, then take the highlights and make a 3-minute video testimonial showing the power of your product or service. This testimonial is also repurposed into a highly-shareable 60 second highlight — perfect for LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
Ready to harness the power of social proof in your B2B marketing? Schedule a call to learn more.