Most if not all small business and new start-ups are in competition with the big boy brands. There are one or more other companies offering a similar product or service that have been around for years longer, have a larger existing customer base, or a wider reaching marketing budget. Put yourself in the shoes of the over-worked employee tasked with making a decision for their company, or the over-tired Mom who doesn’t have time to research options B or C. They are most like to choose the well-known brand for one main reason: TRUST. And you can’t blame them, we all make purchase decisions based on our trust that a brand can deliver upon its promise. People want to know that they can trust the company they’re hiring. They want to know that our product will work for them, specifically.
The challenge then becomes, how can I ensure potential customers who visit my company’s website that my brand is a sure thing? This is where the power of Customer Testimony becomes very handy indeed!
Reason 1. Peer Pressure or Social Proof
Social Proof is an interesting phenomenon that people are very heavily influenced by what other people (whom they consider alike in some way) are doing, saying and ultimately buying. It’s the same psychological theory that explains why the good kid at school will bunk off because all her peers did, even though he/she enjoys class. Or why you will often see a line of cars waiting to exit a paid parking structure where there are one or more other tickets booths open. We are pack animals and we unconsciously place trust in other people, even perfect strangers, and mimic their successful behaviors. Testimonial Videos provide Social Proof to your customers as when they are unsure of which company to purchase from, they will often look to the opinions and experiences of their peers to make the correct decision. If considering two similar products or services, it’s often the one with the most reviews/testimonials that will be selected.
Reason 2. Answering the Unasked Questions
In all marketing campaigns, product descriptions, and websites there are gaps of missing information. This is not to say that your campaign is flawed but that instead that humans are individuals. You present the information about your product or service in the most thorough way possible, but as each human being is unique so is their particular problem that they are hoping your brand can resolve for them. Can your service deal with an unusual requirement that has stumped previous vendors, or is your product suitable for people with certain disabilities. These micro considerations may not be answerable in the more general product descriptions, but they can and often are answered in real customer testimonials. It’s a truth that writers recognize; the more specific you are about something, the more universally it is received. Hearing your customers explain the specific problems that your company helped them overcome will often mirror the concerns of the viewer. The best testimonial videos are the most personal and honest. They answer questions that someone’s you weren’t even aware required answering, and this can be the difference between gaining a new customer or not.
Here’s an example of a Testimonial Video we produced for our client Global Fleet that supports this reasoning:
Why pick us to make your customer testimonial videos?
We are storytellers. We are passionate about finding the nuances that make your company different and then discovering creative ways to share it with the world. Our approach to customer testimonial videos share the same approach. We work to capture the funniest, most heartfelt and honest moments from your customers, focusing on the problems that your product or service has solved for them. Interviewing people is a skill and an honor that we take seriously. And we focus on results as well as pretty pictures. It doesn’t matter how slick your videos look if they don’t serve your brand, your story.
If you’d like to know more about how we work, send us an email or pick up the phone for a chat. Tyler, our CEO and Creative Director and the team would love to hear from you.
